141 replies to this topic

[Balcerzak]

Btw, is it allowed to tint the life/bomb counters in the earlier games? It makes the score lower if it's easier so I don't really see a problem with it.. Why aren't we playing TH2-5?

And I meant TH12, not FE12. Somehow just typed and was like "k". Not beating FE12 Normal.. But yeah.

If you want to play PC98 Touhous, I will too. Excluding Dim Dream for obvious reasons. Also, I think we should play with default lives/bombs in all the games where it is adjustable, but I suppose since it does penalize your score, I'm not too fussed either way.

Eastern Wonderland also doesn't have enough draftable modes to support four players, IIRC... despite it being a very fun game.

Edited by Balcerzak, 10 March 2012 - 10:28 AM.

[Scarlet]

The PC98 Touhous would be a problem because I don't have a DOS emulator and can't get any working. Besides, I really think seven games in a row is enough. ;/

I'm in favor of allowing lives and bombs to be adjusted in the games that support it. Increasing your lives penalizes your score, but may give you a shot at actually beating the game if you struggle with the standard amount, so it's a fair trade-off. Lowering them is pointless anyway, as this also lowers your score (as you get a lower game clear bonus) and makes the game much harder to beat.


Anyway, I'll start off by picking Reimu A for T11.


@Naglfar: On Lunatic? Fun. Beating Lunatic isn't that tough, but anyone who is capable of 1ccing it definitely deserves utmost respect.

[Balcerzak]

TH7 Sakuya A

[mmKALLL]

TH6 MarisaB.

[Naglfar]

Btw, is it allowed to tint the life/bomb counters in the earlier games? It makes the score lower if it's easier so I don't really see a problem with it.. Why aren't we playing TH2-5?

And I meant TH12, not FE12. Somehow just typed and was like "k". Not beating FE12 Normal.. But yeah.

Uh. Standard settings. Let's not make things complicated.

No PC-98 because I kind of figured that would be sort of awkward replaywise maybe? And th02 only has three shots. And this draft would never end.

But yeah, th12, I know. Practice lots, and get the blue ones.

@Naglfar: On Lunatic? Fun. Beating Lunatic isn't that tough, but anyone who is capable of 1ccing it definitely deserves utmost respect.

1ccing it, obviously. Nothing else is really noteworthy.

[Scarlet]

But yeah, th12, I know. Practice lots, and get the blue ones.

I can't even beat 12 with only the red and green UFOs because Shou is too ridiculous.

1ccing it, obviously. Nothing else is really noteworthy.

And here I was proud of myself for recently 1ccing Ten Desires on Hard. I think I'm gonna go cry in a corner now.

[Naglfar]

I meant 1ccing as opposed to continuing. :(

Touhou's one of the easier examples of shmups, so I'm kind of hoping to get on top of it before maybe trying to loop some harder stuff.

[mmKALLL]

I think TH's easiness is a little overgeneralized - sure, the TH series in general isn't that hard and anything not Lunatic or Extra is really easy in perspective, but for example most of Cave's shmups are pretty linear and the older ones have very basic patterns. Basic isn't by any means the same as easy, but they are often just general dodging, just really tight.

[Scarlet]

@Naglfar: Still. I had 0 extra lives left on my successful Hard 1cc. I had 0 extra lives left after my successful run of the Extra Stage. I'm probably not gonna 1cc any Touhou game on Lunatic anytime soon. Heck, I'm probably not gonna 1cc any of the non-TH13 games on Hard anytime soon. D:

I've seen a lot of videos of Cave's SHMUPs, and they don't look any harder to me than Touhou. Sure, maybe they have tighter/faster bullets. But they also have much more generic patterns, and from what I've seen, at least one of the games allows you to go into some kind of invincibility mode almost non-stop, which kinda defeats the point.
Honestly, I think it's silly to try and compare completely different series in difficulty. From what I've seen, it simply looks like a different kind of difficulty.

Edited by Shade of Shadow, 11 March 2012 - 05:46 AM.

[Naglfar]

Despite all of this, it's pretty common knowledge that Touhou gives you millions of extends and ultimately doesn't get as intense as a lot of other shmups.

But Cave has really boring patterns and is visually oversaturated.

[Scarlet]

Well, "millions of extends" is a bit exaggerated. You used to be allowed 10 misses in the earlier games and still 1cc them if you played optimally otherwise (trust me, I've 1cc'd the games with 0 extra lives remaining way too often), but that's been kind of toned down in the more recent entries. UFO gives you like one or two extends at best unless you specifically cripple your score to get more, and Ten Desires plain doesn't give you more than four even if you specifically use all of your trance to double the worth of all purple spirits not dropped by bosses.

Also... Hold on, no Hitbox patch for TH06? Why? My copy of the game came with both that and the retexture patch pre-installed, and I don't even know how to remove it. Besides, it doesn't change the gameplay - whether you learn your exact hitbox through trial and error or through a simple visual aid, it doesn't change anything in the long run.

Edited by Shade of Shadow, 11 March 2012 - 05:50 AM.

[Naglfar]

Well, "millions of extends" is a bit exaggerated. You used to be allowed 10 misses in the earlier games and still 1cc them if you played optimally otherwise (trust me, I've 1cc'd the games with 0 extra lives remaining way too often), but that's been kind of toned down in the more recent entries. UFO gives you like one or two extends at best unless you specifically cripple your score to get more, and Ten Desires plain doesn't give you more than four even if you specifically use all of your trance to double the worth of all purple spirits not dropped by bosses.

Ten is a fuckload.

Also... Hold on, no Hitbox patch for TH06? Why? My copy of the game came with both that and the retexture patch pre-installed, and I don't even know how to remove it. Besides, it doesn't change the gameplay - whether you learn your exact hitbox through trial and error or through a simple visual aid, it doesn't change anything in the long run.

Apparently it does have an effect on the hitbox of certain bullets? This is just what KAL is telling me.

Oh yeah, new rules.

[Scarlet]

Ten is a fuckload.

From what I know, the CAVE SHMUPs also have one stage less than Touhou per game, and if I'm not mistaken, you get bombs in them simply by shooting stuff for a while. So maybe you get more lives in Touhou, but CAVE apparently gives you a lot more bombs instead.

Apparently it does have an effect on the hitbox of certain bullets? This is just what KAL is telling me.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Those huge bubble-shaped bullets for example are known to have a ridiculously large hitbox in TH06, and they still have that same hitbox in the patched version.
I kindly request that you reconsider that rule, as otherwise I won't be able to participate in TH06 in the first place, as I'm not gonna get a copy without the hitbox patch just for this draft when I already have a copy that works perfectly fine.

[mmKALLL]

I'm fine with hitboxpatch allowed. It's quite a big difference though honestly, since the white gives a contrast with everything else and therefore you can see it clearly even when not concentrating on it or while using your peripheral vision due to concentrating on oncoming bullets in the middle of the screen.

Eh, I kinda recalled reading it modifying the hitbox of those big bubbles, but I'm by no means sure. It might just as easily be not so, as you say.

[Naglfar]

From what I know, the CAVE SHMUPs also have one stage less than Touhou per game, and if I'm not mistaken, you get bombs in them simply by shooting stuff for a while. So maybe you get more lives in Touhou, but CAVE apparently gives you a lot more bombs instead.

They loop, and have a sixth stage at the end of the second loop. Fair enough on the bombs thing.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Those huge bubble-shaped bullets for example are known to have a ridiculously large hitbox in TH06, and they still have that same hitbox in the patched version.
I kindly request that you reconsider that rule, as otherwise I won't be able to participate in TH06 in the first place, as I'm not gonna get a copy without the hitbox patch just for this draft when I already have a copy that works perfectly fine.

K, reconsidered.

[mmKALLL]

Well, there would be no way to tell whether a person used it or not anyway, so it doesn't really even matter in practice.

[Naglfar]

Actually, if there was a difference, it would become apparent when the replay is played on a version of the game without the patch.

Does anyone know where Em is? I think he might do well to find someone to draft for him.

[Scarlet]

Thanks.

Does anyone know where Em is? I think he might do well to find someone to draft for him.

No, and in fact I've been wondering the same thing. Maybe replace him if he doesn't post by tomorrow?

[Naglfar]

Who would we replace him with?

[Scarlet]

Yourself, if you're still up for it?