Shmups Wiki -- The Digital Library of Shooting Games - User contributions [en]

Full Extent of the Jam

2023-05-02T14:27:33Z

Trilkin: Done. Needs some touch-ups/polish, but the content is completely copied now.

This space is for the as-titled guide by PROMETHEUS, originally posted in [https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34497 this thread] over at System11. This is a very comprehensive and at least historically well-regarded guide to approaching and improving at shmups with a focus on danmaku shmups. The guide was written with DoDonPachi as the primary point of reference, but the information is largely applicable across the genre. Formatting for the wiki has begun for posterity and preservation. Care will be taken in making sure the majority of the original formatting is preserved and the text will otherwise by directly copied and pasted.

A few notes before reading this guide in any of its forms:

* It is over 10 years old now. A lot of the information, particularly in regard to emulation and ports, is no longer accurate.
* There is some occasionally rough language and the less occasionally roughly presented opinions. I've taken it as simply part of his sense of humor and it will not be censored for preservation's sake.
* English is not the author's first language, but the title of the document and some other funky grammar/spelling are digs at Cave's notoriously silly early copyright warning translations.

All of that said, a lot of the actually important information, especially regarding efficient practice, how to approach a game, and specific play techniques and managing common patterns is still very relevant, with a good amount of helpful visual examples. It's also something of a historical document and was once a commonly recommended piece to read for improving one's game.

The original thread is still up at the forum link above and the guide itself is still available in that post, or more conveniently, [https://goo.gl/Fi2zE here].
<hr />

The Full Extent 
of The Jam

<hr />
A guide to playing Shooting Games competitively

[[File:FEotJ_(1).png|frameless|center]]

Written by Dimitri « ProMeTheus » Aupetit 
28/11/2010 
 

== The Full Extent of... What ?? ==

This guide covers practicing and performing techniques, with scoring high as a goal, in Shooting Games (STG), also called shmups.

The supposed reader is a player of any skill level that intends to get into scoring, or get better at scoring.

One thing I would like to stress is how much more fun STGs become when you play them for score instead of survival. I absolutely love scoring ! Getting better and learning how to score means playing in a much, much more complex way. You will be playing with a plan in mind. Scoring opportunities will have to be balanced depending on how much risk they represent. You will have to develop understanding of how to navigate those seemingly unpassable bullet patterns. You will be using your brain at a much higher rate during play. And what you achieve will be recognized by other people.

Does it sound like work to you ? It certainly isn't relaxing. But I don't think relaxing is the best way of having fun. I always have a lot more fun when I play for score, not only because scoring high is generally satisfying, but because I think using the best of your ability to execute very precise moves and dodge mind bending patterns is simply exhilarating !

In that sense, scoring is, indeed, much more fun than mere survival, where you just go about with a vague plan and use bombs whenever you're in a difficult situation, in order to just reach the end of the game. Hopefully, this document will help new players realize the fun potential found in scoring in Shooting Games, and help them get good at that. If you are just looking to 1CC some games, though, the advice in this document will definitely help you. You will just adapt and use it to a different end.

Because I am first and foremost experienced with the game titled « DoDonPachi », I will use it as an example throughout the document. Every example from DoDonPachi is useful to illustrate how to deal with the same situation in another game. For example, how to choose your ship ? Your controller ? How to memorize the game ? How to dodge certain pattern types ?

I will not be explaining DoDonPachi's chaining system or the way it generally works. If you need that information, I suggest you check Bernard Doria's site (DoDonPachi @ Bee Preying) where I learned most of the game's rules. (Ed: The original site is missing most of its content, although it can be found on Archive.org. Alternatively, the [[DoDonPachi]] page on this wiki is also a good wealth of information!)

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

I, the writer, am Dimitri Aupetit, known online as ProMeTheus, and hold the occidental record in DoDonPachi, approaching some of the better Japanese scores. I have studied this particular STG extensively, and also performed well in a few others. I decided to write this guide to help people get better by sharing my experience. I have noticed many players go the wrong way about practicing STGs, and give bad advice to newcomers looking for methods to approach scoring at their game.

I have proven to myself that my practicing methods are extremely efficient compared to how most others proceed, notably when I took part in the Arcade Extreme tournament a few years back, on the Cave game Guwange. This tournament had a bunch of well known good players in it, with me being unknown at the time, and the winner was to receive a prize of 100 euros, encouraging players to do their best. The occidental record holder of the time was in the tournament. We basically had 2 months to practice and submit our best score with a MAME replay. I totalled 100 hours in those 2 months, using my practicing methods to the best of my ability, without wasting any time. The former occidental record holder increased his score from 21 million (21M) to 23M, while most of the other good players reached scores around 20M. To my own surprise, I came out far on top with a score of 49,8M, with virtually no 
prior experience of that game.

I don't think I have a special talent to play STG (no one does), but I think many people could use some piece of advice about practicing from me ! So here is my nice big piece of advice.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

If you read and follow the advice I present to you here, and have enough willpower and motivation to score as high as you can, I'm pretty sure you should be able to approach or even beat my scores by playing just as much as I have, or less.

I started from complete beginner level, and within 600 hours of playtime (including time spent in practice with saved states and in full runs), I've reached a score of 547M in DoDonPachi, clearing both loops and the true last boss with 2 spare lives. That's a pretty good score considering the world record is 749M, and from what I've been told there really isn't a lot of Japanese players who ever scored over 500M, although I'm not entirely sure how many.

You might get there a little faster or slower depending on your previous experiences and capacities.

But whoever you are, if you want it, I think you can do it. I really do.

Even for people who won't set their goals this high, this document should be of great help to improve their understanding of STG practicing and performing. Unless you have already made your way as far as I have into this matter, I'm sure it'll help you get good much faster.

This document is not particularly intended to be fully read from first to last page. Depending on your previous experience, you will probably want to skip some parts, or read the chapters in a different order. Don't worry about it and go ahead !

[[File:FEotJ_(4).png|frameless|center]]

And now, let's see how we can get those Shooting Games 
totally prosecutedt
== I. Getting Started ==
=== Picking a Game ===

So you like STGs and you think you want to achieve a high score in some game ? You are probably aware that this means spending a hell of a lot of time on that one game you're going to choose, therefore the choice may not be that easy.

DoDonPachi's likely to be your favorite if you haven't bothered to buy console ports or PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) yet. It is certainly, indeed, the hardest and deepest danmaku available on MAME, and one of the most emblematic game Cave has ever made. It redefines the danmaku genre by pushing beyond Donpachi's limits. For the sake of picking an example, we will now pretend that you are considering DoDonPachi as your game of choice for scoring.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

As you probably know, Cave has been making a lot of other STGs after DoDonPachi. One of them, Guwange, is playable on MAME. A couple of others are rather easily accessible as ports, mostly on Japanese Playstation 2 or Xbox360 : DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou which is essentially DoDonPachi 2, Mushihimesama, Ibara, Espgaluda, Mushihimesama Futari, Death Smiles, Ketsui... Not to mention some other awesome games by Treasure and other companies if you happen to be into them.

How does DoDonPachi compare to all those great games ?

First of all, you should realize DoDonPachi is primarily a manic (or danmaku) game : it mainly involves skills related to reading and dodging tight bullet patterns. You could also say it's partly methodical, because its chaining system will require you to make some very precise moves with excellent timing, not related to dodging a pattern. If methodical gameplay is what you prefer, DoDonPachi might not be the right choice as there are games offering more variety and depth for that kind of gameplay, while lacking the danmaku depth of DoDonPachi, such as Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun. If however you have decided danmaku skills is what you are most interested in, you are looking at the right games when considering Cave's productions, and will be fine ignoring others (although some Doujins might qualify as quality danmaku games as well).

Now is when DoDonPachi is in a tough spot. Many of the games Cave have been producing over the last few years have been improving on DoDonPachi in various ways. Some are targeted to a different audience or feature clearly different gameplay like EspGaluda or Ibara, but the others are extremely similar in both the audience they are targetting and the gameplay they feature. DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou, for example, is basically harder, better, faster, stronger. This might sound bad if you're not a good player yet, or if you're not into electronic music, but as you get better you will learn to appreciate that smart difficulty delivers great fun. Ketsui kinda gets rid of the too unforgiving, generally unfair scoring systems of DoDonPachi games, offering a more linear score progression and less punishment for a mistake. The Mushihimesama games banned the stupid loops and replaced them with cool difficulty modes instead that make the game last a little shorter than 2 loops of DoDonPachi, with interesting, difficult action starting from the first stage. Newer games also feature better graphics and sound, which do matter when you're going to spend hours on a game, as they will make your practicing 
sessions much more pleasurable

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Not much of a reason left to play DoDonPachi is there ?

You're right, there's little left -_-

But there's still a few important ones why DoDonPachi is not such a bad choice at all.

One : you can play it on MAME. Read the next section ("Which DoDonPachi ?") to know more about why I think you should consider this a major advantage. Half of what MAME does for you ports can do also, but you really want to avoid practicing on PCBs if you care for your time (and your money). At the time of writing, only DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou is a more recent, potentially better game that is also available on emulation with save possibility (through PSX Playground or something), although not on its improved « Black Label » version. By any means, choose a game that at least has a console port with level select.

Two : to this day, DoDonPachi remains one of the few most popular STGs around, because many people won't bother buying a Japanese console to play the ports. This means when you play DoDonPachi, you will have more people around you (well... online at least) competing, giving advice and cheering for your progress.

Three : even though many of the newer games are better, DoDonPachi is not so vastly inferior. And if you get good at it, it will be easy to get good at other games later ! 
So now you know about the other games and have potentially considered your other choices. In any case, here is a set of skills that practicing DoDonPachi (or any other danmaku) will teach you, according to me :

<ul>
<li>Great coordination between hand and eyes</li>
<li>Great ability to accurately anticipate movements</li>
<li>Great accuracy of timings</li>
<li>Great Reflexes</li>
<li>Outstanding Memory</li>
<li>Nervousness control</li>
<li>Mastery of execution with your controller of choice</li>
<li>Increased ability to focus</li>
</ul>

Nice little set, uh ?

I'm pretty confident about this list. There might be quite a few other less important skills that come into play, but the big ones are here and I'm quite certain that getting better at the game significantly improves those skills. Of course, nobody plays STGs for that sole purpose. Although most of them can be smoothly transfered to other game genres, quite a few of them are only very remotely useful for anything else in life.

Nevertheless, I believe they are a really nice bonus and have the power to improve you as a person in many ways (as long as you also develop other extremely important skills in other life activities ! For example, socializing is a great way of improving your confidence, which is an extremely crucial skill ! Prove people who think gamers are all nerdy and boring they're wrong, by showing yourself as a counter example ;)). Working out those skills is a great source of fun and pleasure. Can you imagine what it feels like dodging crazy Hibachi patterns using all of them at the same time ?

The thing that's great about skills is that they don't really ever go away. What you learn through repetition sticks, just like you never forgot to ride a bike even if you never rode one for years. This applies to DoDonPachi. Not only are my skills intact whenever I come back after 6 months of not playing, but I can't seem to even forget anything of the 45 minutes of precise action sequences I've memorized. This is because I've repeated them enough times for them to have entered long term memory. Sure, some little details may have faded a bit and your skills just might get a little rusty. But don't worry, as they always come back to full power infinitely faster than it first took to acquire them !

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

''Hey... why not play many games instead of just picking one ?''

That's a good question ! By picking only one game, you will be spending as little time as possible just gathering knowledge, and as much time as possible increasing your skills. Let me explain. When you start playing a new game, you have to get acquainted with its scoring system and various rules. You have to learn the differences between each ships, play around and pick one. And most importantly, you have to memorize scoring routes through each levels. There is a lot of memorization involved with playing STG well, just like with most competitive games. The only skill that improves when you are just memorizing is... memory. When you learn a new game, you will have to spend quite a few hours learning even the first levels, which are usually easy levels, meaning that they will not require you to improve 
your skills, if your skills are already high enough.

Now if you stick to one game, you will be moving forward to harder sections that you cannot do yet, as soon as you are doing okay in the easier sections. At that point, why switch games and spend so much time re-learning easy sections of another game ? Stick to one game, get as far as you can in it, and your skills will keep improving. When you feel you are done with that game and you really want to play another, go ahead. If the new game you picked is harder, it will teach you new things and you will have fun with it in new ways, after you pass the phase of « getting acquainted, learning and memorizing » what you need to reach the harder challenges that this game has to offer. Just avoid hopping around between many games, if you want to get good.

''So if I'm following well I should perform well in a new game if I'm great at another game''

Yes ! After having spent enough time learning that new game, you will find you will improve so much faster than you did when you were a beginner and played that other game that you became great at. The more similar the gameplay of the new game you pick is, the easier it will be to transfer your skills to it. So if you're good at DoDonPachi, I have no doubt you'll perform well in DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou or Dai Fukkatsu given some time to learn them.

=== Picking a Version===

If you ever hang out on some STG themed forums, you probably ran multiple times into the same topics of someone asking the world which version of game X is best. DoDonPachi is probably one of the most debated because it's so popular and because it comes into at least 4 different versions : you can play it on MAME (arcade emulator), you can play it on Playstation, on Sega Saturn, and you can play it on a PCB.

[[File:FEotJ_(5).png|frameless|center]]

There is one important point to consider before choosing which version you want to play : the PCB version is what the Japanese players have been competing on for all this time, so if you want to know how your score compares to theirs, you need a version that is really close to the PCB version. Lucky for you, DoDonPachi plays exactly the same on MAME as it plays on the PCB, provided you use the right version and setting of MAME (more about that later). Oh, maybe some people will manage to point out some extremely minor difference in display or sound, but nothing that deserves serious consideration : the game plays the same, it is just as hard and whatever score you make with a correct MAME version and a correct configuration is a score you achieved and can compare to any PCB score.

If your mind is still troubled because you can't help but think you're not playing the authentic, real thing, then go buy a PCB, but still practice with MAME, and use the PCB only to perform your high scoring runs.

Here are the benefits of using MAME :

<ul>
<li>You can use saved states (load instantly to practice a part many times)</li>
<li>You can easily record replays (awesome to watch and publish your runs)</li>
<li>You can easily play with a keyboard <(^_^o)~</li>
</ul>

The most important thing here is the saved states. A STG always requires a lot of memorization and DoDonPachi is no exception. In fact, being a danmaku, DoDonPachi will require much more memorization effort than most if not all old school memorizers. That kind of sucks because learning stuff by heart gets tedious really fast, but due to the very nature of those games, it is a required characteristic that you can hardly get rid of without making a boring, simplistic, or easy game.

Oh well, at least it'll be good practice for your memory.

Cave decided to further complicate the players' learning curve by making DoDonPachi overly long (a full run lasts about 45 minutes), with last stages that require very precise and very unobvious paths to both survive and score in, and first stages that seem extremely easy in comparison and that will bore you to death once you master them, yet have to play through them again and again when trying for a new record.

Saved states will allow you to learn at least 5 times faster by allowing you to skip those easy first stages, and isolating hard sections that need more attention. More on that later. For now, just remember it is a really crucial perk.

Being able to easily record replays is very nice. Replays are good for you to keep a nice record of your most beautiful runs, sometimes to analyze your mistakes, and also to show off your high scoring runs to other players. Releasing replays benefits the community for entertainment and educational purposes, and the community benefits you back by giving you credit and cheering for you, or giving you advice for improvement. There is nothing better for your motivation than receiving words of congratulations from other people, showing they care about what you're doing. If you were playing on a PCB, you'd have quite a hard time gathering the hardware necessary to recording videos of your runs and making it work. The end result would also be far less convenient to release and potentially of lower quality.

I haven't been talking about the console ports. Well, there is not much of a reason for you to use the console ports of DoDonPachi instead of MAME : they look and sound a little worse in general, they might play a little differently from the PCB (and MAME), they do have level select (I think) but no saved states (not quite as convenient but MUCH better than nothing), and they're still a pain in the ass to record a replay from. So if you can afford at least some old computer, don't bother.

By all means, avoid PCBs for practicing. They do not have either level select or saved states and are no good for learning. I cannot stress enough how important that is. I know the Japanese players who scored in the first Japanese rankings learned this way, but that's, indeed, only because they didn't have a choice. Believe me, if they could have used MAME, the MAME users would have come far on top of the others. PCBs are also very expensive. If you love PCBs, it's not a bad idea to play your final scoring runs on PCB though. Just find a way to set up recording equipment to record off the PCB.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

If after reading all this you're still not convinced you should practice using MAME, you are an asshole !

If you are not an asshole, here are some informations about which MAME you should be using : MAME Lagless 0.99 works flawlessly with DoDonPachi (both for saved states and recording replays), and performs the best with 0 lag (all other versions have one frame of lag).

You can find it on this topic : 
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=563842#p563842

There is one little problem with this version. You can easily cheat while recording a replay with the « frame advance » feature. I am still waiting for someone to release a lagless version that you can't easily cheat with. Because there are always a few cheaters that come around.

Anyway, here are the correct settings for MAME to properly get the game to be displayed correctly and run at the correct speed, you should probably check them : in the properties options of the rom, in the Display tab, check "Throttle", maybe also "Start maximized", and uncheck all the rest (you could check RTDSC timing system, not sure it makes a difference). Make sure Frame Skipping is set to "Draw every frame". In the Advanced tab, check Use DirectDraw, Switch resolutions to fit, Switch color depths to fit, and Stretch using hardware. Uncheck the rest. Make sure the ratio is equal to your screen ratio ! You can use Kreed's 2xSal as Image Enhancement for a nice rendering.

=== Picking a Controller ===

Stick, pad or... keyboard ?

You probably already know your weapon of choice but if you need some confirmation that it is a good choice then here it is : any of those input systems are perfectly fine for STGs.

Arcade sticks are what most people use due to arcade cabinets being equiped exclusively with that kind of input, but nothing makes them better than pads or keyboards at playing those games. The only downside to not playing with a stick is facing a handicap if you ever happen to go play in an actual arcade or at some convention or meeting with no pad or keyboard available.

Whichever controler you pick, remember that MrMonkeyMan has proved you can destroy a difficult Cave game with a crazy score using a pad and I proved you can do that using a keyboard. If you've been playing other competitive games with a pad or keyboard before, then you could stick with that input as you already are familiar and skilled at using it quickly and accurately. Just don't listen to the crowd of people who sing together how STGs are meant to be played with arcade sticks so arcade sticks have to be the best at it. They are wrong.

I personnally secretly believe keyboards are actually a superior input to arcade sticks. Oops, there I said it, it's not a secret anymore ! That's because they're much faster at changing directions, and they're also better at tapping one direction very shortly multiple times, which are very useful perks for STGs. Some people will point to you its easier and more intuitive to make circles with an arcade stick, but that's pretty much useless !! I might be wrong about keyboard being superior, I don't know shit about arcade sticks and I don't care. Keyboards rule anyway.

=== Picking a Ship ===

You should think a little bit before starting to memorize paths through levels with a certain ship. First try them all a bit and experiment to see what they look and feel like. Then try to grab superplays of each ship type to see what it's like to play well with them, what their style really is, maybe also check the difference in difficulty to play well with each (they aren't really supposed to be equally balanced).

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

I don't know other ship types so well myself (I only play A-L), so I can't really tell you which is a better choice, but here are a couple of things you should consider : I have already made a high scoring A-L occidental superplay and K.O. (japanese player) released a A-L 603M superplay before. People know A-L, they've seen it played really well, including by westerners, and you're not likely to surprise and captivate them as much with A-L as you would if you played another ship. I'm not saying you should not choose it, just take this into consideration.

Now B-L is quite similar to A-L in gameplay, yet different enough that you can look really cool if you score high with it. It can sure score high without much more trouble as K.O proved with his other video kindly hosted by superplay.co.uk.

C-S plays very differently from those two, and even though most people use this ship because it is easy to survive with without scoring, it is definitely interesting to use and no occidental scored over 149M with it, so if you could release some C-S replays scoring even higher, people would notice and I'd be among those who would watch and applaud.

I don't really know if A-S, B-S and C-L are much worse for scoring or not, so you go find out if you're interested in playing them. I've seen a A-S replay scoring 200M in first loop, which is optimal, so I guess this one works well.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

There is something important you want to take notice of when choosing your ship. Figuring out paths through levels by yourself might seem cool and fun at first, but it's not exactly the fastest way to success and it probably won't be fun forever. You will improve infinitely faster and your paths will be safer if you use a superplay video as a model. So if you really can't find a high scoring, non-fake superplay video with your ship type of choice, I advise you to switch to another. Ask people on the forums for superplay videos.

Finally, you might be attracted to the player 2 version of your ship type because you like its color or something. Color is great, but as you may or may not know playing as 2P also changes 3 things in gameplay :

<ul>
<li>You start on the right side of the screen. This is never a problem because you always have time to move where you want to be before the first enemies arrive, with the exception of stage 2-1 where you'll have to pull a slightly harder maneuver to begin the stage (no big deal).</li>
</ul>

 

<ul>
<li>The star bonus is cumulated instead of reseted at the end of each stage : every small star you collect are worth a bonus at the end of the stage if you haven't died, but with 2P, every time you finish a stage, you will get a bonus for each small star you have collected since the last time you missed, or since the beginning of your run if you have never missed. Example : You collect a star in stage 1 and don't die until stage 5. This star would give you a bonus only in stage 1 if you were 1P, but because you are 2P it also gives you a bonus at the end of the next stages. This is cool but rather minor : if you no miss the whole game until Hibachi (12 stages) and collect stars normally, this will earn you about 4 million additionnal points compared to what you'd have got with 1P. Absolutely important if you're going for a world record, not so much if you are not.</li>
</ul>

By the way, I hope you are not.

<ul>
<li>You cannot continue a chain after a laser-bomb when you are in MAXIMUM mode like you can with 1P. This is BAD and you're likely to waste much more points, due to not being able to do that, than you earned with the star bonus.</li>
</ul>

Unless you either are planning on doing a no miss no bomb of both loops up to Hibachi, or are really THAT attracted to the 2P ship's color, you do not want to use the 2P ship. It is likely to cause your final score to decrease by up to 20M.

[[File:FEotJ_(6).png|frameless|center]]

==II. Practicing==

===The Way Through===

The two main sources of points in DoDonPachi are chains and the maximum bonus. To get good chains, you need to memorize a precise path through each stage, and that will also benefit your maximum bonus because knowing a precise path through a stage gives you a good survival plan at the same time (without the need of using bombs).

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Let's look at exactly how much memorization is required to perform well here, to understand what your goal exactly is and the way you are going to play.

A danmaku puts the player in danger anywhere he is on the screen, by putting against him different enemies coming from different ways at different times and firing bullet patterns that vary in speed and shape, aimed or not aimed at the player, generally filling the whole screen pretty fast if nothing is done. The other element to note is that the game, run after run, always is quite the same. At one given time, this given enemy will come at you this way and fire this pattern.

This implies two things.

One : You have the possibility of finding one or several positions at any given time, that will be the least dangerous for your survival. If we go further by finding least dangerous positions at each point in time and how they can connect each other, it means we can find one or several sequences of actions that will make survival as easy as possible. Since scoring is your ultimate goal, you will actually be looking for a sequence of actions that will net you as many points as possible while putting you in the least possible danger.

Two : Because the game doesn't change from run to run, you have the possibility of making everything happen exactly the same from run to run, by executing the same sequence of actions every run. By doing this, you reduce the unpredictable to a minimum, and allow yourself, at each point in time, to put all of your focus on the one detail that you know is most dangerous for you at this moment. This is very important because you will perform a lot better by looking at one detail rather than scanning the whole screen all the time for stuff you're afraid might kill you later and that you need to be aware of. By knowing everything and doing the same thing every time, you have memorized everything and you don't even have to scan the screen to be aware of those helicopters coming at you, or of those bullets coming from the side. You haven't looked directly at them, but you know they're here and exactly where they are. Therefore, you can concentrate on doing your best at dodging the bullets that are already near your hitbox.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Your goal, then, is to find this sequence of actions through the game that you will repeat. In the rest of the document, I will refer to this sequence as the path, the route or the plan.

Having heard that, you will probably want to go find out for yourself how to deal with each part of the game now, inventing your own chaining path through stage 1, 2, 3...

You could actually do that if you want to, and I don't think it's a bad idea to play around for a while trying to find your own scoring paths through the first stages. But if you care about performing well, you should shorten this experiment. Because you will soon find out that viable scoring paths are very hard to discover. This, again, comes from the fact that the game wants to remain hard even when played the most secure way. Hard in that the bullet patterns are difficult to dodge, and hard in that the path itself takes great timing, movement and shot accuracy to execute. Discovering that complex path is not easy, and takes a lot of time through a trial and error process. In arcades, players watch each other play to see what the correct way through levels is. If one guy stays in his own corner and never watches the others, he'll just lag behind. And you don't want to lag behind, do you ?

<hr />
Some players, I have found, are against the use of replays, because they feel watching replays to learn from other people's work is similar to cheating. For those players, here is a little paragraph that I really hope will squeeze that bad idea out of your mind. Let me put it this way : do you think chess players learn to play by themselves, playing against themselves or against a few friends only, studying the game without outside help ? No, they study the game in books, get help from chess teachers, take inspiration from their opponents play, and from games that they spectate.

The same goes for pretty much anything you learn in your life. Teachers, books, communication, let you gain so much intelligence and knowledge that you could never have gotten by yourself. If you are isolated in nature from birth, you become a caveman and nothing more.

In the case of a STG, the final score that you obtain is a rating of your performance in the timespan of a single run. Outside of that final high scoring run, any means, and I mean ANY, are good to practice and learn. This is very important. Stop thinking of the game as something you have to overcome all by yourself – which is illusionary anyway since you will definitely watch other players or talk with other players at some points.

You should probably also realize that the best DoDonPachi scores use paths that have been worked on and refined during years of playing the game in arcades, with many great players watching each other. You will not discover those paths by yourself in 5 years. Not even close. So use those damn paths which are served to you in nice video format !!

<hr />
[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Not by yourself, then. You will learn from other players. How ?

I said earlier you should make sure that your ship of choice has superplay video reference. Grab as many videos as you can for your ship type, preferably scoring very high. They might be difficult to come by. I coudn't say how difficult, it was easy for me since I play A-L and K.O has released this really cool A-L video that scores 603M, pretty much showing you how to play the whole 2 loops, and is available on superplay.co.uk.

You are going to use those videos for inspiration. 
Did I just say inspiration ? Screw that ! Copy the hell out of them.

I really mean it when I say copy. Your goal is to get things in the game to happen exactly like in the video. If the video is legit (was not played with slowdown or other cheats) and scores really high, chances are everything you see in it is a golden path to scoring victory. And aren't you looking for a path to repeat and make happen exactly the same every time ? The paths in the videos are your future paths. Or well, almost, because you can still adapt and modify a bit.

===The Practice Mode===

I will present to you here the way I think you should be practicing for maximum efficiency. The Full Extent of the Jam, so to speak. You will find this jam revolves largely around the use of model videos, and of saved states to practice. Many players refuse to use saved states, or even refuse to recognize their benefit. The later has puzzled me countless times. If you use « my » way of practicing, I guarantee your results will improve at least four or five times faster than if you were not using saved states.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Since you first launched the game, chances are you have been playing runs, starting from the beginning and ending whenever your life count reached zero, or perhaps at the end of the first loop if you « continued ». You have now decided to score. The way you're going to be playing is going to change drastically. You now know you have to precisely memorize pretty much every second of the game, as you are going to play it, from start to finish. It's pretty much like learning to play a song.

==========> Music Analogy <==========

DoDonPachi is a song that's pretty easy to play in the beginning, and gets harder and harder. It's a song that lasts 45 bloody minutes. And the last few minutes are horribly hard to play.

When approaching this kind of work with mastery in mind, you may naturally try playing the song until you reach parts that seem way too hard for you. Then you will start over from the beginning until you reach them again. And again. And again. After a while, you will realize it's pretty stupid to play through the easy parts every time you want to try the first part that is hard for you, so you will start focusing on the hard parts. Bar by bar, you will decompose and study the song. The hardest bars will be the bars you study and practice the most.

=======> End of Music Analogy <=======

Decomposing the game and studying the hardest parts the most... This is when saved states come into play. Oh my, glad they're here, cause otherwise you'd be forced to practice so inefficiently, right ?

Right ! The poor Japanese players who played in arcades before DoDonPachi was playable on MAME had to practice this way. If they could have practiced differently, I'm sure they would have. But instead they were stuck with the most stupid practice routine ever, at the price of their time and money. And trust me, they would have reached those scores so much faster. Perhaps the world record would be a little higher, too (although the 749M one must be pretty damn close to perfection. I can't even imagine how big a chunk of that guy's life went into the game without saves. Nevertheless, he has my respect).

If you are practicing a different game than DoDonPachi, everything I'm saying here still applies, as long as you can practice at least with a console port that allows you to select which level you want to play. It is not as efficient, but it's quite all right.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

As a more modern player disposing of better tools, you will make good use of them. Start by making one save state at the beginning of stage 1. You could put it on the « 1 » key of your keyboard. You should also set up your key map for loading so you can very quickly load a save state while you are playing. My personal setup is loading on « space bar » and saving on « ctrl ».

Now let's go back to the superplay video. Play it and watch how the player deals with the first stage. After watching it once or twice, start watching it segment by segment, from the beginning, and memorize what's going on. You can try proceeding by chunks of 10 or 20 seconds. Hop back into the game and try doing the same thing that you've just seen and memorized. Some parts of the games are more lax than others, and will allow a little more room for « mistake », others will pretty much require you to be exactly at the same spot at the same moment as in the video.

For starters, see the order and timing at which the player kills the enemies. Shot or laser ? Where does he move and when ? As a result of his shooting and moving, how many enemy bullets appear and in which direction are they going ? If you copy precisely enough, everything can happen just the same, time after time, when you play.

It is all right to settle for something that isn't exactly the same as in the video, yet seems to work consistently for you, adapting things to your own playstyle. Just make sure none of your own ways are risky in some way and lead to death more often than they should, or score way less points.

To save time, make saved states anywhere you judge useful inside a level. I will leave it up to you to find out how to organize and use saves, but let me tell you this : my keyboard has one save state at the beginning of each level, 1 for stage 1, 2 for stage 2, … 9 for stage 2-3, and some more for stage 2-4, 2-5 and 2-6. And then, « Y » is that part of 1-6 before the large planes. « U » is 2-3's boss. « J » is the 2-2 midboss. « E » is right before a difficult section of 2-4. « N » is a particular pattern of 2-6 boss that I found difficult...

You guessed it, every single letter on my keyboard has a saved state on it. 
Use and overuse saved states to memorize and practice everything !

When your skill is not sufficient for execution, copying is damn hard. If you start trying to chain stage 1 right away with no prior STG experience, chances are you will struggle for a few days or more. But if you keep trying, your skills will improve so much faster than if you were just messing around randomly trying to one credit clear the game. You have gotten yourself on the road to becoming a great player. Stray from that road as little as you can to get better as fast as possible. If it's too hard now, it won't be too hard later. Your saved states allow you to repeat whatever section is hard for you as many times as it needs to be repeated until you get it right most of the time. Don't practice what you can do, practice what you can't do. If a hard section is preceded by 20 seconds of gameplay that you already kind of master, cut those 20 seconds out by saving after them and practice only the next seconds.

Don't be afraid to repeat a 10 or even 5 seconds detail many times in a row to get it down. That doesn't mean you should always work on 5 to 10 seconds segments, just vary the length depending on the needs. Sometimes work on a 5, 10 or 20 seconds detail, other times on a 40 seconds or 1 minute segment, and other times you should certainly try playing a whole level at once, many times, to check if you can do it right often enough.

Vary your work outs, and sometimes come back to things you already know and check how consistent you are at them. Improve your consistency. In the end, you will find it's important to be really consistent everywhere so that your runs don't consist of failure after failure in different parts.

Because dodging skills are a big part of danmaku games, practicing on bosses is a great way of increasing such skills. But even dealing with bosses requires method. Every pattern has one of two optimal ways to be dealt with.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Afraid it won't be fun ? You needn't worry about that. I actually found it a lot of fun to play this way, because I could get rid of every easy moment and focus on the more interesting - although exhausting ! - difficult moments. When I wanted to have some fun trying to dodge crazy patterns, I loaded up Hibachi and went for some crazy impossible action. Then I would hop back and practice this 1-5 chaining that I couldn't seem to get right yet, fought my way through in many sessions until I got it. You can vary your workouts by practicing different sections every day. The best DoDonPachi moments for me happened during savestate practice, dodging and chaining all over the place, in my favorite levels or bosses, while listening to amazing music. Great times indeed, and I will forever come back to it every few months for some more fun.

I hope you've followed and understood me on saved states and video use, because it's going to make a world of difference. If you don't use them, I am confident you will not put my record in danger before very, very long !

===Techniques===

This section covers several very useful concept and techniques.

Learning them techniques will help you understand and adapt the superplay videos that you are trying to copy, as well as deal with any unexpected situations. I even use them a lot when I play a new game that I haven't memorized. The bullet herding technique is very effective at dealing with many stages' patterns, even when performed at random places, and can help you one-creditclear games you have barely ever played.

Where to look while playing

When you are dodging a pattern, your look need to stay away from your ship's hitbox. You cannot be sufficiently aware of what is coming at you if you stare at your ship. Instead, you must be looking at objects that will be dangerous for your ship in the next few seconds. Most of the time, those objects are bullets in front of your ship. The art of navigating in danmaku bullet patterns consists of identifying paths or positions for your ship in real time, then follow them as accurately as possible.

You can look very shortly at your ship to check it's position, but you won't be looking at it much, and yet you need to know accurately where it is all the time. To develop this ability, you need good knowledge of your ship's hitbox position. Check a hitbox picture if the game you play doesn't clearly show you where it is. Then, after you have more experience playing with your ship, you will develop a great feeling of it's movement speed. Once you have great feeling of your ship's hitbox position and of it's movement speed, you will keep very good track of it's position while you play, even if you don't look at it for a few seconds while you navigate through patterns.

To get better, you must develop the ability to look further away from your ship, and be aware of a larger area of the screen at once. If you are unable to look further away and occasionally at a larger proportion of the screen while dodging, then you will not be able to identify safer positions or paths, and will also lose reaction time.

[[File:FEotJ_(7).png|frameless|center]]
Ever noticed the Laser Dragon ? Bad ass !

Technique 1: Lower Speed On Bottom Line

{| class=wikitable style="max-width:55em;"
|-
| [[File:FEotJ_(8).png|frameless]] || '''2-2 Boss Spread Pattern''' 
The bullets are emitted from a point at the top of the screen, so naturally their density is lower at the bottom. Many beginners will tend to stick to the bottom line of the screen to dodge this. It's not a terrible idea, if you're doing this, then you should know this cool little trick : when against the lower border of the screen, if you input a diagonal downward command, such as down + left, the lateral speed of your ship will be lower than if you pressed left alone. This means you can actually lower your ship speed as long as you stay against the bottom line !! This is very important, because the slower your speed, the higher your accuracy.
|}

Technique 2 : Changing Location

When you get a little better, you should identify spots where it would be interesting to move to because they are safer, that you cannot reach by staying against the bottom line, such as the « A » spot on the picture. It's good to check for areas that present less risk instead of just staying in place and trying to dodge whatever comes directly at you, even in a homogeneous pattern such as this. So try not looking only in front of you !

Technique 3 : Speed Trick

This is actually a generalization of the Bottom Line technique. Say some bullets are coming at you and you need to position yourself by moving lateraly, so that you are in between the trajectory of two bullets. If you are in the middle of the screen, you can still use the Bottom Line technique without being against the bottom line, by moving downward while adjusting your horizontal position with left or right ! This lowers your horizontal speed, hence your accuracy. It works in all directions : keep moving to the right and adjust your vertical position with up and down, if you need to accurately adjust your position between bullets that have a horizontal trajectory !

Technique 4 : With The Flow

As you get even better, there is a third technique that becomes important when dealing with many types of pattern. I will call it « moving with the flow ». Sometimes, you will find yourself in a situation where it seems difficult to find a way out of your current position. By positioning yourself a little higher than the bottom line, you can move with the flow for a second, waiting for the shapes and holes to become more favorable for you to get out. Let's illustrate this with a 2-5 example.

[[File:FEotJ_(9).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ_(10).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ_(11).png|frameless]]

1) Trapped inside a messy pattern, I can't immediately find a way through. 
2) I move back slightly and watch the bullet's trajectories. 
3) Some bullets have moved away while I was waiting, and I'm now moving backwards with the flow to gain more time and find a hole through the whole mess.

[[File:FEotJ (12).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (13).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (14).png|frameless]]

4) Still having a hard time finding that hole, I'm taken almost to the very bottom, moving with the flow. Bullets don't threaten me nearly as much because there are way fewer of them passing around me per second, since I'm moving in the same direction as they are. 
5) I can see a hole right in front of me ! 
6) Go go go ! I move forward through the hole, finally out of the pattern.

This sequence lasted about 3 seconds. Use this technique as often as possible when lost in between bullets. Move with their flow and when you find a way out, move against their flow to get through.

As you can see, you need space in the direction of the flow for this technique to work. So in a pattern such as the 2-2 boss blue spread (see Technique 1), try to keep some space behind you until you can't find a hole in front of you anymore, then move with the flow, in the direction of the bottom. Use the bottom line for a precise dodge, and regain some space behind you as soon as you can, by moving up a little inside the pattern.

You will find that moving with the flow is a great way to navigate through many patterns, even simple ones. While you are moving with the flow, bullets around you travel with you (though nearly always at a different speed). If there is a vertical wall of bullets to your side, moving down, and you want to go through it, you can move with the flow, in the same direction as the bullets that compose this wall (let's say they go down). Watch for a hole in the wall to your side while you move with the flow, and then move through that hole. Moving with the flow helps you visualize the holes because they move near you at slower speed (since you are moving in the same direction as them), so it makes the timing easier for you to see them and get inside. 

[[File:FEotJ (15).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (16).png|frameless]]

These techniques are easily applicable to all danmaku games !

Technique 5 : Bullet Herding

This is a very important technique that you use all the time when playing STGs. Let us use the 2-3 boss' sniper pattern to illustrate it.

The 2-3 boss' sniper is a simple high speed, linear, aimed shot. It lasts long enough that you will have to move a couple of times through the wall of bullets it creates. To approach this pattern with a smart technique and safety, you will be using the very universal bullet herding technique.

[[File:FEotJ (17).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (18).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (19).png|frameless]]

1) Because I want to hit the boss for as long as possible, and because I want to gain have to move through the wall of bullets as few times as possible, I stay in place and only move aside a little bit the moment a bullet comes directly at me, in close proximity. 
2) and 3) : I continue to move aside as slowly as possible.

[[File:FEotJ (20).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (21).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (22).png|frameless]]

4) I will soon not be able to hit the boss anymore. It's time to move through the wall. I will now execute a move to open a way for myself. 
5) and 6) I move up closer and closer to the point that emits the bullets.

[[File:FEotJ (23).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (24).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (25).png|frameless]]

7) and 8) When I judge I'm sufficiently close to the source of the bullets, I switch to shot for more speed, and make a large move to the far side of the screen away from the wall. 
9) As soon as I judge my move sufficiently ample, I move back to the bottom, away from the source of the bullets. However, I make sure to still say on the side of the screen, away from the wall.

[[File:FEotJ (26).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (27).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (28).png|frameless]]

10) The bullets, which have remained aimed at me all this time, will soon come to my position. 
11) We can see the move I have executed in the last few steps has created an arc in the bullet pattern. 
12) Each time the boss shoots, he fires one shot composed of two bullets going in the same direction with different speed. Clearly, this arc has created holes between shots. Without the arc, I would have had to dodge inside the wall, through alined high speed and slow speed bullets. Now, all I have to do is position myself at an angle where no shot is coming at all : in a « hole » between two shots.

[[File:FEotJ (29).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (30).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (31).png|frameless]]

13) I have decided which hole I'm going to go through. I switch to laser for less speed, which equals more accuracy. I'm also using the diagonal downward movement on the bottom line for even lower speed, and even higher accuracy. 
14) This is me coming out of the hole I had chosen in 13). Bullets have advanced and a large bullet-free zone awaits on the left side of the screen. 
15) I can now repeat the technique. First, by moving to the left as slowly as I can while hitting the boss.

Neat... how does it work ?

This technique can be divided into three parts.

First, you move as slowly as possible to the side until you decide it's time to move through the threatening mass of bullets. This lets you gain as much time as possible. This time is valuable for a few reasons : if the duration of the aimed threat is limited, moving as slowly as you can before you move through the bullets lets you move as few times as possible through those bullets. In the case of the 2-3 boss, it allows me to hit it as long as possible between each move too, dealing maximum damage to it over the course of the pattern. In many STG's levels, you will find that simply executing this slow move will allow you to eliminate the enemies that are shooting at you, and you won't even have to move through the mass of bullets at all !

Second, you move closer to the source of the bullets and then move far to the side as fast as possible. Why closer ? Because the point is to spread the bullets as much when you make the side move. If you are closer to the source, your angular speed in relation to that source is higher. So when you will move to the side, you will be performing a faster rotation around that source. The rotation speed determines how large the holes between the bullets fired will be. Technically, this means you should get as close as possible to the source before making that move. However, you will find that depending on circumstances, such as presence of other enemies, shape or speed of the bullet patterns shot, that it isn't safe to move that close to the enemy before the side move. Make your side move as fast as possible, by switching to higher speed, or even, when you can, by describing an arc of a circle around the source of the bullets.

Third, after your side move has been made and before the bullets reach your area, navigate through the bullet mass which has lost density. On this last step, you can use the downward movement and move with the flow techniques to help yourself navigate more safely. Be careful to get out of there before the next aimed bullets get to you !

Technique 6 : Bombing

With all those bombs given to you, you have to make good use of them. As you know, bombing will instantly rob you of the MAXIMUM bonus which is such a huge source of points in DoDonPachi, but bombing at the right moment is still a crucial skill to learn for after your first death, when risk is too great, or when you're fighting the true last boss.

So when should you bomb ?

Some players like to plan out where they will bomb in their runs to deal with parts they can't do yet. Preemptive bombing, so to speak. You can use this way of bombing if you like (I don't), to improve your consistency, but also develop the other way of bombing, the one that takes skill to execute : emergency.

Think of the bomb button, indeed, as an emergency button, that you must press when you feel danger is extremely high and you are one second away from death. Developing the ability to appreciate danger while dodging patterns comes naturally as you get better at dodging patterns, but you need to also learn to hit the bomb button at the appropriate time. If you bomb too early, it means you might not have had to bomb, because with a few additionnal seconds you might have been able to decypher a safe path for yourself. You can recognize that you bombed too late if bullets have grazed your hitbox without you predicting and following their movement before they did. The best time to bomb is indeed less than one second before dangerous bullets reach your ship's hitbox.

As you get better, you will keep missing with bombs in stock sometimes. A good way of missing with bombs in stock is failing a dodge that is too accurate for you : you fail at following a path through the bullets that you have seen. But a bad way of missing with bombs in stock, is to miss because you have failed to follow what was going on, got confused and forgot to bomb. In practice, always bomb if you don't have a path through the bullets in your mind for the next second. Make sure you develop the ability to do this.

<hr />
 
Try to recognize those techniques being used when you watch superplay videos. It will help you realize the various situations in which they can be used and the various ways they can be performed.

==III. Performing==

===Out of Practice Mode===

After a few dozens of hours put into Practice Mode, you are likely to realize you have improved enough to try for a significantly higher new score. Ideally, you want to do this as rarely as possible, because the time you spend trying to get this new high score is time you're not spending getting better faster in practice mode, increasing your potential future highest score.

But from time to time, it's a good idea to test yourself against the game itself, from beginning to end of a credit. It will allow you to check your consistency, and it will allow you to produce a few recordings to post on STG forums. Moving up ranks on online high score boards and receiving other players feedback will boost your confidence and motivation to keep going. If better players watch your replay, they can give you useful advice, by pointing out your own current qualities and flaws or explaining to you how to deal with something you struggle with, tell their experience, etc.

It's up to you to decide how often you want to try for a new high score, but I suggest, as a maximum, going out of practice mode no more often than every time you finish learning an entire new level, able to execute it rather consistently.

The question of interest to us now, is : when should we move back into Practice Mode ? Every time you move out of Practice Mode, you should have a rather precise goal in mind for your replay. It can be something like « I want the chain of 1-4 that I just learned in practice executed properly, without dying in stage 1, 2 and 3 before that ». You could add « chaining in stage 1, 2 and 3 must also be right ». Or « after the 1-4 chain is executed, I want to at least clear the first loop without losing all my lives ».

It could really be anything that you want, but one thing is very important. You have to estimate what your success rate at this particular challenge is going to be. If you reckon you fail to chain the stage 2 chain half the time, it will multiply by 2 the probably number of runs you will have to play before you get the stage 4 chain done with the added condition of chaining stage 2 in the same run. Add inability to chain stage 3 more than once out of 5 tries, and stage one failed 1 out of 6 tries, and you get your probable number of runs multiplied by 12 ! This is going to drive you crazy if you don't anticipate it and are too stubborn to give up. Make a reasonable guess, try playing thirty, fourty, fifty runs, and if you still haven't reached your goal, just keep the best run of the series and get back to Practicing.

To keep the progression steady, I suggest you spend no more than 20% of your time doing sets of runs for a new high score, and spend at least 80% practicing with your saved states. You cannot play DoDonPachi well if your hands are cold. Under 20 degrees celcius, your fingers are significantly less efficient without warm up, and even if you're playing with a stick that matters for your buttons timing. So if you feel your hands are a little cold, warm up before playing, for example by immersing your hands in hot water for a few minutes.

The one new thing you will experience that will feel different from practicing, is getting nervous when you pass a critical point and start seeing a new record coming. Sometimes, you'll get so nervous your hands might start shaking. I have had super crazy shakes from nervousness that totally screwed my play up. Breathing deeply when you start getting nervous helps a great deal, so remember to do that when it happens.

Something else linked to nervousness, is starting to think about « what ifs ». Especially when you see are performing well and a new record is in sight. What if I screw up at the boss ? What if I don't and make a huge score ? What are they going to say about it on the forum ? Chase those thoughts out of your mind as soon as they come, and concentrate on the game !! This is very important for you to perform as well as you can in that important run. To help yourself focus, you can try picturing your next few actions in your mind as you play. This will keep your mind busy thinking about what you are doing and prevent it to stray.

I think that nervousness will manifest itself less if you are well rested, well fed, and in a room with a comfortable temperature. I don't really know how to reduce nervousness in the long term, but I have found it got better and better with more experience. When you have failed a part a lot of times because of nervousness, gradually you get used to failing there and tention will be lower when you reach that part. Until you finally make it, then tention will suddenly become huge again. All that's left to do if you fail that again, is playing until it happens many times and tention becomes lower again for that next part...

[[File:FEotJ_(32).png|frameless|center]]
This can happen if you get way too nervous.

In your runs, especially after your first death for DoDonPachi, think of bombing !! Really, the ideal is to bomb as much as possible (never dying with bombs in stock), but also as little as possible (only in emergencies). So use your bombing skills and display great reflexes and risk management !

===The Final Showdown===

Be prepared to be seriously prosecutedt, for the time has come for you to make a major mark into the high score boards. This will be your ultimate performance, at a point when you reckon you have enough skill to pull off something outstanding enough to be worth trying hundreds of runs for. Maybe something you had never thought you would achieve when you started practicing.

What I'm calling « The Final Showdown » is indeed your final set of full runs, which you will start after a long period of practicing, with the intention to stop trying to improve your score after this performance, perhaps because you want to move on to a different game. Essentially, what you'll be doing is set yourself a goal that you feel will satisfy you for good, and set it as high as it can reasonably be for you to be able to achieve it, but barely able. This will result in your final score to be outstandingly high for your ability (corresponding to the best of your ability), while also greatly increasing the number of tries you will have to do before you reach that goal.

It does not make sense to start such a huge streak of full runs unless you really intend to stop trying to improve after that. Because if you still try to improve later, what was the point of spending so much time in full runs when you could have been in practice mode, increasing your skill way more efficiently ? If this is not your final mark, then just set a goal that you can achieve in less than 50 tries as usual and go for just that, then go back into practice mode.

Since this is a final set, instead of aiming for something you can probably achieve in under fifty tries, you will be aiming for something way more difficult, that you know you can do but will take the best of your ability to achieve. The odds have become difficult to calculate, as the number of factors to take into account has become too large, but it should seem to you less than 1000 tries should do the job. And make it a job you'll be proud of. It could be just a new record for your country. It could be reaching Hibachi with more than 300M, or even a 2-ALL ! It could be the new western record. And after that, you're pretty damn sure you'll stop trying for more.

By the way, I suggest you never set for a new world record. That's insane, the 749M record is nearly impossible to beat. I don't even know which hidden chaining tricks this guy discovered, and he must have executed all of them perfectly in one run before an exceptionnal performance against the true last boss. The amount of time one would have to spend to beat this, even with save state practice, is extremely huge.

You have been warned !

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

The final set of runs is an endeavor I've taken part in and it has burned me out overtime. I know what it is to hate the game, and to hate video games for a while because of it, but still keep inflicting yourself a few sessions of trying every single day to make sure you reach that goal before the next century. Oh don't worry, I've fully recovered and am regularly coming back for more DoDonPachi. I think of that time, which lasted several months, as a time where I fought my best with all my will against the game, without even coming out on top. I'm proud to have lasted that long and it's become a fun memory.

Be careful not to set your goal TOO high. Do not choose the best score that you have done in saved states as your goal. That score only represents your theory. If you are a musician, you probably know how your practice level never quite matches your theory level. Same applies to DDP ! As an example, I had taught myself enough theory to get a score of 696M, and had indeed achieved that score in saved states. Doesn't necessarily take that many tries if you can retry anything you screwed up. But oh boy is it different in practice. And I knew it, so instead, I set my goal at 500M.

Estimation will be harder, but estimate anyway. Does it seem likely you will achieve this goal in less than 1000 tries ? Can you do the hardest parts, that this goal requires done, consistently enough ? What about the easy parts, are you really consistent at them ? Spend as much time as possible carefully checking you really, really know what you're doing through all the parts that you've learned. You really don't want to rush and start full runs, because the smallest things that you haven't worked well enough in saved states will bother you tons in full runs, and will take a lot, lot longer to identify and correct in full runs. Simply playing all those runs before you realize what's wrong on some parts and that you should go back and work on them a bit in saved states will waste quite a bit of time.

But when the time comes and you're ready to start, set up your game station, and prepare yourself mentally.

This time, given the very huge number of tries that it might take before you reach the goal, you will want to make sure you play regularly enough to keep the number of tries per week going. You could pick a particular time to play two runs in a row every day. Or maybe 2 times to play two runs every day. Or anything else that suits you.

If you're not living alone, explain to the people who live with you that you cannot talk while recording a DoDonPachi run. If you don't do that, people will talk to you and you will mess up because of them, increasing your frustration which really needs to be softened instead. Remember to lock the cat or dog away. My cat did own my ship quite a few times. You might also want to exceptionnaly set up a screen in TATE (on its side, for a bigger view of the game), for additionnal comfort. This won't make a real difference in performance, unless you were playing on a really small or low quality screen, but it's just generally more enjoyable and will help prevent losing the will to play, a little.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

At some point, you will likely get mad at the game, and trying won't really be fun at all anymore. If you're going to be one of the best, that's when you must not stop. Stick to a minimum playing schedule and never stop playing for more than a few days. Discipline is key.

DoDonPachi will barely ever reward you with a better score. As you have probably noticed, the smallest mistake is severely punished and leaves a nice hole into your score. But the one day you perform perfectly instead of almost perfectly, you will get a lot of points. This means as you play your runs, you will not necessarily see your score improve a lot, even though you will probably be improving quite significantly !

This is why, to help yourself keep going, I advise you, as soon as you start doing your final runs, to create a little text file in which you shortly document each run that you play. You could number the replay files of each run ascendingly, and in the text file write down in which stage you died first, and what kind of mistake you did. If you want, you could even write a very short commentary, or thoughts about the run.

Every fifty runs or so, look back at the set of fifty runs that you have just finished, and make statistics. In how many runs did you pass the first loop without dying ? What about without dying nor bombing ? In how many runs, after clearing that loop properly, did you also clear stage 2-1 and 2-2 without dying / bombing ? In how many runs did you die at this really critical part that you can't seem to get that consistent at ? Looking at these statistics is good for you to keep track of how feasible your goal really is, and also to keep track of your progress, which is not represented by your best score. As you play more sets of fifty runs, you should find those statistics will slowly improve, and it will help you keep motivation despite the infinitely repeated failures.

If some of the statistics don't seem to improve at all, ask yourself whether it wouldn't be a good idea to go back into practice mode for a short while to get things straight.

Do not be afraid to do that, even if only to refresh your memory.

You will notice it's very difficult not to get distracted while playing. I died countless times because I was just thinking of something completely unrelated to the game and not paying enough attention. That's because if you have practiced well, you have gotten so good at performing that you can perform without even paying attention or thinking about it. That's all what learning through repetition is about. You don't need to think about pedalling when you ride a bike. You're not thinking of walking when you walk. Or breathing when you breathe. That's how good you got at playing.

When distracted, stuff as stupid as forgetting to move out of a bullet's way may happen. You become able to die to any incredibly easy stuff.

The terrible thing about distraction is that you often won't even realize that you are distracted. You will notice that you were distracted when you're thinking « hey, I can't remember precisely what happened during the last 2 minutes. ».

Listening to your own music probably won't help, as the game's sounds are pretty good at preventing your mind from slipping away from it. Then again, that is not worth inflicting the game's music to your ears for hundreds of hours, in my opinion. Instead, put on your own awesome music, and try disciplining yourself to stay focused, again by trying to picture your next few actions in your mind as you play, to keep it busy and focused on the game. It's quite hard, but if you are careful and pay attention to your bad habits, you should do okay, and will get better at staying focused overtime. Avoid playing when sick, depressed, or when you're too physically tired. All these will really hamper your performance, and performing badly will put you in a worse mood and you will be less inclined to play again.

[[File:FEotJ_(33).png|frameless|center]]
okay... ONE MORE

==IV. A Shmup Story==

Well, after all this time spent playing the game, the difficulties, the successes, after all the meeting with other players, the special events, the drama, I feel that STGs have been quite a wonderful little adventure in my life. You'd think a single player game genre, such as it is, would remain mere personal entertainment. But it really took me to places and made me experience things I never expected it would.

I want to write the story of that little adventure, because I want to remember it, and because some people may find it interesting, as it shows an example of progression and results using the techniques I have been talking about in this guide. I think people who are very new to shmups should read it, because they usually have no idea how seriously those games can be taken, and what they can mean in your life. I was captivated when I read the diary of Bernard Doria where he related his many many thoughts and frustrations with DoDonPachi, as well as meeting other players. I thought « oh wow ! This is how hard scoring is. This is how serious it can get. STGs are not just casual games after all.».

Little did I know I was in for quite something myself.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

It didn't take me too long, after I discovered I was attracted to STGs, to find out about DoDonPachi and the few other Cave games which were playable on MAME. It's easy to feel how their games are designed to develop the competitive side of the genre, instead of the artistic side. Competitive games had always been my thing. I knew the special feeling of a well executed strategy in Starcraft, or of a move that outsmarts your opponent ending with a beautiful shot in Quake III Arena. I was 15 or 16 years old in 2003, between middle and high school, when I started playing this good old DoDonPachi.

In 2006, I realized I had a shot to be among the better western players when I finally managed to clear EspRaDe on one credit. Surprised to find my score boosted by a generous end of game bonus, this actually placed me among the first five ranks of the high score boards of the shmups.com forum. This day the dream to achieve more notable feats was born in a corner of my mind. DoDonPachi was my favorite, so naturally I started working on it more seriously. Instead of just trying to survive and finish the game hoping for my score to go up just like that, it was now time to consider learning what those chains were all about. I started making up my own chaining paths for stage 1, which was done in a day, and then for stage 2, which took months.

By the time the Guwange Tournament of Arcade Extreme came around in March 2007, I had learned to chain stage 1, 2, 3, and almost 4, all by myself. My best score was 72 millions, still far from the best western players, with a player named « BR1 » sitting at the top with 149 millions.

The tournament was a really nice opportunity to test my skills against other players, and to dive a little deeper into this really sweet game that Guwange seemed to be. What's more, there was actually some money as cash prizes for the best players : 20€ for the first of the lower tier players, 100€ for the first of the top tier players. Because all I had to boast was my mediocre DoDonPachi and EspRaDe scores, I was placed in lower tier. The tournament had something like 20 players in it, and I recognized the names of some well known players. One of them was the occidental record holder for Guwange.

The rules were pretty simple. We had two months to practice and score as high as possible, with two or three checkpoints where we were invited to show our current progress. I proceeded to study the game with saves like I was now used to, making up my own paths. The skills acquired in DoDonPachi proved really useful to perform in Guwange, and I learned its six levels much faster than I learned DoDonPachi's first four.

Over the course of the two months, I had made enormous progress, but I was convinced that the players who started as well as I did in the first checkpoint might have been hiding their own scores and might still come up with something as good or better than me. The occidental record holder was at 23 millions, some other players seemed to have approached 20 millions... but that was only what they had released, and perhaps like me they were hiding their progress. I kept working at a good pace, and after I had netted myself a nice theoretical score in my practice time, I started making real runs.

I can't remember how many tries it was before I finally reached the final boss without having screwed up anything before him. The last pattern is an hypnotizing spiral kind of thing, fast paced, quite complex and difficult to deal with. I had worked a few hours on dodging this pattern only, in practice. All my resources and focus converged on the dodging of that pattern. I did a beautiful job at it, better than my usual. It really was the one run. It took all of my ability, but I could see the solution through the bullets. Wave after wave of fast spirals were going to decide of my final score, and I my mind could only shortly rest between each of them.

The second I saw the boss was defeated, I stood up in joy. 
I had done it !

My face against the window, turning my back to the computer, I was in disbelief. My score, as it was revealed to me after the end credit, including the end game bonuses, was 49,8 millions.

This was such a good moment that I still remember it so precisely today.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

I could finally rest and stop playing. Within those two months, I had played 100 hours of Guwange, with the last 2 weeks being pretty intense as I often played more than 3 hours a day.

The day of the deadline, I watched slightly nervously as other players posted their scores. No one seemed to be posting really high scores yet. A little too paranoid, I decided to wait until the last few hours. If someone had scored 48M and I posted my score early in the day, they could still try again until night and miraculously beat me !

As soon as my score was posted, I received my first genuine congratulations from the other players, who were all very surprised to see such a high score come out of nowhere. It really felt like I had achieved something special, and getting recognition for it was such a nice reward after all the effort. The page still rests in a locked state on the Arcade Extreme forum, and I admit I came back a few times to look at it.

I had also earned myself 120€ by placing 1st of both low and top tier, first time I earned money by playing video games !

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

This sweet victory gave me more thirst to perform outstandingly in DoDonPachi, which remained my favorite game. It was obvious I had to stop trying to invent my own chaining paths, a process that was very time consuming in that game, much more so than Guwange, and I started to practice learning to chain stage 4, 5 and 6 thanks to the A-L video released by a Japanese player named K.O.

In summer 2007, I decided to go to the London Meet, where a few of the Italian guys from Arcade Extreme, who own the site and had organized the tournament, were going. One of them was BR1, the DoDonPachi occidental record holder at the time. I knew there was a DoDonPachi cabinet in the arcade that would host the meet, so I practiced for this occasion and reached the point where I knew I should be able to beat BR1's score in a bunch of tries. He had apparently stopped playing since quite a while, and I hoped to revive his interest in the game by showing him he had a new challenger. Two of my friends came along for the trip, and we boarded an Eurostar train. We stayed 6 days in a youth hostel in Piccadilly Circus.

Meeting other players was awesome. The little arcade where we met had Ketsui, Mushihimesama, Dodonpachi and Progear. I could discover some of the more recent games that I couldn't play on MAME. I met DEL, MHK and Mills, players from London, Ayanami from USA who was visiting family, LUN, BR1 and JCK, very cool guys from Italy.

Unfortunately, since I was used to playing STGs only with a keyboard on my computer, I couldn't succeed in approaching BR1's score on the arcade's DoDonPachi cabinet. Anyway, we went to the arcade together each day, and also went to some restaurants or visited the city together. Mills made a demonstration of Strikers for us and 2-ALL'd it at the Trocadero Arcade. LUN displayed some Mushihimesama Ultra Mode power. JCK beat the Italian record at Progear. Everyone was a little older than me but it was awesome hanging out and talking about our common crazy interest.

I left London thinking I'd love to see them again. As soon as I came back home, I tried playing full runs on my MAME keyboard setup and beat BR1's score in a few hours as I expected I could. I was now the new occidental record holder, with 172 millions, running into second loop.

Some time next winter, the Italian guys I had met in London invited me to one of their own shmup meet at NEV's house, the former Guwange record holder, in Milan. That was my second STG meeting, and it was absolutely awesome. I arrived in the huge train station of Milano where two Italian guys I had never met before were waiting for me with a large piece of paper where they had printed « ProMeTheus112 ». One of them was NEV, the other PowerFuran. I met many cool people there, and we spent the week end playing all Cave games. I was actually the only foreigner in the meeting, so I was lost in the middle of Italian conversations, which was actually a lot of fun. Once again, I left hoping to see all these cool people again. And hoping to see more of Milan next time, because I had barely seen anything other than the train station and NEV's place !

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A few months after the Guwange tournament, my scores had gone up to 215M, then 260M, then 314M. I was playing a lot more than before, and a lot better. Every new score was received with many congratulations that always felt really good to read. I had become known as the guy who was dominating DoDonPachi playing with a keyboard. I was also having a lot of fun. Playing whatever part of the game you like with your saves, while letting your mind flow with the music you're listening to, feels great. The better you get, the more fun it is to play, as playing becomes gradually more complex and you become able to overcome more and more demanding challenges. This is why I think I'll probably never completely stop playing. I'll always be compelled to come back for some more great action.

I finally reached this point in practice where I realized clearing both loops and the last boss should be possible with a little more practice. To a serious DoDonPachi player, that's definitely a huge achievement that you dream of reaching. If you can do it, you have achieved a certain degree of mastery. But it always seems impossible. This damn last boss is so hard you need to keep as many of your lives as possible to have a chance to beat it. And what comes before the boss is pretty damn hard already. However, for the first time, I felt it was possible.

After some more dozens of hours of practice, I was ready. My playtime clocked around 450 hours. My goal was to 2-ALL the game, and score over 500 millions. I had memorized the whole thing. Some parts I still found extremely hard and could only pass a fifth of the time. But that was the chance I was ready to take. I set for my new record, however many tries it would take.

It was March 2008.

The first few days I played more than 10 runs a day. I was really going to do my best. Even when I really didn't feel like playing anymore, I disciplined myself to. I then came into a phase where I played three, or four runs a day. Some days I didn't play. But I was keeping the flow steady.

The first 2-ALLs happened very soon, and naturally felt really good, although not surprising.

I recorded and kept all of the replays, and I made a little text document to keep track of what happened in every run. Reading through it again today, I can remember my frustrations, my hopes, my excitement.

« run number 102 : unhealthy miss at 1-4 boss. 
It's amazing what you can fuck up when you're not focused. »

« run number 115 : miss at ship selection screen : chose A-S instead of A-L »

« run number 279 : 488M new record, almost almost almost >.< incredibly close again. ».

If you want to take a look at it, I made it available for download online, text entries and replays. You can find the archive at : http://www.mediafire.com/?p86ap92lbe6lg9u

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

« run number 380 : 1-5. 15 sucky runs in a row, that's depressing. If this goes on for a little longer I guess I'll just stop playing this stupid game. »

And indeed, shortly after, at run number 391, I gave up. Four months of playing had burned me out, and I left my 488 millions score as my best. I was angry at the game for being so unfair in its scoring system, and for being so demanding when it comes to having to play the first loop every run. If you die once in the first loop, your score is finished, and my consistency at clearing the first loop never went past 40%. Pretty good already, but not enough when you need to try the second loop more than a hundred times to succeed. I came very, very close to success many times.

I started going to French meetings, which I hadn't done before, and met another bunch of great people. There is this one special character, whose name is Wovou, who didn't want to accept the reality of arcade being dead in our country. He decided to take law and economy classes, amassed as much money as he could through years, and bought a huge load of arcade equipment as well as a really well placed commercial space in one of the main streets of Toulouse. He launched a superb game center, Japanese-style as he calls it, with a lot of modern musical, fighting and racing games. Beatmania, Guitar Freaks, Dance Dance Revolution, and also a Dodonpachi DaiFukkatsu cab !

It's a big and really well presented place where he hosted an opening party for players who hang out on the French arcade forums, and an anniversary the year after that, and another on the next. It was really great going there every time. The place is running well, and has enough regular players to make Wovou some money and let him buy some new games for his arcade center from time to time. Japan Expo and Epitanime in Paris, Stunfest in Rennes, the Wovou events in Toulouse were all occasions to meet players or see the already known ones again. Those guys certainly don't mind crossing the whole country for a chance to gather up. In Rennes, we had a little Guwange competition, and the organizers had kindly prepared medals with the name of the game printed on them. I barely came on top of Erhune, again having to play with an arcade stick. At the end of the event, we were invited to step on a little stage to receive our prizes in front of a small group of applauding people. That doesn't happen often in your shmup player life, and I was grateful.

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In February 2009, after months of not playing, I decided to try again. I was surprised to beat my old score, and to reach my 505 millions score, in less than 50 tries. As with the Guwange run, this run ended on quite a beautiful fight with the true last boss.

A very lucky opportunity came to me some time after that. We have a pretty underground TV channel in France that's called « NoLifeTV », broadcasting stuff related to video games and Japanese-culture in general. It's definitely aimed at geeks, but because geeky people are more and more numerous, it's been running pretty well, without advertisement I believe. One of the show they're running is named « Superplay », and consists in an interview of a « superplayer », commentating a video of his own best accomplishment. The host of that little show came to me at a French meeting in Japan Expo, and asked if I'd like to come shoot a commentary of my DoDonPachi performance. Naturally, I had to enthusiastically accept.

So we scheduled a meeting in Paris and I came into NoLifeTV's studios, near Place de la République. They have a nice little place there, you can feel the passion about all things video games and Japan in their studios. I was received by Radigo, the show's host, and we first talked and prepared the shooting. He is a STG player himself, so he was very interested to hear about what it was to play DoDonPachi at this level. I came back another day, we sat at a table in front of a laptop computer that ran the video of my run. Behind us, a blue screen covered the whole background, to help replace it with whatever they wanted to put there in the montage. The commentary went very well, all was fluid, and I came out of the place happy to have had this experience, and impatient to see the resulting broadcast.

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I had to wait quite a few months before the montage was finished and the channel was ready to broadcast this episode of the superplay emission. But in March 2010, there it was. For this occasion, we sat at a table with a few friends and some beers, and watched the show. Two of my friends watching with us were girls not into games at all, and they watched the whole thing !

I was very pleasantly surprised with the result. The montage was more pro than I expected, and great attention was paid to presentation. Behind us, the blue screen left its place to the ship selection screen, and the way each of us was seated in front of it, it looked like I was Player 1 and Radigo Player 2. Haha. It was indeed fun to watch. I was happy to have helped produce this nice video to show the world that STGs could be fun, impressive and interesting all at the same time. You can find a short extract of it at :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtVcEYXh97s

The show also got more audience than I expected. A few of my friends told me some of their own friends had talked about it, without having heard of me before. My mother watched it, naturally, and the husband of one of her friends was surprised to learn I was the « ProMeTheus » of shmups.com and watched it with his wife ! Some guys in my year at the Architecture school found out about it and like to show it around to people who know me. Now some people at school call me « ProM ».

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At the end of this little adventure, I admit to be proud and satisfied of what I've accomplished. It was an ordeal at times, but it was worth it. I heard some gamers say that gaming brought mostly negative influence in their overall life. I don't know how they reached that terrible conclusion. I think gaming is a very rewarding activity, as long as you don't forget to experience and develop other great aspects of life. It can teach your mind tons of things, such as advanced logic, quick thinking, anticipation, reflexes, focus, memory, timing... the list is long, and depends on the game you play and how well you play it. Gaming is generally a great source of fun. And it's a great excuse to travel and meet interesting people.

I am very grateful to every single person who cheered for me, sent me words of congratulations. I don't think I would have come this far without them. Some rounds of applause after a successful run at a meeting always felt really good, you can't help but make a big smile when it happens !

My experience of STGs wasn't even very time-consuming. My total DoDonPachi playtime might be 700 hours now. That's quite a bit, but when you know many World of Warcraft players have more than 2500 hours of play time, it's not that shocking anymore. In fact, I have definitely played a lot more than 700 hours of Starcraft. And all this gaming didn't prevent me from travelling, partying, falling in love, studying, developping film and music culture, learning to do other things... If anything, it has helped shape me.

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Right in the middle of writing this guide, in November 2010, I beat my score again. My record is now 547M. I felt a big rush of relief and satisfaction at the end of this very tense, beautiful run. Yet, I don't think this is it. I am already thinking of my next possible significant improvement in this game. It seems I'm just never going to stop playing.

[[File:FEotJ_(34).png|frameless]]

I wish you the best of luck.

Whatever it is you want to achieve, all you have to do is believe in yourself and work hard enough. Do not listen to people talking about talent and geniuses. No one has a special talent to play games. It all just takes a lot of practice, and many different enjoyable things will come as rewards.

I have no idea what your future experience of competitive gaming will be, just as I had no idea it would become so big for me. But whatever your experience comes to be, as long as don't stop taking good care of yourself outside of gaming, I'm sure it'll be positive.

Because being a competitive gamer is cool !

 
Dimitri « ProMeTheus » Aupetit

[[Category:General Guides]]

Full Extent of the Jam

2023-05-02T14:07:11Z

Trilkin:

Full Extent of the Jam

2023-05-02T14:03:21Z

Trilkin: One chapter left.

This space is for the as-titled guide by PROMETHEUS, originally posted in [https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34497 this thread] over at System11. This is a very comprehensive and at least historically well-regarded guide to approaching and improving at shmups with a focus on danmaku shmups. The guide was written with DoDonPachi as the primary point of reference, but the information is largely applicable across the genre. Formatting for the wiki has begun for posterity and preservation. Care will be taken in making sure the majority of the original formatting is preserved and the text will otherwise by directly copied and pasted.

A few notes before reading this guide in any of its forms:

* It is over 10 years old now. A lot of the information, particularly in regard to emulation and ports, is no longer accurate.
* There is some occasionally rough language and the less occasionally roughly presented opinions. I've taken it as simply part of his sense of humor and it will not be censored for preservation's sake.
* English is not the author's first language, but the title of the document and some other funky grammar/spelling are digs at Cave's notoriously silly early copyright warning translations.

All of that said, a lot of the actually important information, especially regarding efficient practice, how to approach a game, and specific play techniques and managing common patterns is still very relevant, with a good amount of helpful visual examples. It's also something of a historical document and was once a commonly recommended piece to read for improving one's game.

The original thread is still up at the forum link above and the guide itself is still available in that post, or more conveniently, [https://goo.gl/Fi2zE here].
<hr />

The Full Extent 
of The Jam

<hr />
A guide to playing Shooting Games competitively

[[File:FEotJ_(1).png|frameless|center]]

Written by Dimitri « ProMeTheus » Aupetit 
28/11/2010 
 

== The Full Extent of... What ?? ==

This guide covers practicing and performing techniques, with scoring high as a goal, in Shooting Games (STG), also called shmups.

The supposed reader is a player of any skill level that intends to get into scoring, or get better at scoring.

One thing I would like to stress is how much more fun STGs become when you play them for score instead of survival. I absolutely love scoring ! Getting better and learning how to score means playing in a much, much more complex way. You will be playing with a plan in mind. Scoring opportunities will have to be balanced depending on how much risk they represent. You will have to develop understanding of how to navigate those seemingly unpassable bullet patterns. You will be using your brain at a much higher rate during play. And what you achieve will be recognized by other people.

Does it sound like work to you ? It certainly isn't relaxing. But I don't think relaxing is the best way of having fun. I always have a lot more fun when I play for score, not only because scoring high is generally satisfying, but because I think using the best of your ability to execute very precise moves and dodge mind bending patterns is simply exhilarating !

In that sense, scoring is, indeed, much more fun than mere survival, where you just go about with a vague plan and use bombs whenever you're in a difficult situation, in order to just reach the end of the game. Hopefully, this document will help new players realize the fun potential found in scoring in Shooting Games, and help them get good at that. If you are just looking to 1CC some games, though, the advice in this document will definitely help you. You will just adapt and use it to a different end.

Because I am first and foremost experienced with the game titled « DoDonPachi », I will use it as an example throughout the document. Every example from DoDonPachi is useful to illustrate how to deal with the same situation in another game. For example, how to choose your ship ? Your controller ? How to memorize the game ? How to dodge certain pattern types ?

I will not be explaining DoDonPachi's chaining system or the way it generally works. If you need that information, I suggest you check Bernard Doria's site (DoDonPachi @ Bee Preying) where I learned most of the game's rules. (Ed: The original site is missing most of its content, although it can be found on Archive.org. Alternatively, the [[DoDonPachi]] page on this wiki is also a good wealth of information!)

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I, the writer, am Dimitri Aupetit, known online as ProMeTheus, and hold the occidental record in DoDonPachi, approaching some of the better Japanese scores. I have studied this particular STG extensively, and also performed well in a few others. I decided to write this guide to help people get better by sharing my experience. I have noticed many players go the wrong way about practicing STGs, and give bad advice to newcomers looking for methods to approach scoring at their game.

I have proven to myself that my practicing methods are extremely efficient compared to how most others proceed, notably when I took part in the Arcade Extreme tournament a few years back, on the Cave game Guwange. This tournament had a bunch of well known good players in it, with me being unknown at the time, and the winner was to receive a prize of 100 euros, encouraging players to do their best. The occidental record holder of the time was in the tournament. We basically had 2 months to practice and submit our best score with a MAME replay. I totalled 100 hours in those 2 months, using my practicing methods to the best of my ability, without wasting any time. The former occidental record holder increased his score from 21 million (21M) to 23M, while most of the other good players reached scores around 20M. To my own surprise, I came out far on top with a score of 49,8M, with virtually no 
prior experience of that game.

I don't think I have a special talent to play STG (no one does), but I think many people could use some piece of advice about practicing from me ! So here is my nice big piece of advice.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

If you read and follow the advice I present to you here, and have enough willpower and motivation to score as high as you can, I'm pretty sure you should be able to approach or even beat my scores by playing just as much as I have, or less.

I started from complete beginner level, and within 600 hours of playtime (including time spent in practice with saved states and in full runs), I've reached a score of 547M in DoDonPachi, clearing both loops and the true last boss with 2 spare lives. That's a pretty good score considering the world record is 749M, and from what I've been told there really isn't a lot of Japanese players who ever scored over 500M, although I'm not entirely sure how many.

You might get there a little faster or slower depending on your previous experiences and capacities.

But whoever you are, if you want it, I think you can do it. I really do.

Even for people who won't set their goals this high, this document should be of great help to improve their understanding of STG practicing and performing. Unless you have already made your way as far as I have into this matter, I'm sure it'll help you get good much faster.

This document is not particularly intended to be fully read from first to last page. Depending on your previous experience, you will probably want to skip some parts, or read the chapters in a different order. Don't worry about it and go ahead !

[[File:FEotJ_(4).png|frameless|center]]

And now, let's see how we can get those Shooting Games 
totally prosecutedt
== Getting Started ==
=== Picking a Game ===

So you like STGs and you think you want to achieve a high score in some game ? You are probably aware that this means spending a hell of a lot of time on that one game you're going to choose, therefore the choice may not be that easy.

DoDonPachi's likely to be your favorite if you haven't bothered to buy console ports or PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) yet. It is certainly, indeed, the hardest and deepest danmaku available on MAME, and one of the most emblematic game Cave has ever made. It redefines the danmaku genre by pushing beyond Donpachi's limits. For the sake of picking an example, we will now pretend that you are considering DoDonPachi as your game of choice for scoring.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

As you probably know, Cave has been making a lot of other STGs after DoDonPachi. One of them, Guwange, is playable on MAME. A couple of others are rather easily accessible as ports, mostly on Japanese Playstation 2 or Xbox360 : DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou which is essentially DoDonPachi 2, Mushihimesama, Ibara, Espgaluda, Mushihimesama Futari, Death Smiles, Ketsui... Not to mention some other awesome games by Treasure and other companies if you happen to be into them.

How does DoDonPachi compare to all those great games ?

First of all, you should realize DoDonPachi is primarily a manic (or danmaku) game : it mainly involves skills related to reading and dodging tight bullet patterns. You could also say it's partly methodical, because its chaining system will require you to make some very precise moves with excellent timing, not related to dodging a pattern. If methodical gameplay is what you prefer, DoDonPachi might not be the right choice as there are games offering more variety and depth for that kind of gameplay, while lacking the danmaku depth of DoDonPachi, such as Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun. If however you have decided danmaku skills is what you are most interested in, you are looking at the right games when considering Cave's productions, and will be fine ignoring others (although some Doujins might qualify as quality danmaku games as well).

Now is when DoDonPachi is in a tough spot. Many of the games Cave have been producing over the last few years have been improving on DoDonPachi in various ways. Some are targeted to a different audience or feature clearly different gameplay like EspGaluda or Ibara, but the others are extremely similar in both the audience they are targetting and the gameplay they feature. DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou, for example, is basically harder, better, faster, stronger. This might sound bad if you're not a good player yet, or if you're not into electronic music, but as you get better you will learn to appreciate that smart difficulty delivers great fun. Ketsui kinda gets rid of the too unforgiving, generally unfair scoring systems of DoDonPachi games, offering a more linear score progression and less punishment for a mistake. The Mushihimesama games banned the stupid loops and replaced them with cool difficulty modes instead that make the game last a little shorter than 2 loops of DoDonPachi, with interesting, difficult action starting from the first stage. Newer games also feature better graphics and sound, which do matter when you're going to spend hours on a game, as they will make your practicing 
sessions much more pleasurable

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Not much of a reason left to play DoDonPachi is there ?

You're right, there's little left -_-

But there's still a few important ones why DoDonPachi is not such a bad choice at all.

One : you can play it on MAME. Read the next section ("Which DoDonPachi ?") to know more about why I think you should consider this a major advantage. Half of what MAME does for you ports can do also, but you really want to avoid practicing on PCBs if you care for your time (and your money). At the time of writing, only DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou is a more recent, potentially better game that is also available on emulation with save possibility (through PSX Playground or something), although not on its improved « Black Label » version. By any means, choose a game that at least has a console port with level select.

Two : to this day, DoDonPachi remains one of the few most popular STGs around, because many people won't bother buying a Japanese console to play the ports. This means when you play DoDonPachi, you will have more people around you (well... online at least) competing, giving advice and cheering for your progress.

Three : even though many of the newer games are better, DoDonPachi is not so vastly inferior. And if you get good at it, it will be easy to get good at other games later ! 
So now you know about the other games and have potentially considered your other choices. In any case, here is a set of skills that practicing DoDonPachi (or any other danmaku) will teach you, according to me :

<ul>
<li>Great coordination between hand and eyes</li>
<li>Great ability to accurately anticipate movements</li>
<li>Great accuracy of timings</li>
<li>Great Reflexes</li>
<li>Outstanding Memory</li>
<li>Nervousness control</li>
<li>Mastery of execution with your controller of choice</li>
<li>Increased ability to focus</li>
</ul>

Nice little set, uh ?

I'm pretty confident about this list. There might be quite a few other less important skills that come into play, but the big ones are here and I'm quite certain that getting better at the game significantly improves those skills. Of course, nobody plays STGs for that sole purpose. Although most of them can be smoothly transfered to other game genres, quite a few of them are only very remotely useful for anything else in life.

Nevertheless, I believe they are a really nice bonus and have the power to improve you as a person in many ways (as long as you also develop other extremely important skills in other life activities ! For example, socializing is a great way of improving your confidence, which is an extremely crucial skill ! Prove people who think gamers are all nerdy and boring they're wrong, by showing yourself as a counter example ;)). Working out those skills is a great source of fun and pleasure. Can you imagine what it feels like dodging crazy Hibachi patterns using all of them at the same time ?

The thing that's great about skills is that they don't really ever go away. What you learn through repetition sticks, just like you never forgot to ride a bike even if you never rode one for years. This applies to DoDonPachi. Not only are my skills intact whenever I come back after 6 months of not playing, but I can't seem to even forget anything of the 45 minutes of precise action sequences I've memorized. This is because I've repeated them enough times for them to have entered long term memory. Sure, some little details may have faded a bit and your skills just might get a little rusty. But don't worry, as they always come back to full power infinitely faster than it first took to acquire them !

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

''Hey... why not play many games instead of just picking one ?''

That's a good question ! By picking only one game, you will be spending as little time as possible just gathering knowledge, and as much time as possible increasing your skills. Let me explain. When you start playing a new game, you have to get acquainted with its scoring system and various rules. You have to learn the differences between each ships, play around and pick one. And most importantly, you have to memorize scoring routes through each levels. There is a lot of memorization involved with playing STG well, just like with most competitive games. The only skill that improves when you are just memorizing is... memory. When you learn a new game, you will have to spend quite a few hours learning even the first levels, which are usually easy levels, meaning that they will not require you to improve 
your skills, if your skills are already high enough.

Now if you stick to one game, you will be moving forward to harder sections that you cannot do yet, as soon as you are doing okay in the easier sections. At that point, why switch games and spend so much time re-learning easy sections of another game ? Stick to one game, get as far as you can in it, and your skills will keep improving. When you feel you are done with that game and you really want to play another, go ahead. If the new game you picked is harder, it will teach you new things and you will have fun with it in new ways, after you pass the phase of « getting acquainted, learning and memorizing » what you need to reach the harder challenges that this game has to offer. Just avoid hopping around between many games, if you want to get good.

''So if I'm following well I should perform well in a new game if I'm great at another game''

Yes ! After having spent enough time learning that new game, you will find you will improve so much faster than you did when you were a beginner and played that other game that you became great at. The more similar the gameplay of the new game you pick is, the easier it will be to transfer your skills to it. So if you're good at DoDonPachi, I have no doubt you'll perform well in DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou or Dai Fukkatsu given some time to learn them.

=== Picking a Version===

If you ever hang out on some STG themed forums, you probably ran multiple times into the same topics of someone asking the world which version of game X is best. DoDonPachi is probably one of the most debated because it's so popular and because it comes into at least 4 different versions : you can play it on MAME (arcade emulator), you can play it on Playstation, on Sega Saturn, and you can play it on a PCB.

[[File:FEotJ_(5).png|frameless|center]]

There is one important point to consider before choosing which version you want to play : the PCB version is what the Japanese players have been competing on for all this time, so if you want to know how your score compares to theirs, you need a version that is really close to the PCB version. Lucky for you, DoDonPachi plays exactly the same on MAME as it plays on the PCB, provided you use the right version and setting of MAME (more about that later). Oh, maybe some people will manage to point out some extremely minor difference in display or sound, but nothing that deserves serious consideration : the game plays the same, it is just as hard and whatever score you make with a correct MAME version and a correct configuration is a score you achieved and can compare to any PCB score.

If your mind is still troubled because you can't help but think you're not playing the authentic, real thing, then go buy a PCB, but still practice with MAME, and use the PCB only to perform your high scoring runs.

Here are the benefits of using MAME :

<ul>
<li>You can use saved states (load instantly to practice a part many times)</li>
<li>You can easily record replays (awesome to watch and publish your runs)</li>
<li>You can easily play with a keyboard <(^_^o)~</li>
</ul>

The most important thing here is the saved states. A STG always requires a lot of memorization and DoDonPachi is no exception. In fact, being a danmaku, DoDonPachi will require much more memorization effort than most if not all old school memorizers. That kind of sucks because learning stuff by heart gets tedious really fast, but due to the very nature of those games, it is a required characteristic that you can hardly get rid of without making a boring, simplistic, or easy game.

Oh well, at least it'll be good practice for your memory.

Cave decided to further complicate the players' learning curve by making DoDonPachi overly long (a full run lasts about 45 minutes), with last stages that require very precise and very unobvious paths to both survive and score in, and first stages that seem extremely easy in comparison and that will bore you to death once you master them, yet have to play through them again and again when trying for a new record.

Saved states will allow you to learn at least 5 times faster by allowing you to skip those easy first stages, and isolating hard sections that need more attention. More on that later. For now, just remember it is a really crucial perk.

Being able to easily record replays is very nice. Replays are good for you to keep a nice record of your most beautiful runs, sometimes to analyze your mistakes, and also to show off your high scoring runs to other players. Releasing replays benefits the community for entertainment and educational purposes, and the community benefits you back by giving you credit and cheering for you, or giving you advice for improvement. There is nothing better for your motivation than receiving words of congratulations from other people, showing they care about what you're doing. If you were playing on a PCB, you'd have quite a hard time gathering the hardware necessary to recording videos of your runs and making it work. The end result would also be far less convenient to release and potentially of lower quality.

I haven't been talking about the console ports. Well, there is not much of a reason for you to use the console ports of DoDonPachi instead of MAME : they look and sound a little worse in general, they might play a little differently from the PCB (and MAME), they do have level select (I think) but no saved states (not quite as convenient but MUCH better than nothing), and they're still a pain in the ass to record a replay from. So if you can afford at least some old computer, don't bother.

By all means, avoid PCBs for practicing. They do not have either level select or saved states and are no good for learning. I cannot stress enough how important that is. I know the Japanese players who scored in the first Japanese rankings learned this way, but that's, indeed, only because they didn't have a choice. Believe me, if they could have used MAME, the MAME users would have come far on top of the others. PCBs are also very expensive. If you love PCBs, it's not a bad idea to play your final scoring runs on PCB though. Just find a way to set up recording equipment to record off the PCB.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

If after reading all this you're still not convinced you should practice using MAME, you are an asshole !

If you are not an asshole, here are some informations about which MAME you should be using : MAME Lagless 0.99 works flawlessly with DoDonPachi (both for saved states and recording replays), and performs the best with 0 lag (all other versions have one frame of lag).

You can find it on this topic : 
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=563842#p563842

There is one little problem with this version. You can easily cheat while recording a replay with the « frame advance » feature. I am still waiting for someone to release a lagless version that you can't easily cheat with. Because there are always a few cheaters that come around.

Anyway, here are the correct settings for MAME to properly get the game to be displayed correctly and run at the correct speed, you should probably check them : in the properties options of the rom, in the Display tab, check "Throttle", maybe also "Start maximized", and uncheck all the rest (you could check RTDSC timing system, not sure it makes a difference). Make sure Frame Skipping is set to "Draw every frame". In the Advanced tab, check Use DirectDraw, Switch resolutions to fit, Switch color depths to fit, and Stretch using hardware. Uncheck the rest. Make sure the ratio is equal to your screen ratio ! You can use Kreed's 2xSal as Image Enhancement for a nice rendering.

=== Picking a Controller ===

Stick, pad or... keyboard ?

You probably already know your weapon of choice but if you need some confirmation that it is a good choice then here it is : any of those input systems are perfectly fine for STGs.

Arcade sticks are what most people use due to arcade cabinets being equiped exclusively with that kind of input, but nothing makes them better than pads or keyboards at playing those games. The only downside to not playing with a stick is facing a handicap if you ever happen to go play in an actual arcade or at some convention or meeting with no pad or keyboard available.

Whichever controler you pick, remember that MrMonkeyMan has proved you can destroy a difficult Cave game with a crazy score using a pad and I proved you can do that using a keyboard. If you've been playing other competitive games with a pad or keyboard before, then you could stick with that input as you already are familiar and skilled at using it quickly and accurately. Just don't listen to the crowd of people who sing together how STGs are meant to be played with arcade sticks so arcade sticks have to be the best at it. They are wrong.

I personnally secretly believe keyboards are actually a superior input to arcade sticks. Oops, there I said it, it's not a secret anymore ! That's because they're much faster at changing directions, and they're also better at tapping one direction very shortly multiple times, which are very useful perks for STGs. Some people will point to you its easier and more intuitive to make circles with an arcade stick, but that's pretty much useless !! I might be wrong about keyboard being superior, I don't know shit about arcade sticks and I don't care. Keyboards rule anyway.

=== Picking a Ship ===

You should think a little bit before starting to memorize paths through levels with a certain ship. First try them all a bit and experiment to see what they look and feel like. Then try to grab superplays of each ship type to see what it's like to play well with them, what their style really is, maybe also check the difference in difficulty to play well with each (they aren't really supposed to be equally balanced).

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

I don't know other ship types so well myself (I only play A-L), so I can't really tell you which is a better choice, but here are a couple of things you should consider : I have already made a high scoring A-L occidental superplay and K.O. (japanese player) released a A-L 603M superplay before. People know A-L, they've seen it played really well, including by westerners, and you're not likely to surprise and captivate them as much with A-L as you would if you played another ship. I'm not saying you should not choose it, just take this into consideration.

Now B-L is quite similar to A-L in gameplay, yet different enough that you can look really cool if you score high with it. It can sure score high without much more trouble as K.O proved with his other video kindly hosted by superplay.co.uk.

C-S plays very differently from those two, and even though most people use this ship because it is easy to survive with without scoring, it is definitely interesting to use and no occidental scored over 149M with it, so if you could release some C-S replays scoring even higher, people would notice and I'd be among those who would watch and applaud.

I don't really know if A-S, B-S and C-L are much worse for scoring or not, so you go find out if you're interested in playing them. I've seen a A-S replay scoring 200M in first loop, which is optimal, so I guess this one works well.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

There is something important you want to take notice of when choosing your ship. Figuring out paths through levels by yourself might seem cool and fun at first, but it's not exactly the fastest way to success and it probably won't be fun forever. You will improve infinitely faster and your paths will be safer if you use a superplay video as a model. So if you really can't find a high scoring, non-fake superplay video with your ship type of choice, I advise you to switch to another. Ask people on the forums for superplay videos.

Finally, you might be attracted to the player 2 version of your ship type because you like its color or something. Color is great, but as you may or may not know playing as 2P also changes 3 things in gameplay :

<ul>
<li>You start on the right side of the screen. This is never a problem because you always have time to move where you want to be before the first enemies arrive, with the exception of stage 2-1 where you'll have to pull a slightly harder maneuver to begin the stage (no big deal).</li>
</ul>

 

<ul>
<li>The star bonus is cumulated instead of reseted at the end of each stage : every small star you collect are worth a bonus at the end of the stage if you haven't died, but with 2P, every time you finish a stage, you will get a bonus for each small star you have collected since the last time you missed, or since the beginning of your run if you have never missed. Example : You collect a star in stage 1 and don't die until stage 5. This star would give you a bonus only in stage 1 if you were 1P, but because you are 2P it also gives you a bonus at the end of the next stages. This is cool but rather minor : if you no miss the whole game until Hibachi (12 stages) and collect stars normally, this will earn you about 4 million additionnal points compared to what you'd have got with 1P. Absolutely important if you're going for a world record, not so much if you are not.</li>
</ul>

By the way, I hope you are not.

<ul>
<li>You cannot continue a chain after a laser-bomb when you are in MAXIMUM mode like you can with 1P. This is BAD and you're likely to waste much more points, due to not being able to do that, than you earned with the star bonus.</li>
</ul>

Unless you either are planning on doing a no miss no bomb of both loops up to Hibachi, or are really THAT attracted to the 2P ship's color, you do not want to use the 2P ship. It is likely to cause your final score to decrease by up to 20M.

[[File:FEotJ_(6).png|frameless|center]]

==Practicing==

===The Way Through===

The two main sources of points in DoDonPachi are chains and the maximum bonus. To get good chains, you need to memorize a precise path through each stage, and that will also benefit your maximum bonus because knowing a precise path through a stage gives you a good survival plan at the same time (without the need of using bombs).

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Let's look at exactly how much memorization is required to perform well here, to understand what your goal exactly is and the way you are going to play.

A danmaku puts the player in danger anywhere he is on the screen, by putting against him different enemies coming from different ways at different times and firing bullet patterns that vary in speed and shape, aimed or not aimed at the player, generally filling the whole screen pretty fast if nothing is done. The other element to note is that the game, run after run, always is quite the same. At one given time, this given enemy will come at you this way and fire this pattern.

This implies two things.

One : You have the possibility of finding one or several positions at any given time, that will be the least dangerous for your survival. If we go further by finding least dangerous positions at each point in time and how they can connect each other, it means we can find one or several sequences of actions that will make survival as easy as possible. Since scoring is your ultimate goal, you will actually be looking for a sequence of actions that will net you as many points as possible while putting you in the least possible danger.

Two : Because the game doesn't change from run to run, you have the possibility of making everything happen exactly the same from run to run, by executing the same sequence of actions every run. By doing this, you reduce the unpredictable to a minimum, and allow yourself, at each point in time, to put all of your focus on the one detail that you know is most dangerous for you at this moment. This is very important because you will perform a lot better by looking at one detail rather than scanning the whole screen all the time for stuff you're afraid might kill you later and that you need to be aware of. By knowing everything and doing the same thing every time, you have memorized everything and you don't even have to scan the screen to be aware of those helicopters coming at you, or of those bullets coming from the side. You haven't looked directly at them, but you know they're here and exactly where they are. Therefore, you can concentrate on doing your best at dodging the bullets that are already near your hitbox.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Your goal, then, is to find this sequence of actions through the game that you will repeat. In the rest of the document, I will refer to this sequence as the path, the route or the plan.

Having heard that, you will probably want to go find out for yourself how to deal with each part of the game now, inventing your own chaining path through stage 1, 2, 3...

You could actually do that if you want to, and I don't think it's a bad idea to play around for a while trying to find your own scoring paths through the first stages. But if you care about performing well, you should shorten this experiment. Because you will soon find out that viable scoring paths are very hard to discover. This, again, comes from the fact that the game wants to remain hard even when played the most secure way. Hard in that the bullet patterns are difficult to dodge, and hard in that the path itself takes great timing, movement and shot accuracy to execute. Discovering that complex path is not easy, and takes a lot of time through a trial and error process. In arcades, players watch each other play to see what the correct way through levels is. If one guy stays in his own corner and never watches the others, he'll just lag behind. And you don't want to lag behind, do you ?

<hr />
Some players, I have found, are against the use of replays, because they feel watching replays to learn from other people's work is similar to cheating. For those players, here is a little paragraph that I really hope will squeeze that bad idea out of your mind. Let me put it this way : do you think chess players learn to play by themselves, playing against themselves or against a few friends only, studying the game without outside help ? No, they study the game in books, get help from chess teachers, take inspiration from their opponents play, and from games that they spectate.

The same goes for pretty much anything you learn in your life. Teachers, books, communication, let you gain so much intelligence and knowledge that you could never have gotten by yourself. If you are isolated in nature from birth, you become a caveman and nothing more.

In the case of a STG, the final score that you obtain is a rating of your performance in the timespan of a single run. Outside of that final high scoring run, any means, and I mean ANY, are good to practice and learn. This is very important. Stop thinking of the game as something you have to overcome all by yourself – which is illusionary anyway since you will definitely watch other players or talk with other players at some points.

You should probably also realize that the best DoDonPachi scores use paths that have been worked on and refined during years of playing the game in arcades, with many great players watching each other. You will not discover those paths by yourself in 5 years. Not even close. So use those damn paths which are served to you in nice video format !!

<hr />
[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Not by yourself, then. You will learn from other players. How ?

I said earlier you should make sure that your ship of choice has superplay video reference. Grab as many videos as you can for your ship type, preferably scoring very high. They might be difficult to come by. I coudn't say how difficult, it was easy for me since I play A-L and K.O has released this really cool A-L video that scores 603M, pretty much showing you how to play the whole 2 loops, and is available on superplay.co.uk.

You are going to use those videos for inspiration. 
Did I just say inspiration ? Screw that ! Copy the hell out of them.

I really mean it when I say copy. Your goal is to get things in the game to happen exactly like in the video. If the video is legit (was not played with slowdown or other cheats) and scores really high, chances are everything you see in it is a golden path to scoring victory. And aren't you looking for a path to repeat and make happen exactly the same every time ? The paths in the videos are your future paths. Or well, almost, because you can still adapt and modify a bit.

===The Practice Mode===

I will present to you here the way I think you should be practicing for maximum efficiency. The Full Extent of the Jam, so to speak. You will find this jam revolves largely around the use of model videos, and of saved states to practice. Many players refuse to use saved states, or even refuse to recognize their benefit. The later has puzzled me countless times. If you use « my » way of practicing, I guarantee your results will improve at least four or five times faster than if you were not using saved states.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Since you first launched the game, chances are you have been playing runs, starting from the beginning and ending whenever your life count reached zero, or perhaps at the end of the first loop if you « continued ». You have now decided to score. The way you're going to be playing is going to change drastically. You now know you have to precisely memorize pretty much every second of the game, as you are going to play it, from start to finish. It's pretty much like learning to play a song.

==========> Music Analogy <==========

DoDonPachi is a song that's pretty easy to play in the beginning, and gets harder and harder. It's a song that lasts 45 bloody minutes. And the last few minutes are horribly hard to play.

When approaching this kind of work with mastery in mind, you may naturally try playing the song until you reach parts that seem way too hard for you. Then you will start over from the beginning until you reach them again. And again. And again. After a while, you will realize it's pretty stupid to play through the easy parts every time you want to try the first part that is hard for you, so you will start focusing on the hard parts. Bar by bar, you will decompose and study the song. The hardest bars will be the bars you study and practice the most.

=======> End of Music Analogy <=======

Decomposing the game and studying the hardest parts the most... This is when saved states come into play. Oh my, glad they're here, cause otherwise you'd be forced to practice so inefficiently, right ?

Right ! The poor Japanese players who played in arcades before DoDonPachi was playable on MAME had to practice this way. If they could have practiced differently, I'm sure they would have. But instead they were stuck with the most stupid practice routine ever, at the price of their time and money. And trust me, they would have reached those scores so much faster. Perhaps the world record would be a little higher, too (although the 749M one must be pretty damn close to perfection. I can't even imagine how big a chunk of that guy's life went into the game without saves. Nevertheless, he has my respect).

If you are practicing a different game than DoDonPachi, everything I'm saying here still applies, as long as you can practice at least with a console port that allows you to select which level you want to play. It is not as efficient, but it's quite all right.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

As a more modern player disposing of better tools, you will make good use of them. Start by making one save state at the beginning of stage 1. You could put it on the « 1 » key of your keyboard. You should also set up your key map for loading so you can very quickly load a save state while you are playing. My personal setup is loading on « space bar » and saving on « ctrl ».

Now let's go back to the superplay video. Play it and watch how the player deals with the first stage. After watching it once or twice, start watching it segment by segment, from the beginning, and memorize what's going on. You can try proceeding by chunks of 10 or 20 seconds. Hop back into the game and try doing the same thing that you've just seen and memorized. Some parts of the games are more lax than others, and will allow a little more room for « mistake », others will pretty much require you to be exactly at the same spot at the same moment as in the video.

For starters, see the order and timing at which the player kills the enemies. Shot or laser ? Where does he move and when ? As a result of his shooting and moving, how many enemy bullets appear and in which direction are they going ? If you copy precisely enough, everything can happen just the same, time after time, when you play.

It is all right to settle for something that isn't exactly the same as in the video, yet seems to work consistently for you, adapting things to your own playstyle. Just make sure none of your own ways are risky in some way and lead to death more often than they should, or score way less points.

To save time, make saved states anywhere you judge useful inside a level. I will leave it up to you to find out how to organize and use saves, but let me tell you this : my keyboard has one save state at the beginning of each level, 1 for stage 1, 2 for stage 2, … 9 for stage 2-3, and some more for stage 2-4, 2-5 and 2-6. And then, « Y » is that part of 1-6 before the large planes. « U » is 2-3's boss. « J » is the 2-2 midboss. « E » is right before a difficult section of 2-4. « N » is a particular pattern of 2-6 boss that I found difficult...

You guessed it, every single letter on my keyboard has a saved state on it. 
Use and overuse saved states to memorize and practice everything !

When your skill is not sufficient for execution, copying is damn hard. If you start trying to chain stage 1 right away with no prior STG experience, chances are you will struggle for a few days or more. But if you keep trying, your skills will improve so much faster than if you were just messing around randomly trying to one credit clear the game. You have gotten yourself on the road to becoming a great player. Stray from that road as little as you can to get better as fast as possible. If it's too hard now, it won't be too hard later. Your saved states allow you to repeat whatever section is hard for you as many times as it needs to be repeated until you get it right most of the time. Don't practice what you can do, practice what you can't do. If a hard section is preceded by 20 seconds of gameplay that you already kind of master, cut those 20 seconds out by saving after them and practice only the next seconds.

Don't be afraid to repeat a 10 or even 5 seconds detail many times in a row to get it down. That doesn't mean you should always work on 5 to 10 seconds segments, just vary the length depending on the needs. Sometimes work on a 5, 10 or 20 seconds detail, other times on a 40 seconds or 1 minute segment, and other times you should certainly try playing a whole level at once, many times, to check if you can do it right often enough.

Vary your work outs, and sometimes come back to things you already know and check how consistent you are at them. Improve your consistency. In the end, you will find it's important to be really consistent everywhere so that your runs don't consist of failure after failure in different parts.

Because dodging skills are a big part of danmaku games, practicing on bosses is a great way of increasing such skills. But even dealing with bosses requires method. Every pattern has one of two optimal ways to be dealt with.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

Afraid it won't be fun ? You needn't worry about that. I actually found it a lot of fun to play this way, because I could get rid of every easy moment and focus on the more interesting - although exhausting ! - difficult moments. When I wanted to have some fun trying to dodge crazy patterns, I loaded up Hibachi and went for some crazy impossible action. Then I would hop back and practice this 1-5 chaining that I couldn't seem to get right yet, fought my way through in many sessions until I got it. You can vary your workouts by practicing different sections every day. The best DoDonPachi moments for me happened during savestate practice, dodging and chaining all over the place, in my favorite levels or bosses, while listening to amazing music. Great times indeed, and I will forever come back to it every few months for some more fun.

I hope you've followed and understood me on saved states and video use, because it's going to make a world of difference. If you don't use them, I am confident you will not put my record in danger before very, very long !

===Techniques===

This section covers several very useful concept and techniques.

Learning them techniques will help you understand and adapt the superplay videos that you are trying to copy, as well as deal with any unexpected situations. I even use them a lot when I play a new game that I haven't memorized. The bullet herding technique is very effective at dealing with many stages' patterns, even when performed at random places, and can help you one-creditclear games you have barely ever played.

Where to look while playing

When you are dodging a pattern, your look need to stay away from your ship's hitbox. You cannot be sufficiently aware of what is coming at you if you stare at your ship. Instead, you must be looking at objects that will be dangerous for your ship in the next few seconds. Most of the time, those objects are bullets in front of your ship. The art of navigating in danmaku bullet patterns consists of identifying paths or positions for your ship in real time, then follow them as accurately as possible.

You can look very shortly at your ship to check it's position, but you won't be looking at it much, and yet you need to know accurately where it is all the time. To develop this ability, you need good knowledge of your ship's hitbox position. Check a hitbox picture if the game you play doesn't clearly show you where it is. Then, after you have more experience playing with your ship, you will develop a great feeling of it's movement speed. Once you have great feeling of your ship's hitbox position and of it's movement speed, you will keep very good track of it's position while you play, even if you don't look at it for a few seconds while you navigate through patterns.

To get better, you must develop the ability to look further away from your ship, and be aware of a larger area of the screen at once. If you are unable to look further away and occasionally at a larger proportion of the screen while dodging, then you will not be able to identify safer positions or paths, and will also lose reaction time.

[[File:FEotJ_(7).png|frameless|center]]
Ever noticed the Laser Dragon ? Bad ass !

Technique 1: Lower Speed On Bottom Line

{| class=wikitable style="max-width:55em;"
|-
| [[File:FEotJ_(8).png|frameless]] || '''2-2 Boss Spread Pattern''' 
The bullets are emitted from a point at the top of the screen, so naturally their density is lower at the bottom. Many beginners will tend to stick to the bottom line of the screen to dodge this. It's not a terrible idea, if you're doing this, then you should know this cool little trick : when against the lower border of the screen, if you input a diagonal downward command, such as down + left, the lateral speed of your ship will be lower than if you pressed left alone. This means you can actually lower your ship speed as long as you stay against the bottom line !! This is very important, because the slower your speed, the higher your accuracy.
|}

Technique 2 : Changing Location

When you get a little better, you should identify spots where it would be interesting to move to because they are safer, that you cannot reach by staying against the bottom line, such as the « A » spot on the picture. It's good to check for areas that present less risk instead of just staying in place and trying to dodge whatever comes directly at you, even in a homogeneous pattern such as this. So try not looking only in front of you !

Technique 3 : Speed Trick

This is actually a generalization of the Bottom Line technique. Say some bullets are coming at you and you need to position yourself by moving lateraly, so that you are in between the trajectory of two bullets. If you are in the middle of the screen, you can still use the Bottom Line technique without being against the bottom line, by moving downward while adjusting your horizontal position with left or right ! This lowers your horizontal speed, hence your accuracy. It works in all directions : keep moving to the right and adjust your vertical position with up and down, if you need to accurately adjust your position between bullets that have a horizontal trajectory !

Technique 4 : With The Flow

As you get even better, there is a third technique that becomes important when dealing with many types of pattern. I will call it « moving with the flow ». Sometimes, you will find yourself in a situation where it seems difficult to find a way out of your current position. By positioning yourself a little higher than the bottom line, you can move with the flow for a second, waiting for the shapes and holes to become more favorable for you to get out. Let's illustrate this with a 2-5 example.

[[File:FEotJ_(9).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ_(10).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ_(11).png|frameless]]

1) Trapped inside a messy pattern, I can't immediately find a way through. 
2) I move back slightly and watch the bullet's trajectories. 
3) Some bullets have moved away while I was waiting, and I'm now moving backwards with the flow to gain more time and find a hole through the whole mess.

[[File:FEotJ (12).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (13).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (14).png|frameless]]

4) Still having a hard time finding that hole, I'm taken almost to the very bottom, moving with the flow. Bullets don't threaten me nearly as much because there are way fewer of them passing around me per second, since I'm moving in the same direction as they are. 
5) I can see a hole right in front of me ! 
6) Go go go ! I move forward through the hole, finally out of the pattern.

This sequence lasted about 3 seconds. Use this technique as often as possible when lost in between bullets. Move with their flow and when you find a way out, move against their flow to get through.

As you can see, you need space in the direction of the flow for this technique to work. So in a pattern such as the 2-2 boss blue spread (see Technique 1), try to keep some space behind you until you can't find a hole in front of you anymore, then move with the flow, in the direction of the bottom. Use the bottom line for a precise dodge, and regain some space behind you as soon as you can, by moving up a little inside the pattern.

You will find that moving with the flow is a great way to navigate through many patterns, even simple ones. While you are moving with the flow, bullets around you travel with you (though nearly always at a different speed). If there is a vertical wall of bullets to your side, moving down, and you want to go through it, you can move with the flow, in the same direction as the bullets that compose this wall (let's say they go down). Watch for a hole in the wall to your side while you move with the flow, and then move through that hole. Moving with the flow helps you visualize the holes because they move near you at slower speed (since you are moving in the same direction as them), so it makes the timing easier for you to see them and get inside. 

[[File:FEotJ (15).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (16).png|frameless]]

These techniques are easily applicable to all danmaku games !

Technique 5 : Bullet Herding

This is a very important technique that you use all the time when playing STGs. Let us use the 2-3 boss' sniper pattern to illustrate it.

The 2-3 boss' sniper is a simple high speed, linear, aimed shot. It lasts long enough that you will have to move a couple of times through the wall of bullets it creates. To approach this pattern with a smart technique and safety, you will be using the very universal bullet herding technique.

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1) Because I want to hit the boss for as long as possible, and because I want to gain have to move through the wall of bullets as few times as possible, I stay in place and only move aside a little bit the moment a bullet comes directly at me, in close proximity. 
2) and 3) : I continue to move aside as slowly as possible.

[[File:FEotJ (20).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (21).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (22).png|frameless]]

4) I will soon not be able to hit the boss anymore. It's time to move through the wall. I will now execute a move to open a way for myself. 
5) and 6) I move up closer and closer to the point that emits the bullets.

[[File:FEotJ (23).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (24).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (25).png|frameless]]

7) and 8) When I judge I'm sufficiently close to the source of the bullets, I switch to shot for more speed, and make a large move to the far side of the screen away from the wall. 
9) As soon as I judge my move sufficiently ample, I move back to the bottom, away from the source of the bullets. However, I make sure to still say on the side of the screen, away from the wall.

[[File:FEotJ (26).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (27).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (28).png|frameless]]

10) The bullets, which have remained aimed at me all this time, will soon come to my position. 
11) We can see the move I have executed in the last few steps has created an arc in the bullet pattern. 
12) Each time the boss shoots, he fires one shot composed of two bullets going in the same direction with different speed. Clearly, this arc has created holes between shots. Without the arc, I would have had to dodge inside the wall, through alined high speed and slow speed bullets. Now, all I have to do is position myself at an angle where no shot is coming at all : in a « hole » between two shots.

[[File:FEotJ (29).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (30).png|frameless]] [[File:FEotJ (31).png|frameless]]

13) I have decided which hole I'm going to go through. I switch to laser for less speed, which equals more accuracy. I'm also using the diagonal downward movement on the bottom line for even lower speed, and even higher accuracy. 
14) This is me coming out of the hole I had chosen in 13). Bullets have advanced and a large bullet-free zone awaits on the left side of the screen. 
15) I can now repeat the technique. First, by moving to the left as slowly as I can while hitting the boss.

Neat... how does it work ?

This technique can be divided into three parts.

First, you move as slowly as possible to the side until you decide it's time to move through the threatening mass of bullets. This lets you gain as much time as possible. This time is valuable for a few reasons : if the duration of the aimed threat is limited, moving as slowly as you can before you move through the bullets lets you move as few times as possible through those bullets. In the case of the 2-3 boss, it allows me to hit it as long as possible between each move too, dealing maximum damage to it over the course of the pattern. In many STG's levels, you will find that simply executing this slow move will allow you to eliminate the enemies that are shooting at you, and you won't even have to move through the mass of bullets at all !

Second, you move closer to the source of the bullets and then move far to the side as fast as possible. Why closer ? Because the point is to spread the bullets as much when you make the side move. If you are closer to the source, your angular speed in relation to that source is higher. So when you will move to the side, you will be performing a faster rotation around that source. The rotation speed determines how large the holes between the bullets fired will be. Technically, this means you should get as close as possible to the source before making that move. However, you will find that depending on circumstances, such as presence of other enemies, shape or speed of the bullet patterns shot, that it isn't safe to move that close to the enemy before the side move. Make your side move as fast as possible, by switching to higher speed, or even, when you can, by describing an arc of a circle around the source of the bullets.

Third, after your side move has been made and before the bullets reach your area, navigate through the bullet mass which has lost density. On this last step, you can use the downward movement and move with the flow techniques to help yourself navigate more safely. Be careful to get out of there before the next aimed bullets get to you !

Technique 6 : Bombing

With all those bombs given to you, you have to make good use of them. As you know, bombing will instantly rob you of the MAXIMUM bonus which is such a huge source of points in DoDonPachi, but bombing at the right moment is still a crucial skill to learn for after your first death, when risk is too great, or when you're fighting the true last boss.

So when should you bomb ?

Some players like to plan out where they will bomb in their runs to deal with parts they can't do yet. Preemptive bombing, so to speak. You can use this way of bombing if you like (I don't), to improve your consistency, but also develop the other way of bombing, the one that takes skill to execute : emergency.

Think of the bomb button, indeed, as an emergency button, that you must press when you feel danger is extremely high and you are one second away from death. Developing the ability to appreciate danger while dodging patterns comes naturally as you get better at dodging patterns, but you need to also learn to hit the bomb button at the appropriate time. If you bomb too early, it means you might not have had to bomb, because with a few additionnal seconds you might have been able to decypher a safe path for yourself. You can recognize that you bombed too late if bullets have grazed your hitbox without you predicting and following their movement before they did. The best time to bomb is indeed less than one second before dangerous bullets reach your ship's hitbox.

As you get better, you will keep missing with bombs in stock sometimes. A good way of missing with bombs in stock is failing a dodge that is too accurate for you : you fail at following a path through the bullets that you have seen. But a bad way of missing with bombs in stock, is to miss because you have failed to follow what was going on, got confused and forgot to bomb. In practice, always bomb if you don't have a path through the bullets in your mind for the next second. Make sure you develop the ability to do this.

<hr />
 
Try to recognize those techniques being used when you watch superplay videos. It will help you realize the various situations in which they can be used and the various ways they can be performed.

==III. Performing==

===Out of Practice Mode===

After a few dozens of hours put into Practice Mode, you are likely to realize you have improved enough to try for a significantly higher new score. Ideally, you want to do this as rarely as possible, because the time you spend trying to get this new high score is time you're not spending getting better faster in practice mode, increasing your potential future highest score.

But from time to time, it's a good idea to test yourself against the game itself, from beginning to end of a credit. It will allow you to check your consistency, and it will allow you to produce a few recordings to post on STG forums. Moving up ranks on online high score boards and receiving other players feedback will boost your confidence and motivation to keep going. If better players watch your replay, they can give you useful advice, by pointing out your own current qualities and flaws or explaining to you how to deal with something you struggle with, tell their experience, etc.

It's up to you to decide how often you want to try for a new high score, but I suggest, as a maximum, going out of practice mode no more often than every time you finish learning an entire new level, able to execute it rather consistently.

The question of interest to us now, is : when should we move back into Practice Mode ? Every time you move out of Practice Mode, you should have a rather precise goal in mind for your replay. It can be something like « I want the chain of 1-4 that I just learned in practice executed properly, without dying in stage 1, 2 and 3 before that ». You could add « chaining in stage 1, 2 and 3 must also be right ». Or « after the 1-4 chain is executed, I want to at least clear the first loop without losing all my lives ».

It could really be anything that you want, but one thing is very important. You have to estimate what your success rate at this particular challenge is going to be. If you reckon you fail to chain the stage 2 chain half the time, it will multiply by 2 the probably number of runs you will have to play before you get the stage 4 chain done with the added condition of chaining stage 2 in the same run. Add inability to chain stage 3 more than once out of 5 tries, and stage one failed 1 out of 6 tries, and you get your probable number of runs multiplied by 12 ! This is going to drive you crazy if you don't anticipate it and are too stubborn to give up. Make a reasonable guess, try playing thirty, fourty, fifty runs, and if you still haven't reached your goal, just keep the best run of the series and get back to Practicing.

To keep the progression steady, I suggest you spend no more than 20% of your time doing sets of runs for a new high score, and spend at least 80% practicing with your saved states. You cannot play DoDonPachi well if your hands are cold. Under 20 degrees celcius, your fingers are significantly less efficient without warm up, and even if you're playing with a stick that matters for your buttons timing. So if you feel your hands are a little cold, warm up before playing, for example by immersing your hands in hot water for a few minutes.

The one new thing you will experience that will feel different from practicing, is getting nervous when you pass a critical point and start seeing a new record coming. Sometimes, you'll get so nervous your hands might start shaking. I have had super crazy shakes from nervousness that totally screwed my play up. Breathing deeply when you start getting nervous helps a great deal, so remember to do that when it happens.

Something else linked to nervousness, is starting to think about « what ifs ». Especially when you see are performing well and a new record is in sight. What if I screw up at the boss ? What if I don't and make a huge score ? What are they going to say about it on the forum ? Chase those thoughts out of your mind as soon as they come, and concentrate on the game !! This is very important for you to perform as well as you can in that important run. To help yourself focus, you can try picturing your next few actions in your mind as you play. This will keep your mind busy thinking about what you are doing and prevent it to stray.

I think that nervousness will manifest itself less if you are well rested, well fed, and in a room with a comfortable temperature. I don't really know how to reduce nervousness in the long term, but I have found it got better and better with more experience. When you have failed a part a lot of times because of nervousness, gradually you get used to failing there and tention will be lower when you reach that part. Until you finally make it, then tention will suddenly become huge again. All that's left to do if you fail that again, is playing until it happens many times and tention becomes lower again for that next part...

[[File:FEotJ_(32).png|frameless|center]]
This can happen if you get way too nervous.

In your runs, especially after your first death for DoDonPachi, think of bombing !! Really, the ideal is to bomb as much as possible (never dying with bombs in stock), but also as little as possible (only in emergencies). So use your bombing skills and display great reflexes and risk management !

===The Final Showdown===

Be prepared to be seriously prosecutedt, for the time has come for you to make a major mark into the high score boards. This will be your ultimate performance, at a point when you reckon you have enough skill to pull off something outstanding enough to be worth trying hundreds of runs for. Maybe something you had never thought you would achieve when you started practicing.

What I'm calling « The Final Showdown » is indeed your final set of full runs, which you will start after a long period of practicing, with the intention to stop trying to improve your score after this performance, perhaps because you want to move on to a different game. Essentially, what you'll be doing is set yourself a goal that you feel will satisfy you for good, and set it as high as it can reasonably be for you to be able to achieve it, but barely able. This will result in your final score to be outstandingly high for your ability (corresponding to the best of your ability), while also greatly increasing the number of tries you will have to do before you reach that goal.

It does not make sense to start such a huge streak of full runs unless you really intend to stop trying to improve after that. Because if you still try to improve later, what was the point of spending so much time in full runs when you could have been in practice mode, increasing your skill way more efficiently ? If this is not your final mark, then just set a goal that you can achieve in less than 50 tries as usual and go for just that, then go back into practice mode.

Since this is a final set, instead of aiming for something you can probably achieve in under fifty tries, you will be aiming for something way more difficult, that you know you can do but will take the best of your ability to achieve. The odds have become difficult to calculate, as the number of factors to take into account has become too large, but it should seem to you less than 1000 tries should do the job. And make it a job you'll be proud of. It could be just a new record for your country. It could be reaching Hibachi with more than 300M, or even a 2-ALL ! It could be the new western record. And after that, you're pretty damn sure you'll stop trying for more.

By the way, I suggest you never set for a new world record. That's insane, the 749M record is nearly impossible to beat. I don't even know which hidden chaining tricks this guy discovered, and he must have executed all of them perfectly in one run before an exceptionnal performance against the true last boss. The amount of time one would have to spend to beat this, even with save state practice, is extremely huge.

You have been warned !

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

The final set of runs is an endeavor I've taken part in and it has burned me out overtime. I know what it is to hate the game, and to hate video games for a while because of it, but still keep inflicting yourself a few sessions of trying every single day to make sure you reach that goal before the next century. Oh don't worry, I've fully recovered and am regularly coming back for more DoDonPachi. I think of that time, which lasted several months, as a time where I fought my best with all my will against the game, without even coming out on top. I'm proud to have lasted that long and it's become a fun memory.

Be careful not to set your goal TOO high. Do not choose the best score that you have done in saved states as your goal. That score only represents your theory. If you are a musician, you probably know how your practice level never quite matches your theory level. Same applies to DDP ! As an example, I had taught myself enough theory to get a score of 696M, and had indeed achieved that score in saved states. Doesn't necessarily take that many tries if you can retry anything you screwed up. But oh boy is it different in practice. And I knew it, so instead, I set my goal at 500M.

Estimation will be harder, but estimate anyway. Does it seem likely you will achieve this goal in less than 1000 tries ? Can you do the hardest parts, that this goal requires done, consistently enough ? What about the easy parts, are you really consistent at them ? Spend as much time as possible carefully checking you really, really know what you're doing through all the parts that you've learned. You really don't want to rush and start full runs, because the smallest things that you haven't worked well enough in saved states will bother you tons in full runs, and will take a lot, lot longer to identify and correct in full runs. Simply playing all those runs before you realize what's wrong on some parts and that you should go back and work on them a bit in saved states will waste quite a bit of time.

But when the time comes and you're ready to start, set up your game station, and prepare yourself mentally.

This time, given the very huge number of tries that it might take before you reach the goal, you will want to make sure you play regularly enough to keep the number of tries per week going. You could pick a particular time to play two runs in a row every day. Or maybe 2 times to play two runs every day. Or anything else that suits you.

If you're not living alone, explain to the people who live with you that you cannot talk while recording a DoDonPachi run. If you don't do that, people will talk to you and you will mess up because of them, increasing your frustration which really needs to be softened instead. Remember to lock the cat or dog away. My cat did own my ship quite a few times. You might also want to exceptionnaly set up a screen in TATE (on its side, for a bigger view of the game), for additionnal comfort. This won't make a real difference in performance, unless you were playing on a really small or low quality screen, but it's just generally more enjoyable and will help prevent losing the will to play, a little.

[[File:FEotJ_(3).png|frameless|center]]

At some point, you will likely get mad at the game, and trying won't really be fun at all anymore. If you're going to be one of the best, that's when you must not stop. Stick to a minimum playing schedule and never stop playing for more than a few days. Discipline is key.

DoDonPachi will barely ever reward you with a better score. As you have probably noticed, the smallest mistake is severely punished and leaves a nice hole into your score. But the one day you perform perfectly instead of almost perfectly, you will get a lot of points. This means as you play your runs, you will not necessarily see your score improve a lot, even though you will probably be improving quite significantly !

This is why, to help yourself keep going, I advise you, as soon as you start doing your final runs, to create a little text file in which you shortly document each run that you play. You could number the replay files of each run ascendingly, and in the text file write down in which stage you died first, and what kind of mistake you did. If you want, you could even write a very short commentary, or thoughts about the run.

Every fifty runs or so, look back at the set of fifty runs that you have just finished, and make statistics. In how many runs did you pass the first loop without dying ? What about without dying nor bombing ? In how many runs, after clearing that loop properly, did you also clear stage 2-1 and 2-2 without dying / bombing ? In how many runs did you die at this really critical part that you can't seem to get that consistent at ? Looking at these statistics is good for you to keep track of how feasible your goal really is, and also to keep track of your progress, which is not represented by your best score. As you play more sets of fifty runs, you should find those statistics will slowly improve, and it will help you keep motivation despite the infinitely repeated failures.

If some of the statistics don't seem to improve at all, ask yourself whether it wouldn't be a good idea to go back into practice mode for a short while to get things straight.

Do not be afraid to do that, even if only to refresh your memory.

You will notice it's very difficult not to get distracted while playing. I died countless times because I was just thinking of something completely unrelated to the game and not paying enough attention. That's because if you have practiced well, you have gotten so good at performing that you can perform without even paying attention or thinking about it. That's all what learning through repetition is about. You don't need to think about pedalling when you ride a bike. You're not thinking of walking when you walk. Or breathing when you breathe. That's how good you got at playing.

When distracted, stuff as stupid as forgetting to move out of a bullet's way may happen. You become able to die to any incredibly easy stuff.

The terrible thing about distraction is that you often won't even realize that you are distracted. You will notice that you were distracted when you're thinking « hey, I can't remember precisely what happened during the last 2 minutes. ».

Listening to your own music probably won't help, as the game's sounds are pretty good at preventing your mind from slipping away from it. Then again, that is not worth inflicting the game's music to your ears for hundreds of hours, in my opinion. Instead, put on your own awesome music, and try disciplining yourself to stay focused, again by trying to picture your next few actions in your mind as you play, to keep it busy and focused on the game. It's quite hard, but if you are careful and pay attention to your bad habits, you should do okay, and will get better at staying focused overtime. Avoid playing when sick, depressed, or when you're too physically tired. All these will really hamper your performance, and performing badly will put you in a worse mood and you will be less inclined to play again.

[[File:FEotJ_(33).png|frameless|center]]
okay... ONE MORE

[[Category:General Guides]]

Full Extent of the Jam

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Trilkin: Chapter 3 complete.

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Trilkin: Placeholder and link for now. Will start Wiki-fying the guide when I'm more awake.

Category:General Guides

2023-04-30T21:46:17Z

Trilkin:

A list of non-game specific guides, primarily geared toward general strategies or information for the genre.

Input lag

2023-04-30T21:44:23Z

Trilkin:

== Input lag ==

Input lag (or display lag) is the delay between your GPU sending a frame to your monitor and the monitor actually displaying that frame. This is an essential aspect of gaming, where an input lag of 15ms or less is preferred.

Input or display lag is the time (measured in milliseconds) it takes for a TV or monitor to react and display your commands you’ve inputted via a device such as a keyboard, a controller, or a mouse.

This also includes all the processing of the image, such as scaling/upconverting, HDR, frame interpolation, deinterlacing, etc.

As you might expect, the amount of input lag is vital for competitive gaming where every millisecond counts.

== Nintendo Switch ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Game !! Dev/Publisher !! Input lag frames !! Wired to Dock !! Consistency % !! V-Sync !! Monitor type !! Input type
|-
| Azure Reflections || - || 5 || 6 || 50% (or 5.5f) || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Blazing Star || - || 4 || 5 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Danmaku Unlimited 3 || - || 4 || 5 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Darius Cosmic Collection || - || 4 || 5 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| ESP Ra.De. PSI || - || 4 || 5 || 100% || Console || Handheld Mode (Same as CRT) || Hori Split Pad Pro Built in Light
|-
| Dragon Blaze || - || 7 || 8 || 100% || Console || Handheld Mode || Hori Split Pad Pro Built in Light
|-
| Gunbird || - || 6 || 7 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Gunbird II || - || 6 || 7 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Ikaruga || - || 4 || 5 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Mushihimesama || - || 3 || 4 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Universal Board
|-
| Rival Megagun || - || 6 || 7 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Sisters Royale || - || 6 || 7 || 100% || Console || Handheld Mode || Hori Split Pad Pro Built in Light
|-
| Strikers 1945 || City Connection || 7 || 8 || 100% || Console || Handheld Mode || Hori Split Pad Pro Built in Light
|-
| Strikers 1945 II || City Connection || 7 || 8 || 100% || Console || Handheld Mode || Hori Split Pad Pro Built in Light
|-
| Strikers 1945 II || ZeroDiv || 7 || 8 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|-
| Strikers 1945 III || City Connection || 6 || 7 || 100% || Console || Handheld Mode || Hori Split Pad Pro Built in Light
|-
| Thunder Force Collection || - || 3 || 4 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Padhack Pro Controller
|}

== PC (Windows) ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Game !! Dev/Publisher !! Platform !! Input lag frames !! Consistency % !! V-Sync !! Monitor type !! Input type
|-
| Blue Revolver || - || - || 2 || 100% || Console || CRT (VGA) || Hori VX-SA (360)
|-
| Crimzon Clover World Ignition || - || - || 4 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Hori VX-SA (360)
|-
| Danmaku Unlimited 3 || - || - || 3 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| Dodonpachi || - || ShmupArch || 2 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu || - || Steam || 3 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label || - || Xenia || 3 || 50% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| Deathsmiles || - || Steam || 3 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| Deathsmiles || - || Xenia || 3 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| Devil Engine || - || - || 3 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Hori VX-SA (360)
|-
| Mushihimesama || - || Steam || 4 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Universal Board
|-
| Mushihimesama Futari || - || Xenia || 2 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Hori VX-SA (360)
|-
| Ring^-27 || - || - || 2 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Brooks Ultimate Board
|-
| StellaVanity || - || - || 3 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Hori VX-SA (360)
|-
| ZeroRanger || - || - || 2 || 100% || Off || CRT (VGA) || Hori VX-SA (360)
|}

== ShmupArch ==
Soon(TM)

== XBox 360 ==
Soon(TM)

== PS4 ==
Soon(TM)

== PCB ==
Soon(TM)

== PS2 ==
Soon(TM)

== Sega Saturn ==
Soon(TM)

== GroovyMame ==
Soon(TM)

== MAME (Low latency) ==
Soon(TM)

== MAME ==
Soon(TM)

== ShmupMAME ==
Soon(TM)

== External Links ==
Most of this info was provided by MARK_MSX from [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Fwhzr1yeoQ84yC3Isd4Lg The Electric Underground]

[[Category:General Guides]]

The Beginner’s Guide to Shooting Games by Blackbird

2023-04-30T21:38:12Z

Trilkin:

''This is a guide originally written by Blackbird, reposted here to posterity.''

==Introduction – Select your battleship ==

A frequent question I get when I demo Crimzon Clover is: “I’m looking to get into the shooting game genre. Where do I start?” I am glad you asked, because I want more people to develop an appreciation for shmups! Allow me to present “The Beginner’s Guide to Shooting Games”, which should give you a thorough overview of the genre and get you started right away. While I don’t claim to be an expert at playing these games, I have found a lot of useful techniques which my be helpful to you if you’re just starting out. I’ll also be keeping this article updated to maintain it’s relevance and incorporate user feedback. If you just need to figure out which shmup to start with, skip to section 4 at the end of this article! To get started with shooting games, shmups, STGs, or whatever you want to call them, you need four things:

1. A platform to play your games on. If you are reading this sentence on a computer or a mobile device then you already have one!

2. A controller. There has been a lot of discussion about the best way to play shmups. I’ll go into more detail about this later on.

3. Persistence. Shmups can be pretty tough if you’ve never played the genre before. It might take a little time to get good at them if you’re first starting out. Do not be discouraged if you can’t play like a Japanese superplayer right away. If you keep playing regularly, anyone can get good (Yes, even you!). Remember, no one is great at a game the very first time they play it.

4. A shmup to play. I will include a list of popular shmups later in this article, and rate them by approximate difficulty!

==Section 1 – Selecting a platform==

The platform you decide to play on will influence what shmups are available to you, and also how expensive the hobby will be for you. You should pick a console that fits your budget and the kind of shmups you want to play most. To start with, you should use whatever console you have available. You’re reading this on a computer of some kind, so you already have the PC platform, or at least a mobile device! Generally speaking, the best platforms to get for shooting games are: PC/Windows – There are an array of great shmups on the PC, and many of them are even free! You can also use emulation to test out many of the classic arcade shmups that were never ported to home consoles and are no longer widely available. The inexpensive nature of this platform makes it a great place to start, because you can get a feel for the style of shmups that you might like most without spending too much. XBox 360 – Many of the most popular bullet hell shooting games have great ports on this console. If CAVE games are your jam, then you’ll want to start here. If you want to get really hardcore, you can consider importing a Japanese XBox 360 to ensure maximum compatibility with all the available shmups on the platform, as a few of the most popular ones are region-locked. The cost of games on this console varies, but there are great shmups at all price points. Sega Saturn – The classic Sega Saturn has a superb roster of 32-bit arcade shmups. The console itself is not too expensive to purchase online, but the games themselves can be. Some of the most coveted shmups on this console are expensive collector’s items, but there are a handful of inexpensive gems, too. (edited)

iOS – There are several competent mobile ports of the most popular bullet hell games on the iOS platform. iOS games tend to be dirt cheap, but you need to select your games carefully or you might end up with shovelware or game content trapped behind a “freemium” paywall. iOS shooters also tend to be easier than their console equivalents because touch controls make movement very swift. It is not the same as a more purist arcade experience, but some players will enjoy the lenient difficulty and the convenience of being able to play anywhere. Arcade PCBs – For many games (especially older ones before ports reached arcade parity), the definitive version is undeniably the original arcade version. This will give you the most authentic experience with retro shooters. However, it is also the most expensive way to collect shmups, making it suitable only for dedicated hobbyists. You can also collect by budget. As a general guide, this list will order platforms in order from least expensive to most expensive: PC (assuming you already have a PC) iOS Most older consoles – Saturn, Genesis, SNES, NES, etc. (unless you get rarer collector’s games) Newer consoles – X360, PS3. Arcade PCBs/Cabinets .

==Section 2 – Selecting your controller==
The best controller to use for shooting games has been the subject of some debate in the STG community. Some purists will insist that you should use an arcade stick only. If you want the most authentic arcade experience, there is some merit to this, as the tactile feedback of the controller is an essential part of the overall experience with the game. However, keep in mind that there are extremely skilled players using all different kinds of control methods. Prometheus, the Western record holder for the popular shmup DoDonPachi, achieved his records using a keyboard, and strongly favors their precision. Another high level player, GUS, has completed Mushihimesama Futari Ultra (one of the most difficult shmup modes ever made) with the stock XBox 360 controller, a controller widely considered to have a terrible, imprecise directional pad. Don’t feel like you must have an arcade stick in order to be good at shmups. It is far more important to pick a controller that you are comfortable with. The best controller is the one that distracts you the least, so that you can fully focus your attention on learning and playing the game. You will improve much more quickly that way. From the standpoint of simply playing well, arcade sticks, game pads, and keyboards are all equally good, because player skill is ultimately more important to the outcome of the game than the input method. That said, there is no harm in learning how to use an arcade stick or a new controller if you want to, just be prepared for the extra layer of challenge from familiarizing yourself with the new controller on top of learning the game itself.

==Section 3 – Being persistent==

If you are struggling with a shmup, how do you get better? The main thing is to not freak out when you see a crazy shot pattern, but rather to calmly analyze it and to look for ways to simplify the problem. I will try to cover a few broadly applicable techniques for playing shooting games, as well as a few strategies and guides for practicing them. .

===3A – Recognizing shot patterns and how to dodge them ===

With a few exceptions, there are about 5 different types of shot patterns in shooting games. Learning how to quickly recognize and avoid each pattern will inform your play. Here are the subtypes:

'''Aimed Bullets''': These are by far the most common type of bullet in shmups. An aimed bullet is fired directly from the enemy unit towards your ship’s hitbox. Sometimes it will be a single bullet, sometimes it will be a row of bullets, and sometimes it will be a whole fan of bullets, but however the pattern actually works, the attack is ultimately targeted at your initial location. This means that, by controlling your position on-screen, you control where these bullets go. For single shots, you can often dodge them just by briefly tapping left or right on the directional stick (or up and down if the game scrolls horizontally). For broader waves, you can position yourself near the sides of the screen and bait or “herd” the bullets off screen quickly so that they don’t get in your way later.

'''Static Bullets''': This is probably the second most common shot pattern in shmups. Static patterns are fixed shot patterns that always occur in the same way. In bullet hell games, these are often iconic patterns that flood the entire screen with concentric waves of bullets, rotating laser beams, or the like. The best way to dodge these is to memorize the pattern and position yourself ahead of time – look at the negative space in the pattern and see which areas of the screen are the most open and safer to move around in. Sometimes static patterns will be combined with aimed volleys at the same time. In this case, you will need to find a gap in the static pattern large enough for you to maneuver around the aimed bullets at the same time. Static bullets are a danger because they always shoot at the same places, and you’ll ram right into them if you don’t anticipate their field of fire.

'''Random Bullets''': This is the most difficult bullet type to dodge, because you can’t predict it! Random bullets often take the form of a spray of bullets with a randomly generated direction. The best way to avoid them is to get out of their field of fire entirely. If that’s impossible, then you will need to pay careful attention to your positioning and watch for oncoming bullets. Random bullets become very dangerous if they are moving at high speed!

'''Aimed-offset Bullets''': These are pretty uncommon. They are like aimed bullets, except the initial firing direction is offset from your ship, so that the bullet leads you. It’s very tricky, and if you keep moving, you will often run right into them! You can often avoid these bullets simply by stopping for a moment. Offset bullets become much more dangerous when combined with volleys of regular aimed bullets at the same time. In this case, you will need to carefully manage stopping and starting your movement to avoid both types.

'''Homing Bullets''': Another uncommon shot type. These bullets will home in on your current location and actively chase you around the screen. Usually, these types of bullets are slow. The best way to avoid them is to circle around them and halt their momentum, or to bait them off screen. In rare cases, homing bullets might be very fast, which makes them considerably more dangerous. In this case, you might want to consider bombing or speed killing the enemy that can fire them in order to reduce the danger. Homing bullets are also very difficult to avoid if there are other bullets on screen that restrict your mobility and make sweeping motions dangerous.

That covers all the major bullet types. If you can recognize what type of bullet you are up against, then you can come up with a strategy to counter them more easily. .

===3B – Advanced dodging techniques for aimed bullets ===

Sometimes you will encounter situations (in bullet hell games especially) where enemies will fire a constant stream of aimed bullets at you, so much that they form a line or “wall” that chases you around the screen. If your initial position is bad, the bullets will trap you against the side or corner of the screen. One way to avoid this is by “streaming” the bullets. If you position yourself against one side of the screen and move your way to the other side by slowly tapping the directional buttons, with the bullets barely behind you, you will usually be able to destroy the enemies firing the bullets as you cross the center of the screen, ending the stream of fire before you are trapped. This can also be called “tap dodging” because of the movement technique used. In situations where a stream of bullets is about to trap you, you can also use the “cutback” technique. By rapidly moving upwards on the screen, you can create a wider angle of fire between the last shot the enemy fired and the next. You can then rapidly move back down and escape to the other side of the stream using the gap you just created. This can be very difficult to do consistently, though, making it a technique for advanced players to master!

===3C – Where to look on-screen===

This is another question that pops up often. “Where should I be looking on screen?” A common mistake new players make is to always look at their hitbox. This is a bad idea, because focusing your view on the small area just outside your ship prevents you from seeing oncoming attacks in time to avoid them, or reacting to changes in your environment. Instead, you should look towards the upper area of the screen whenever possible – specifically at any enemies that are appearing, so that you can quickly determine what kind of bullets they are firing at you and how to avoid them. When you are moving, be sure to look ahead of your ship’s movement path so that you don’t collide with any existing bullets as you move. Try to get an intuitive feel for where your hitbox is, and resist the urge to look directly at your ship unless you have to. Use your peripheral vision to track the position of your ship and avoid bullets by comfortable margins when possible. Only look at your hitbox if you are in a situation that requires very precise control, like maneuvering through a dense pattern of bullets.

===3D – Using your resources. ===

Another common mistake new players make is to hoard their resources excessively. Many shmups give you a stock of “bomb” items to allow you to escape dangerous situations that you didn’t anticipate. At the same time, you almost always lose your stock of bombs when you die. The bombs can save you from a dangerous situation, but they don’t do you any good if you don’t use them in time and die with a full stack of bombs! I recommend placing the bomb button right next to the primary shot button so that you can reach it instantly when needed. Bomb preemptively if you feel that you can’t read a pattern correctly, are feeling overwhelmed, or if you feel like you are going to be boxed in by bullets. They are there to be used! Saving bombs for score is for high scoring runs, not learning the game. As you get more comfortable playing, reduce the use of your bombs only to the most troublesome spots in the game, until finally you won’t need any bombs unless it’s an emergency (or the scoring system uses them).

===3E – Other common mistakes of new players.===

In addition to dying with bombs in stock and focusing too hard on the hitbox, there are a few other mistakes that new players commonly make. One of them is trying too hard to “thread” a pattern. Many new players see a gap in a static pattern or fan of bullets and try to thread through it. However, this is risky if the gap is too small for the player to fit through, and limits your potential movement options/escape routes. Wherever possible, you should also consider “macro dodging” or moving completely around the bullets entirely, rather than moving through them. High level players have a saying that they only “dodge” (actively move out of the way of) around 10% of bullets, while they simply “avoid” the rest just by passively positioning themselves out of the line of fire. You can avoid a lot of risk just by getting out of the way quickly rather than trying to force through a difficult pattern.

New players frequently make movement errors as well. Avoid moving into the corners. Once you are there, it is much easier for enemies to box you in with aimed bullets. Where possible, start offset from the center and use a “U-shaped” movement pattern to sweep from one half of the screen to the other, leaving yourself more options to escape being trapped. Avoid making too many random movements or dodging bullets by excessively wide margins as well. While playing, remain composed and avoid bullets with tight, controlled movements. Wildly sweeping around without a plan is the quickest way to collide with incoming bullets. Another pitfall to avoid is bad positioning. When learning a game, you should take care not to position yourself too close to the edges of the screen, especially the top edge. Enemies typically enter the play area through the edges of the screen and can collide with you with no warning if you are too close. Only position yourself on an edge after you have played the game a few times and can confidently know that enemies will not emerge from there. In a vertical shooter, the safest position for learning a game is towards the bottom-center of the screen (but not all the way on the bottom edge, sometimes enemies can come from behind as well!)

===3F – Practice techniques.===

The quickest way to master playing shmups is to pick a game you really like and practice it! By playing a game over and over, you can learn that game’s bullet patterns and memorize how to avoid them. If the game has a practice mode, you may consider playing and learning just one stage at a time. I find it easier to memorize one stage at a time rather than playing the whole game at once. Identify particular patterns or areas that cause you problems and practice them repeatedly until you have a concrete strategy that you can execute every time. If the game does not have a practice mode, consider using emulation and save states to isolate and practice problem areas. By stringing together the sections you have “solved” you will eventually be able to master the whole game! Furthermore, once you have mastered one game, you will develop the transferable skills that will let you succeed at any other shooting games you try.

===3G – Making a route.===

Routing is the process of putting together the sections of a shmup that you have mastered into a continuous strategy. Think of a route as a kind of outline or plan for how to solve each area. Ideally, you will have a route for the entire game, and you will only deviate from the route and improvise if something unexpected happens. This way, you will be calm while playing and have a plan for whatever the game throws at you, to the point where you do things almost unconsciously. This makes you as prepared as possible to take action when things go wrong (and they will). Developing a route is the product of practice, but you can shortcut this by looking at examples from other players. Go on popular video sites and look up 1 credit clear runs of your favorite game. You will almost always find an example video from a high level player who has already figured out how to complete the game. As a new player, you don’t need to emulate everything that player is doing, (especially since these videos often contain risky scoring techniques) but you can grab general ideas or dodging tricks from videos like this. The knowledge is out there, so learn from it and grow your abilities even faster! .

==Section 4 – Finding your shmup==

To start with, I recommend checking out a broad variety of cheap or free shooting games on the PC. Each game you play is going to present you with a different flavor of the genre, and many players are very particular about the features that they enjoy. Some players really love dense bullet hell patterns, some love games with dynamic rank and deep scoring systems, and still others prefer a sense of nostalgic exploration and wonder. You will want to experiment for a bit to find “your shmup”, a game that strongly appeals to you and that you will be motivated to develop your skills with. If you try a few games and find that you are completely addicted to shmups, then you can start to think about getting into the more obscure games and hardware.

Now this is info available for all of you who mgiht be starting out in the journey of shmups, if you're like me, maybe you're better with visual stuff than reading like we all had to do when we started out more than a decade ago. In the 2000s we had to search throguh tons of threads in forums just to find answers that might had been incorrect. To this day, the legacy of said forums is still alive and it lives throguh this server and other. I'm a firm believer in learning by doing, so I'll add 2 games that I absolutely recommend to any beginner:
. (edited)

Beginner Games to get you started:
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1173940/Barrage_Musical__Basic_Danmaku_Tutorial/ Barrage Musical ~ Basic Danmaku Tutorial] (it DOES HAVE English support from the main menu!)

[https://www.freem.ne.jp/win/game/8572 Barrage simulation 296] (Freeware title, No translation, Japanese only, still a perfect step 2)

==GLOSSARY for SHMUPS!==

You might perhaps come across the forums we used to live on (and many here still do!) and/or started conversations with people who mention words you mgiht not know. Words such as "streaming","cutbacks", "tap dodging", "jerking", "safe spots", etc.

When a community has been going for 40 years, its easy to take this dialect for granted, but fear not humble beginners, we have glossaries to check those definitions which I'll link right now.

[https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1083937#p1083937 Shmups Forum (System11/ "The Farm") Glossary]

[[Help:Glossary|Shmups.wiki]] (the best resource for detailed info about shmups online! Worked on by fellow shmuppers)

[https://www.sega-16.com/2005/04/unofficial-shmups-glossary/ Sega-16] (Arcade Enthusiast forum)

If you have recently started your journey as a shmup pilot, then you might have realized that Shmups are usually a LOT more complex than one would initially think and that the most popular arcade shooters (Shoot 'em ups/SHMUPS/STG games) usually have a deep layer of depth to them that are not initially noticeable. It's easy to fall into the Dunnin Kroeger effect and thinking you know everything in a game, but then you see a superplay and realize you know nothing about the game you're playing.

This is NORMAL! Don't fret and don't stay in the "Valley of Despair", that's why we're here, to help each other out and enjoy this hobby that we all appreciate. If you feel uncomfortable or you need deep mechanics explained to you then you can check the Shmups.wiki Project! It's being mantained by the members of this community and we're happy to welcome help from anyone who is interested.

[[Main_Page|https://shmups.wiki/library/Main_Page]]

You can check the "List of shooting games" Tab to see what games have had updates and have a pretty lenghty list
However, we are aware that the wiki project will take some time and its still a WIP, so in case you can't find the game you're looking for there you can check the "Shmups Farm" which contains info and discussions for everything you might need regarding shmups. From info on developers, arcade knowledge, emulation, correct emulation settings (more on this later), game availability, game buying guides, score mechanics conversations, and many other things. If you are young (and chances are you might be considering the influx of new people) then this forum might be older than yourself, but the knowledge is as good as ever in most cases.

https://shmups.system11.org/

[[Category:General Guides]]

Category:General Guides

2023-04-30T21:37:21Z

Trilkin: Created page with "A list of non-game specific guides, primarily geared toward general strategies for the genre."

A list of non-game specific guides, primarily geared toward general strategies for the genre.

Boghog's bullet hell shmup 101

2023-04-30T21:36:33Z

Trilkin:

This is the wiki version of [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iM9Fc2DsPppedlJVDYQ3g1VB5sFfilomGIYFIwJka9w/edit# this doc]

This doc covers the '''fundamental aspects''' of designing a bullet hell (danmaku) shmup. This is heavily skewed towards CAVE’s style of games, but a lot of the things discussed here can be carried over to other styles.

'''Knowing these fundamentals is important''' even if you’re going to break every rule in the book, because it helps you make '''informed choices''' instead of taking shots in the dark.

I’ll include examples when appropriate but for practical purposes, I will avoid too many counterexamples, edge cases and other complications.
The goal is to give a good idea of how to make a typical CAVE-style shmup. If you want to branch out past that & make something different you’re on your own!

'''And don't forget, first hand experience is everything! Play shmups a lot, you don't have to get 1cc's or good scores but getting to a point where you can watch a good replay of your favourite game and understand what the players are doing is a must.'''
'''Game design requires good intuitions for what feels right, and the best way to build that intuition is through experience.'''

'''[[Help:Glossary|A glossary to get you started]]'''

== MOVEMENT & SPACE ==

=== The Play Area ===

'''This is where all the action happens'''. '''The play area''' can either be '''contained by the screen''', or it can be wider thanks to '''horizontal panning''' seen in many vertical shmups.
The size of the play area is relative to the size of the game’s objects and hitboxes.

The tiny hitboxes of Danmaku games make for relatively large play areas which allows them to fill the screen with bullets.
This has downsides however - large play areas funnel games into relying on lots of projectiles for challenge. It makes it much harder to rely on simple patterns.

[[File:0.png|frame|center|The same kind of challenge with different hitboxes, the Danmaku style example has more than twice the bullets.]]

A game's movement speed and shot type has to be tuned to match the size of the play area, narrow areas can afford to (and can benefit from) slower move speeds and narrow shot types to emphasise small differences in positioning and give enemies time to do their thing (examples : Gunbird 2, Dragon Blaze). Wider play areas tend to use faster speeds, wider shots or some kind of multi directional weapons to compensate for the large distances the player has to travel (examples : Mars Matrix, Under Defeat HD).

=== Movement ===

The most fundamental source of challenge in danmaku games is identifying, predicting and manipulating different bullet trajectories and making precise movements to dodge bullets and control screen space. Because of this, giving the player as much control, consistency and awareness as you can is the top priority, the movement should feel seamless.

For consistency’s sake, it’s best to avoid different directional movement speeds, such as the ship moving faster on the x axis than the y axis, or faster diagonal movement. Don’t forget to normalise your diagonal movement! There are some great games with faster diagonal movement like Battle Garegga and Armed Police Batrider, but they are rare.

Movement inertia should be avoided entirely because it adds an unnecessary layer of lag to the movement that players have to adjust to, without adding any interesting gameplay dynamics. Even the smallest amount of acceleration will be noticeable to experienced players.
If your movement doesn’t “feel smooth”, then it’s most likely the result of lacklustre visuals rather than a lack of inertia. Some tricks that can make movement feel smoother - beef up your shot/rate, add an afterimage (see Symphony of the Night/Megaman ZX), match your ship’s banking animation speed to movement speed, have the ship leave trails (see Danmaku Unlimited 3), give your ship’s options (floating bits near your ship) some inertia.

=== Normal/Focus Shot ===

Danmaku games often feature a focus shot mechanic, which was popularised by CAVE. The player’s ship has 2 states with their own speed, a fast wide shot mode (tapping the button), and a slower focus shot mode (holding down the button) usually represented by a laser or another kind of concentrated shot.

This is useful because it gives the player more control and creates some basic but rewarding gameplay dynamics - the players have to think whether they need to use fast movement to quickly get into position, use slow movement to make dodging more precise, or accept slow movement for the sake of additional damage-per-second.

The transition between normal & focused speed is usually (but not always, see Touhou) interpolated to create a smoother, more gradual transition. The speed difference between the normal and focus shot itself varies depending on game & ship (focus being ⅔ of the original speed is a good middle ground).

The gameplay effects of different speeds are highly varied, the usual archetypes you have are fast, powerful ships with narrow shots, or slower weaker ships with wide shots.

=== Hitbox and visibility ===

During gameplay, players won’t have the time to look at their ships, instead focusing on enemies, their patterns and places they are moving to. They will roughly estimate the ship’s position based on the stream of bullets they shoot out, the general silhouette of the ship & additional visual elements (like HUD elements, flashing colours) near the ship. As a result, giving players thick, fast, noticeable bullet streams can not only enhance your game’s feel, but also the visibility. Perfectly centering the hitbox is also important because it keeps things consistent.

== SHOOTING ==

=== General ===

Shmups are all about shooting. Above all it’s important to make the act of shooting feel satisfying. Achieving a decent game feel isn’t too difficult, but there are a lot of little things to take into consideration.
A general bit of advice - when you’re making a game’s objects move, you become the game’s animator. The only difference is that you animate things through code rather than by redrawing frames or moving things around. As a result, studying fundamentals of animation & practising will pay off immensely.

On the mechanical side, the key principle for achieving a good game feel is to skew things in the player’s favour in subtle ways. Give the player a hand & compensate for their small positioning/timing mistakes, while focusing on punishing big ones.

=== Polish Effects & Small Mechanics ===

The first thing you want is speed.

* Speed is good for '''conveying force''' and making impact feel stronger. A fast bullet is a powerful bullet, especially if you combine it with an appropriate bullet splash effect.
* Speed helps '''create immediate feedback''' which is important for enhancing the player’s sense of agency. When the player presses a button they expect results.
* Speed helps the player '''keep track''' of the ship’s '''position'''. The faster you can update the bullet stream to reflect the player’s current position, the better they can estimate it.

In animation, a good way to convey the feeling of speed is by using motion blur (smears, trails). Length will create the illusion of motion and make bullets feel even faster. This can be taken to ridiculous extremes and still look good. The opposite will likely read poorly - short sprites will clash with fast travel speed and create a disconnect. As a general rule of thumb, you should always consider the projectiles’ travel speed when deciding the length of its sprite.

[[File:11.png|frame|center|An extreme example - which one looks like it’s travelling quickly?]]

The next element you want is density. Make big, fat projectiles, huge messy streams, cluster bullets together and don’t concern yourself with making things too neat and organised. All of this makes the player ship feel like a force to be reckoned with. Players want to feel powerful, they want to feel like they’re wiping out everything in their path and overwhelming the enemies, even as the game is kicking their ass. Dense bullet streams create this illusion.

[[File:2.png|frame|center|CAVE’s shots are rarely too “pretty” or organised, but they work. Chaos feels good!]]

Dense patterns help the players estimate their position, smoothen out imperfections and let the player’s mind imagine more interesting bullet streams than what’s actually on the screen.

Giving the player’s shots huge hitboxes, and giving enemies huge hurtboxes makes the game feel better by compensating for the player’s minor positioning/aiming mistakes. The player’s shots shouldn’t have massive gaps or dead zones, and their emitters should be low.

[[File:3.png|frame|center|Make sure that players can hit enemies while sitting on top of them so they don’t run into frustrating moments where they have to do micro-adjustments in the heat of the moment.]]

=== Shot Limit ===

The on screen shot limit is when games only allows a limited amount of player projectiles to be on the screen at once, it refuses to create new ones until the old ones exit the screen, hit an enemy or are otherwise destroyed.

[[File:4.png|frame|center|The shot limit is most obvious in early shmups such as Galaga (which only allows 2 shots on screen) but it exists in almost every other arcade shmup as well.]]

Born out of hardware limitations, the mechanic has become a staple of the genre because it perfectly meshes with the player’s movement and creates some very fun natural gameplay dynamics. The closer the player is to an enemy, the faster their shot rate (and DPS) will be.

The prominence of the shot rate is different in every game. Games/ships with high fire rates and low on screen shot counts encourage a very aggressive in-your-face kind of playstyle while the opposite creates more dodging oriented games.

[[File:5.png|frame|center|A classic example of players using proximity to quickly kill the stage 1 mid boss in Raiden 2.]]

It should be noted that in addition to this, some games have other forms of proximity damage, such as Dodonpachi’s ship aura, which surrounds the ship and does tick damage. Other unique ways of creating proximity damage are worth experimenting with.

=== Power Ups ===

Power ups are all about trickery and illusion. Increasing the damage in a straightforward manner will most likely lead to balancing issues. The player's level 10 shot cannot be 10 times more powerful than their default shot without something breaking.

Shmups get around this problem by simply lying to the player about their power level, increasing damage by a very small amount (for example x1.1). This practice is normal and is seen in most shmups from Toaplan to CAVE.

Numbers aside there are other ways to make shots feel more powerful. Increase projectile width and height, increase their speed, make them look more saturated, add details to the shots, make damage sounds more powerful. You can even decrease the damage values but add additional projectile emitters, like Gradius-style trailing options. Anything that makes the shot more satisfying without causing balance issues or making the lower levels feel terrible is fair game.

== LIVES, BOMBS AND RECOVERY ==

Shmups tend to be pretty strict with how they handle lives - in CAVE games you tend to get a starting stock, a couple of extends and a 1-UP item. This strict approach has its benefits as it forces the game design to be very tight since any mistake will be severely punished. The games are, with some exceptions (true last bosses) designed to let you avoid every single bit of damage with some practice.

Shmups with robust, large health bars tend to lack this rigorous design, which is why health bars are a bit of a taboo. That does not mean that they’re bad, however - multiple CAVE games like Guwange, Deathsmiles and Akai Katana use them quite well.

Because each mistake is very costly, the games give you a breather if you do die. After each death, all enemy bullets are cancelled to clear up the screen. After a short while, this cancelling stops but the player is still given a couple-few seconds of invincibility to kill some enemies & reposition themselves. Not destroying bullets helps with the repositioning process since players will know what to expect. Generous invincibility is important to prevent chain-deaths.

Bombs are a multi-purpose resource, they can be used defensively (called panic bombing) and offensively to safely & quickly kill bosses. It’s beneficial to add a small buffer so that if the player bombs within a couple or a few frames of their death, they can nullify their death. Dying on the frame you bombed always feels frustrating.

== BULLET PATTERNS ==

=== Bullet Visibility ===

The overlapping projectiles and patterns, enemy waves, various particle effects and items make for very chaotic and busy screens. Yet despite this density of objects and information, danmaku games must have exceptionally good visibility to guarantee a fair, non-frustrating player experience.

The world of art provides a very helpful concept when dealing with visibility - VALUE. Value refers to the lightness/darkness of any given colour, it takes hue/saturation/brightness into consideration, as each part of the hue is unique. It can be grouped into 3 general categories - highlights, midtones and shadows.

[[File:66.png|frame|center|The best way to isolate value is to run an image through a black & white filter.]]

While looking at the values of different bullet sprites, you may notice a pattern - they put light & dark values side-by-side. The bullets often have very bright elements (the glowing cores) right next to dark elements (borders, sometimes inner circles/lines). This is how you maximise visibility by using values.

Low contrast backgrounds that rely primarily on midtones also help with visibility since they let you freely use extreme values for important elements.

[[File:7.png|frame|center|Colour is important too - there are good reasons why so many danmaku games settled on reds, pinks and purples - they are less likely to clash with commonly used colours, unlike traditional yellow and orange bullets which tend to overlap with explosions & golden items.]]

Chunking patterns is vital for visibility. Players try to predict bullet trajectories and move accordingly, and chunking helps to telegraph this. Try to group bullets up into lines and other clear patterns, single stray bullets are hard to read and can often feel unfair. Bullets with unusual, hard to predict trajectories may need extra effects like trails to help players out.

[[File:8.png|frame|center|Some examples of how you can make trajectories clearer - group bullets, elongate them, or give them trails.]]

Animation also helps bullets stand out. Looking at CAVE bullet sprites will quickly reveal all kinds of wobble and ripple animation which catch the player's eye and give each bullet a unique identity.

Last but not least you have depth sorting. Enemy bullets should always be drawn on top of other game objects such as player sprites, projectiles, items and explosions. Use bullet size and speed to inform their depth. Smaller, faster bullets should be drawn over bigger, slower bullets. Single bullets or small chunks should be drawn over bigger easier to read chunks.

=== Pattern Types ===

When you break things down, danmaku games only have 3 simple types of patterns, they are as follows :
* '''Aimed'''. The trajectory of the pattern is based on the player's position on screen. Good for pressure, allows conscious manipulation by the player. Can be quite dynamic due to inconsistency in the player's inputs.
* '''Static'''. The bullet trajectories are predefined and do not change based on the player's position. Good for creating obstacles. Static patterns give the designer a lot of control, letting them flex and make beautiful and cool patterns.
* '''Random'''. The bullet trajectory is randomised. Keeps things fresh. Has to be used carefully because it can create unfair situations.

[[File:9.png|frame|center|A common pattern combining a static pattern (elongated bullets) and an aimed pattern (chunks of thick round bullets). The aimed bullets force the player to move, while the static pattern makes their movement more difficult. Games mix and match these 3 simple pattern types to create layered, unique and fun challenges.]]

The x/y coordinates of the emitters can either be preset and unchanging (which guarantees that the patterns are clean and consistent), or they can change based on the enemy's movements (which allows you to create very dynamic and unpredictable patterns by bending and distorting the patterns).

=== Lanes ===

When designing '''dense patterns''', thinking of them as a '''collection of "lanes"''' that players can take is very helpful.

Think of each lane as a '''micro-challenge''' that '''players opt into'''. They can either '''commit''' to one lane or '''move from one to another''' in real time. Additionally, the '''lanes can change over time''' and force the player to '''adapt'''. Each lane can have '''its own pros and cons''' - some might be safer but give you less damage opportunities, some might be very risky but rewarding, some might give you less space to move around, some more. Ideally, '''their properties''' will become even '''more meaningful''' when you '''combine enemy types'''. Obvious safe spots that let you quickly kill enemies can also be very rewarding.

Compare this to '''enemy attacks in other action games''' - you don't want there to only be 1 way of dealing with them. Ideally, you want to '''give the player a range of options''', each with their own '''semi-unique pros and cons'''.

[[File:bh_lanes_small.png|frame|center|A common mistake - having patterns entirely block off huge chunks of the screen and forcing players to stay outside and either wait them out or kill enemies from weird angles.]]

== ENEMIES ==

=== Enemy Roles ===

Controlling screen space makes up the majority of shmup gameplay, which means active manipulation of bullets and enemies by the player. Keeping this in mind, you can identify some common enemy roles:

* '''Pressure'''. The shots of these enemies put constant pressure on the player and force them to move around.
* '''Area denial'''. The shots of these enemies block off parts of the screen and make movement more difficult.
* '''Direct challenge'''. These enemies are usually elites that challenge the player directly with dense, difficult patterns.

Levels mix and match these enemy types to create interesting challenges.

=== Dynamic Design ===

The player's engagement with enemies should be dynamic. You should never let the player feel like their actions don’t matter. A good, dynamic enemy design would be one which plays out very differently based on how well the player’s doing. Killing enemies quickly should be hugely beneficial, and leaving them alive should be rather dangerous. The last thing you want is enemies which are hard to kill, but also not very dangerous if left alive.

[[File:bh10.png|frame|center|Ketsui excels in dynamic enemy design - playing aggressively lets you keep the screen very clear while not keeping up with enemy spawns will let them quickly overwhelm you. Tyrian 2000 is the opposite - it’s safer to outright ignore many enemies than trying to kill them.]]

Think of enemy design in terms of roles given the player’s performance.

* '''Optimal Kill/Intro'''. What happens if the player kills the enemy immediately. Do you want to make sure the enemy shoots at least a little bit no matter what, or do you want to allow the player to instantly take them out?
* '''Average Kill'''. The enemy’s normal, intended behaviour.
* '''Slow Kill/Safety Net'''. What happens if the player is slow in killing the enemy. Do they linger on the screen and trap the player, or will you add some safety nets and have them fly away? Perhaps they could change their pattern to be less aggressive but still problematic.

An enemy’s priority has to be taken into consideration as well. Whether an enemy is high or low priority is an emergent property that depends on too many factors to break down into simple rules, but here are some things that tend to work:

* '''High HP'''. Bulkier enemies tend to command attention because they block player shots and can’t be easily cleared out whenever the player wants.
* '''Dense patterns'''. Patterns which are difficult to dodge and block off parts of the screen will make enemies exceptionally dangerous especially when there is a high amount of overlap.
* '''Wide cone'''. Enemies that have aimed shots that spread out over a wide cone are a lot harder to control, and as such more dangerous.

[[File:bh11.png|frame|center|Cone example.]]

High rate of fire. This makes enemies particularly nasty and prone to trapping the player, encouraging players to dispatch them ASAP.

'''Some rules of thumb:'''

* Enemies, especially popcorn enemies, should not have much more HP than is needed to fulfil their function.
* Safely approaching enemies for a kill shouldn’t be disproportionately dangerous, it should never be more beneficial to ignore enemies and let them leave the screen than efficiently killing them.

[[File:bh12.png|frame|center|Having high HP enemies drift downwards can exacerbate this problem, because being under them is inherently very dangerous.]]

* Enemies should have big hitboxes and slower predictable movement. Dense and difficult bullet patterns make up most of the challenges in danmaku games, so making enemies needlessly elusive and difficult to hit will likely cause frustration for the player.

'''To keep enemy health low while guaranteeing they will shoot at least once, it may be desirable to cheat and only make them vulnerable after that first initial shot.'''

=== Polish Effects & Minor Mechanics ===

A good enemy is fun to hit and kill. Some ways this can be achieved are:

* '''Hit indicators'''. Enemies should react to getting hit or else they will feel like ethereal forces rather than objects that exist in the game’s world. This can take the form of simple flashing, damage particles/effects or shaking.
* '''Subtle hit sound effects'''. The player needs to feel it when they’re doing damage to enemies.
* '''Big, meaty explosions'''. Explosion sprites should be large, significantly bigger than the enemy sprite. Different explosion sprites, patterns and extra debris are always welcome.

Some minor mechanics which help make games feel more polished:

* '''Bullet sealing'''. This is an anti-frustration mechanic that makes it so that weaker ground enemies don’t shoot if the player’s sitting on top of them/is very close to them.
* '''Dead zone at the top of the screen'''. This is a small space near the very top where enemies cannot be killed or damaged. This prevents the player from killing off-screen enemies they can’t even see.
* '''Ceasefire zone'''. The invisible part of the screen that renders enemies passive. This is primarily used for ground targets such as turrets and tanks, which drift to the bottom of the screen if left alive.

== LEVEL DESIGN ==

Danmaku level design might seem very simple on the surface, however there are many nuances to it that make it both difficult and interesting. At its core, it's just like any other type of level design - the goal is to build challenges that encourage the player to play the way you want them to, while leaving plenty of room for experimentation.

Flow should be the core goal of Danmaku level design. Flow is a feeling the players get when experiencing an uninterrupted sequence of smooth movement. It is achieved by guiding the player towards the intended route with the use of soft incentives & clear telegraphing and making the movement itself interesting. The player’s movement should be frequent. It should be smooth, one action should flow into the next; there needs to be a constant sense of forward momentum. It should be varied, testing the player in different ways - quick sweeping zig zag motions, precise tap-dodging, aggressive point blanking at the top of the screen and defensive dodging at the bottom. And it should take advantage of the screen real estate, clustering the action on one side of the screen is wasteful and unexciting.

[[File:bh13.png|frame|center|Zig zagging patterns are better for creating a sense of flow because they don’t force the player to pause. The same applies to tank formations, it’s important to avoid the kinds of vertical stacks of tanks that force the player to move back & forth or stay in a single area.]]

[[File:bh14.png|frame|center|Avoid putting enemies too close to the borders of the play area, it can create some nasty traps for the player.]]

[[File:bh15.png|frame|center|Spawning two or more higher HP enemies at the exact same time creates confusion in the player as they won’t know which to prioritise. Spawning them one-by-one with slight delays in between creates an obvious route for players to take.]]

=== Player Behaviours ===

Because danmaku games have full freedom of movement, it can be difficult to guide the player through the levels. You must rely on soft incentives, which requires a good understanding of how players move, what they prioritise and what they look at when playing danmaku games.

Here are some common player behaviours which you should keep in mind:

* Players will naturally stay closer to the centre of the screen on the Y axis. It gives them decent DPS and allows them to misdirect bullets more effectively while giving enough time to react to oncoming bullets.
* They will get close to high HP enemies to do extra damage whenever they get the opportunity. Usually when said enemy is preparing to shoot. Then they'll tend to go back down to dodge the volley of shots.
* As long as popcorns keep spawning in, the players will naturally move side to side as they keep streaming bullets.
* Dodging bullets at awkward diagonal angles or by mainly using up/down movement in one side of the screen is reserved for special occasions or last-resort scenarios, players will rarely do it unless they absolutely have to because it's harder to read bullets travelling diagonally, it requires more awkward inputs and it limits their offensive ability/dodging space.

=== The Toaplan Pattern ===

The Toaplan pattern is a very common enemy spawn pattern seen in most vertical shmups, but is used so frequently and so blatantly in Toaplan’s games that I came to associate it with them.

To understand the pattern it’s best to view the screen as a bunch of lanes. Their exact number isn’t too important but 5-7 tends to be the norm due to the sizes of enemies.

[[File:bh16.png|frame|center|An image showing 5 lanes. The edges of the screen don’t have lanes to prevent awkward traps.]]

The idea is to spawn each enemy on the opposite side of the screen from the previous one to force the player to move & create a kind of sense of rhythm.

[[File:bh17.png|frame|center|Many configurations can work as long as they use lanes & create sufficient gaps between enemies. Lower HP enemies can have smaller gaps in between them, while higher HP enemies will require bigger ones.]]

The Toaplan pattern works best with high priority enemies because they let you control the player’s movement and predict where they will be at any given time. It serves as the core “layer” of your level design that everything else is built around.

=== Layered Design ===

The Toaplan pattern creates a strong, reliable centre of gravity that pulls the player and makes them more predictable. To emphasise this and create a sense of rhythm, some amount of overlap is required. Enemies must spawn in relatively quick succession so that the player won’t be able to linger in one area for long. This also gives the enemies some time to breathe.

Overlap turns a series of disconnected enemy spawns into a cohesive level with its own sense of flow and interesting risk vs reward dynamics. The waves will affect each other by throwing off the player's positioning and blocking parts of the screen with projectiles, they give the player's actions more meaning as a result. If the player kills a wave quickly they will be rewarded with a safer, cleaner screen right before the next wave hits. If they fail then the wave overlap will force them to try and recover from their mistake. It gives the players good reasons to care about taking out all of those high HP enemies and popcorns as efficiently as possible.

You can augment your core layer by throwing in a bunch of weak popcorn enemies. Their most basic use is serving as little obstacles clustered on the path to the player's destination, which will most likely be enemies from the primary layer. These enemies will give the player extra things to do and worry about. The more the waves overlap the more chaotic the game can become as the shots of popcorns will block off parts of the screen and change how you approach future encounters and patterns.

[[File:bh18.png|frame|center|Throwing in a bunch of popcorn around your core spawns can make things more dynamic without disrupting flow.]]

=== Pacing, Variety and Extra Touches ===

Despite how short and dense danmaku games are, there is still a lot of room to make the pacing dynamic & memorable. Dynamism, smart repetition & variety are important because they smoothen out the learning process, making otherwise unmemorable encounters stick in the player’s mind.

Players like patterns and controlled repetition. Reusing the same enemy for several encounters back-to-back can make a part of a level more memorable, as long as there is sufficient variety in the encounters and how they challenge the player, and they don't overstay their welcome.

Constant intensity, heavy layering/overlap and high levels of challenge will blend together and wear out the player. Creating slight variations in the game's intensity levels by tweaking and emphasising those aspects of level design to different extents can help make the intense parts stand out even more.

You want some unique set pieces to punctuate levels and create landmarks the player can use when they are learning the layout. Big mid boss like enemies, background events and even unique props are very useful here.

Adding some interaction between the enemy layer and the background layer helps make your level feel like an actual physical space. This can be achieved with destructible scenery, hidden bonuses and various polish effects like ground explosions leaving behind craters.

== SCORING SYSTEMS ==

Scoring systems are integral to shmups, the genre developed them more than any other. There are so many tightly made robust systems that it often feels like everything's been done already, and done well.

They add depth to games and make them more replayable by giving players more meaningful elements to learn & clear constantly shifting goals. They create dynamic difficulty by having players take on greater challenges as they get better even in earlier levels. They make the games more engaging on a moment to moment basis by giving players more to consider/think about/execute.

Scoring systems can add a layer of resource management to the games or give existing resource management more meaning. They connect different encounters into a cohesive whole and give players long term goals to work on beyond survival. And they can work as a way to gauge the player's skill growth over time.

[[File:bh19.png|frame|center|Ketsui’s enemy multiplier & Espgaluda’s gems are finite resources that players have to manage and spend strategically (because different enemies/screens have different scoring potential). Many games use such systems to create layers of resource management.]]

[[File:bh20.png|frame|center|Battle Garegga and Armed Police Batrider have particularly robust economies where in addition to bomb fragments & lives, the dynamic difficulty itself (rank) functions like a resource that must be managed.]]

Shmups have a very simple core layer that's transferable between games, scoring systems are what make the games truly come into their own.

Even if you, as a developer, have no interest in adding & fleshing out scoring systems, you must understand what they bring to the table and figure out good ways to recreate it by other means.

=== Constructing a Scoring System ===

When creating scoring systems, it’s good to think of them as sets of conflicting goals & priorities. This is what makes scoring systems dynamic & deep and forces players to make decisions and plan their routes.

The most basic example of this conflict is between scoring and survival - players want to stay safe to survive, but scoring forces them to go out of their way & do risky stuff to reach secondary objectives.

These conflicting goals also exist within scoring systems too. If your scoring is item-based it may be impossible to grab every single item the game can generate, forcing players to decide what to prioritise. If your game uses finite resources for scoring, then players have to figure out where to optimally use them. The fact that players can’t have everything forces them to approach the games more thoughtfully.

The principle is the same when creating any kind of game depth - create sets of conflicting short term & long term goals with some overlap and force players to figure out what to prioritise when.

=== Incentives & Tangibility ===

Scoring on its own can be a rather abstract mini-game which is detached from most in-game objects & natural player behaviours. As a result, scoring systems can feel arbitrary and meaningless to players. To counter this, games try to take advantage of intuitive incentives while making scoring elements more tangible & connected with the player's performance.

Incentives are natural/intuitive when they are either backed by very strong audio-visual feedback (making items tangible helps), when they take advantage of behaviours players are conditioned to, or behaviours that naturally follow from the rules of the game (such as killing enemies efficiently, or going fast in a racing game). The more in line with the feedback & rules of the game your incentives are, the less arbitrary they will feel. Going fast to increase your score in a racing game will feel natural, going in circles at the starting line will not.

[[File:bh21.png|frame|center|Things like shiny coins and big numbers are ways to make scoring feel more tangible by representing it by real in-game objects which players will “naturally” want to grab.]]

[[File:bh22.png|frame|center|Even relatively more detached scoring systems like the one in Dodonpachi use a “natural” desire to see big flashing numbers grow as an incentive for scoring.]]

[[File:bh23.png|frame|center|Caravan-style games like Soldier Blade & Dangun Feveron take advantage of the player’s desire to kill enemies quickly & efficiently by rewarding quick kills with more score.]]

The ideal scoring system is one that players fall into from playing due to incentives being perfectly lined up, one where players can gauge their performance without looking at numbers, and one that’s deep & challenging.

=== Linear vs Exponential Scoring ===

[[File:bh24.png|frame|center|]]

Linear vs Exponential refers to two types of scoring system, they should be viewed more as metaphors rather than taken literally.

Linear scoring systems are straightforward - you kill an enemy/pick up a scoring item, you get a set number of points. Typically these scoring systems have little to no punishment for missing an individual enemy/scoring item.

Once things like multipliers, big cash out moments & end stage bonuses are introduced, the scoring gain becomes exponential. Exponential scoring systems typically come with harsher punishments for failure. Your chains might break & your bonuses will reset/disappear.

'''Linear systems'''
* Reflect the player’s skill more holistically. They don’t disproportionately punish mistakes during specific sections, or make longer stages/specific parts disproportionately lucrative.
* Minimise frustration. Linear systems let you recover from mistakes with exceptional performance.

'''Exponential systems'''
* Provide high risk, high reward. This can be very exciting and gives the games a strong “one more try” quality.
* Offer very clear feedback when the player is doing well/poorly. Sudden massive boosts of score are a good way to indicate that the player is doing something right.

Both styles have their own pros & cons. Games are rarely one or the other, they usually limit the exponential elements (such as capping multipliers) to create a more linear curve and add various small multipliers to further optimise fairly linear scoring systems.

=== Aggressive vs Defensive ===

'''Defensive Scoring Systems'''
The game attacks you with its scoring. Whenever you perform an action like killing an enemy or picking up an item, the games give you some kind of bonus and start a timer forcing you to continue certain actions in fear of losing said bonus. Being passive is massively punished.
Example: Dodonpachi

'''Aggressive Scoring Systems'''
You attack the game. Extra score has to be actively earned by performing certain actions. The game does not pressure you into continuing combos, being passive is simply not rewarded.
Example: Giga Wing

Games exist on a spectrum between these two styles. Certain games like Guwange have strong defensive & aggressive elements - your chain is timed, but it also doesn’t increase much unless you aggressively earn coins.

=== Depth vs Clarity ===

It may be tempting to go nuts with all kinds of multipliers, sub multipliers, varied base values, several levels of resource management & more in order to create a deep system that’ll keep players occupied for a long time.

This has massive downsides because as you’re increasing a game’s mechanical complexity in an effort to maximise depth, you’re making your system hard to understand and as a result preventing players from forming a solid game plan. Focusing solely on adding depth without increased complexity is a potential solution, but not a practically viable one.

To solve this problem, games create a hierarchy of systems/goals and limit depth by creating more clear discrete states. To do this mechanically, scoring needs to invert its risk vs reward dynamics - instead of riskier & more complicated moves being more rewarding, they should be less rewarding. To do this visually, you need to emphasise the more important scoring elements visually while making the less important ones more subtle.

The idea is to give the player a simple, easy to understand game plan upfront and then let them discover additional nuances and complications at their own pace.

[[Category:General Guides]]