Shmup of the Month Club 2013 (Giga Wing)

[DocHauser]

I think Unlimited Mode needs 300,000. For the Type Z ship you have to unlock it first (reach the TLB on any mode) and then pay 3 million.

[ExedExes]

Unlimited mode is 300,000 points, which I found out I had more than enough of last night. If you want a challenge, this is where you go. Original Mode amped up the bullets to a higher level than Simple Mode did, but Unlimited Mode did it even more. I died in an unceremonial blaze of glory as soon as I reached the land area in Stage 1, which just goes to show a lot more memorization is needed as well as having Type Z ship which will help greatly

I would also hope in these last few days that a few more of you try Original Mode. This was the mode that sold it for me. I'm still trying to do better on Simple Mode, but I can't avoid all the careless mistakes I keep making in Stages 2 & 3. That 38 million I got had no misses in both Stage 1 & 2, so I've got to be able to do better.

Scores updated below. I'll have one more update to lock in the end of the month more than likely.

SIMPLE MODE
DocHauser - 119,610,800 - ALL - Type Z
Dunpeal2064 - 79,416,700 - Stage 5 - Type I
hashiriya1 - 66,916,190 - Stage 5 - Type I
mjmjr25 - 44,575,170 - Stage 5 (boss) - Type I
dsheinem - 42,637,630 - Stage 5 (boss) - Type I
jepjepjep - 42,909,040 - Stage 5 - Type I
ExedExes - 38,221,080 - Stage 4 - Type I
CFFJR - 19,054,680 - Stage 3 - Type I

ORIGINAL MODE
DocHauser - 272,986,351,140 - Ex Boss 2 - x14167 - Type Z
ExedExes - 22,668,187,450 - Stage 3 - x4640 - Type I

UNLIMITED MODE
DocHauser - 132,223,646,780 - Stage 4 - x12614 - Type Z

[mjmjr25]

I still don't get scoring in original mode - how do I get my multiplier higher? Should I do less lock on targeting?

[ExedExes]

I still don't get scoring in original mode - how do I get my multiplier higher? Should I do less lock on targeting?

If you are referring to the Break Multiplier, it goes up by normal and lock-on shots. It will increase even more if you shoot enemies with the main shot at point-blank range, and if you can max out your active locks on enemies. Activating Break Mode (full meter) will instantly double the multiplier and it will return to its normal level when it ends. Double Break Mode (getting the meter full again while in Break Mode) doubles it again (4X original break rate). Anytime your meter is 50-99%, you can use a bomb, but it brings down the break multiplier a small amount.

[DocHauser]

You have a 'Break Rate' and also a score multiplier. When you kill an enemy the points value will be whatever the Break Rate currently is times the score multiplier. Here's a video of Stage 5. Check out the section from about 1:45 to 2:30.



The Break Rate is about x2200, then the player enters Break Mode - the Break Rate doubles to x4400. Using the lock-on attack, they get a score multiplier of x5.6. The Break Rate increases to x5000, then they enter Double Break Mode, where the Break Rate is doubled again, up to x10000. The score multiplier is still x5.6.

You can see the score shooting up here, because it's at the part with the medium-sized ships that shoot streams of missiles from their wings. If the Break Rate is x10000 and the score multiplier is x5.6, then you'll score 56,000 for every missile destroyed. This is worth a huge amount of points - you can see that the player's score more than doubles during that short section. Stage 5 is generally where all the big points are to be made.

Short version: Increase your Break Rate, enter Break, then Double Break. Use lock-on to increase the score multiplier.

[ExedExes]

Finally, a Simple Mode score I can be proud of, and one that slots in well with the rest of you.

ExedExes - 63,273,580 - Stage 5 - Type I

Lost 2 lives in Stage 2 and I was about ready to write it off. Then I picked up 2 quick extends at the start of Stage 3 and only lost *1* life at the boss, nearly picking up the no miss there. Stage 4 boss wasn't too bad (only died previously in the stage), and Stage 5 offered a bit of relief and lots of points early on.

I'll be giving Original Mode another go before the month ends.

[DocHauser]

Had a few credits on the arcade version this afternoon. The new 'Boost Mode' (which replaces Simple Mode) seems pretty cool - once you fill up the break meter you enter Break Mode automatically and (I think) stay in Break Mode until you use a bomb or die. Of course, this increases the rank, so things start to get harder. There are extra points bonuses along the way, which flash up on the screen as 'Boost Bonus', or something like that.

Original Mode seems slightly different than before. Break Mode doesn't seem to last as long, so it's harder to reach Double Break Mode (unless you fill the 2nd bar up before you trigger Break Mode). The new extend system seems to work pretty well, (you have to collect a certain numbers of stars instead of reaching a certain score) and is mainly dependent on gathering tons of stars in Double Break Mode. There are some new mid-bosses, while main bosses have some different attacks.

Time Attack is a complete rush. 3 minutes, infinite lives, absolutely packed to bursting point with enemies and bullets. It's awesome. I suspect, if a new PC version does ever get released, that I might end up playing this mode even more than the others.

All in all, I reckon the arcade version is even better than the original. The graphics are sharper, it plays more smoothly and the new modes are a great addition. It's fantastic, probably one of my Top 5 favourite shmups ever.

[dunpeal2064]

That arcade version sounds awesome! Did you try it out at HEY?

I'm hoping that the arcade port (Weird, how many arcade games are ports?) does get a home re-release. Now that they have signed with Nessica (and, from what I've heard, another bigger company who's name appears at startup), it could go either way. If Nessica wants to keep people coming in to play the arcade, they might hold back on a PC release, at least while the arcade game is still hype. I hope not though.

I should finally have time to give Simple a couple more runs today, as well as dabble in some Original. I'm surprised at how much I am just enjoying Simple mode, and now that it is clicking a bit better, I am hoping Orig won't be so overwhelming

[mjmjr25]

My only real complaint is how long runs take. I've now done 8 runs in simple mode and 5 runs in original mode and have over 5.5-hours of gameplay (comes out to about 25 minutes per run).

I think I understand scoring better in original - I wasn't understanding why I couldn't enter double-break consistently, but on my last run by waiting for the lower bar to be at least 1/2 full, the top meter fills much faster allowing double-break to be possible. Also, i'm still panic breaking to avoid death on occasion and thus not breaking during super heavy enemies patterns.

I'm up to 16bil for original mode and doubt i'll get another chance before month end :/

[DocHauser]

That arcade version sounds awesome! Did you try it out at HEY?

It was in the a-cho arcade in Kyoto. It has a decent number of shmup cabinets, but it's mainly popular for fighting games. They seem to have tournaments here quite regularly:

http://www.a-cho.com/