Shmup of the Month Club 2012

[jepjepjep]

Nice score ChrisH. The stage 1 chain is what I've been trying to get down. The best I've done is to have two chains through the stage.

@Tyranix: What part are you stuck on?

[noiseredux]

@noiseredux: Watch this Vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCBPhhi5-Co

This is how you want to attack levels 1and 2.

Keeping a long chain going is most ideal for scoring but is also difficult. The next best thing is to discover spots to reflect large amounts of bullets back at a big enemy (or a bunch of smaller ones). Each bullet reflected back turns into a +1 exp.cube if it hits something. So you can get a quick +100 or so chain in the right places. (Another big difference MM has from GigaWing is the ability to aim reflected shots.) A good opportunity is the large tanks midway through stage 1. Another is at the end of the stage, just before the boss...the 2 rows of green planes. The shield is more than just defense...

Also the stage 1 boss, it's not really ideal to shoot him with your weaponry. There are many methods of fighting this boss, but the main similarity is destroying it with its own bullets and collect the gold. Your multiplier will thank you with a better score into the next stage(s).

thanks guys, I definitely have some homework to do on this one!

[mjmjr25]

I've never played using the captured bullets as offensive weapons Always held down til it went off and cleared screen ---- good for survival, but not score.

The problem now is avoidable deaths picking up the extra gold. I've now doubled my level 1 score and tripled the experience, crazy.

[ExedExes]

I've been pretty busy outside the realm of gaming this month, but the next week seems to be relatively clear. It's too bad the DC port exponentially increases one's scores. Hope to get some more time on this. It appears that getting to Stage 3 is considered *good*, so I'll be a part of that group.

[Tyranix95]

The crab boss is my nemesis.

JEP - 10,527,797,560 - Exp: 211,026 - Level 5 - Stage 3 - CPS2 ...

Bump!!

Tx95 - 16,229,474,800 - Exp: 273,613 (Lv.5) - Stg. 3 - CPS2

... @Tyranix: What part are you stuck on?

I got a couple of more runs in today. Score and Exp. went up; however, I still died in the same spot. /

The spot I keep dieing at is starts at 1:22" in the UTV. It's the part of Lv. 3 right after all the cubes, and right before the Crab Boss, where the rain of bullest comes at ya.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPc95uTpYFI

I don't know why--But I keep turning into a bullet magnet right there. And I seem to get trapped agaist the side of the screen. I'm gonna try and bomb my whay thorugh the spot next time--see if that helps any.

[mjmjr25]

Well, now that i'm using bullet capture as offense and not as a way to clear the screen - i'm not getting nearly as far (stage 4 start instead of stage 4 boss) but the boss milking def. pays off as my score and experience are both improving significantly.

Yesterdays best run:

mjmjr25 - 6,897,889,710 - Stage 4 - Level 4 - Exp. 129,383 - Arcade/CPS2

[skate323k137]

Skate323k137 - 23,973,654,120 - Stage 4 - Mosquito1 - Dreamcast

Not much of an improvement, but score went up a litttle bit. I feel like the Mosquito1 is just too slow for stage 4, I may have to try the other ship.

[noiseredux]

Ok weird. I'm playing more aggressive, getting more big box drops. But I'm surviving less. So my score has been cut in half. Ashamed to say that so far, 744M is my top score. Yeah. 744M... I originally thought the 4's were 9's, so not even as close to 800M as I thought. You guys are all rocking the billions without me.

[Tyranix95]

Ok weird. I'm playing more aggressive, getting more big box drops. But I'm surviving less. So my score has been cut in half. ...

I. THE SCORING SYSTEM.

It's Simple: Just shoot stuff and finish a stage and you will score some points.

A. Five ways to "shoot" something: The Pluse Cannon, The Rapid Fire Cannon, The Gravity Hole (Buzz Saw) Device, Reflected Enemy Bullets, and With A Gravity Hole Bomb (The "Shock Wave" deals the damage).

Tip: The PC and GHD are great ways to attack large targets and build up Score at the same time.

B. Two ways to "Clear" a Stage: By Time Out (the Boss goes away and you do not collect a Time Bonus); and, By Boss Kill (Boss dies and you collect a Time Bonus).

C. In General, Enemy Point Values: Small Enemies: Worth the Least amout of points. Medium Enemies: Worth more points. Structures: Imho, worth the same as Medium size enemies. The Boss: Worth the most amount of points (You can also destroy multiple parts of the boss before you finish him off, for extra points).

II. The Mars Matrix Cube: After you destroy someting, you are usually rewarded with a Mars Matrix Cube. Collect one Cube and your Ship's Experience points will go up--and your "Chain Meter" will gain some time. Collect more Mars Matrix Cubes while your Chain Meter is active, and you will be rewared with a bouns in the form of extra Experience and more "Chain Time." When the "Chain Time" runs out, then you have to build meter all over again.

Hope This Info Helps.

[noiseredux]

B. Two ways to "Clear" a Stage: By Time Out (the Boss goes away and you do not collect a Time Bonus);

crap. I didn't realize that. That's probably why I was scoring higher earlier. I was going for hard kill instead of milking.

EDIT: yeah, your tips helped...

2,650,967,610 -- so I've cracked that elusive 1B (2x) now.

(screen pic to follow)