Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5 [JP XBOX 360, 2009] REGION FREE W/ SCANLINES

[bcass]

Is this the version you're talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nscP9QpXoFM ?

[Schrodingers cat]

Also, does anyone know if the LE CD contains the menu music heard in the port?

It does not sound like a remix of any track from Mushi 1 or Futari, so it probably isn't in there.

Interesting.  I've just this minute ripped the audio data from the game disc (it's stored as RAW PCM in XWB containers), and it appears that the music is higher quality than on the CD (the game audio data files are sampled at 48000Hz).  I imagine that the PCB sample rates are considerably lower than those found on the CD and in the 360 audio files, which might explain the perceivable difference.  Does the PCB output in stereo?  That might also affect how it sounds (if it outputs in mono).

I'm sure that the sample rate has little to do with the changes EOJ mentioned.  Converting sample rates from 44.1kHz (CD quality) to 48kHz (the port) or vice-versa should be imperceptible if you use tools that do the conversion using the proper math.  Now I'm not sure if they changed the tracks further from the original OST CD or not for the port, but I do know that the stereo imaging has a LOT to do with the mix that you're hearing.  Now that you mentioned the PCB only outputs mono (ewwwwwww), I did a little test and when I collapsed the stereo CD mix of the last boss track to mono, the balance of the guitars became louder and were more evenly matched to the choir-like synth track.

So it could either be one of a few things:

1.  You're not used to hearing the soundtrack in stereo while playing the game
2.  The composer made mono mixes for each track for the PCB and then made stereo ones for the original OST which were then used for the port
3.  They've tweaked the balance of the OST even further for the port and accidentally made it worse than ever

I'm leaning more towards #2 at the point.

Since we're on the topic of audio and I haven't gotten my port yet (damn you play-asia economy shipping!), are the SFX for the port in mono or stereo?  To clarify, do you hear explosions on the left-hand side of the screen more on the left speaker, or does it all sound centered?  I wouldn't be surprised if the SFX were in mono and the music was in stereo, but it'd be really cool if M2 spent some time localizing sounds in the stereo field.

[StarCreator]

I took another listen... I have to say, I have the opposite opinion as EOJ, as I feel downplaying the guitars in that portion of the song vastly improves it - I found the entire song completely unlistenable when watching the superplay DVD.  Killing the guitars makes the track a lot more dynamic and interesting.

[bcass]

Interesting.  I've just this minute ripped the audio data from the game disc (it's stored as RAW PCM in XWB containers), and it appears that the music is higher quality than on the CD (the game audio data files are sampled at 48000Hz).  I imagine that the PCB sample rates are considerably lower than those found on the CD and in the 360 audio files, which might explain the perceivable difference.  Does the PCB output in stereo?  That might also affect how it sounds (if it outputs in mono).

I'm sure that the sample rate has little to do with the changes EOJ mentioned.  Converting sample rates from 44.1kHz (CD quality) to 48kHz (the port) or vice-versa should be imperceptible if you use tools that do the conversion using the proper math.

Yes, I'm well aware of that.  I was referring to the difference between the quality of the PCB compared to the CD and 360 mastering.  It's entirely possible the PCB audio files are heavily compressed (using lossy compresion) which would further alter the way they sound (as can be heard on other Cave PCBs).  Personally, I'd like to see someone undertake a project where the MAME ROMs are hacked to use lossless audio taken from the official CDs as some of the lossy compression is horrendous on some of the games.

Since we're on the topic of audio and I haven't gotten my port yet (damn you play-asia economy shipping!), are the SFX for the port in mono or stereo?  To clarify, do you hear explosions on the left-hand side of the screen more on the left speaker, or does it all sound centered?  I wouldn't be surprised if the SFX were in mono and the music was in stereo, but it'd be really cool if M2 spent some time localizing sounds in the stereo field.

Examination of the sound effects bank reveals them to be mono (@ 48000Hz).  I'm only playing through a stereo TV and I can't say I've noticed any particular stereo panning on the sound effects in-game.

I think it's odd that they didn't include the arrange tracks as an option in the actual game.  Maybe they'll sell them as DLC at a later date like Konami did with Otomedius...

[moozooh]

The sounds themselves are likely going to be mono anyway — the stereo effect should be done using panning coefficients depending on the sound source location on the screen, so one would have to use the tv's output to test for sure. Though I'm certain they wouldn't bother doing this for tate mode at least.

[Schrodingers cat]

I do like the guitar parts a lot, just not the way that they sound.  I think that the guitar tracks should have been re-recorded and/or EQ'ed differently because they are very thin sounding.  There's just no meat to the sound.  But I guess it works in a way because it makes the next part with the fluttery synth line (which I love) much more epic by comparison.  Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Yes, I'm well aware of that.  I was referring to the difference between the quality of the PCB compared to the CD and 360 mastering.  It's entirely possible the PCB audio files are heavily compressed (using lossy compresion) which would further alter the way they sound (as can be heard on other Cave PCBs).  Personally, I'd like to see someone undertake a project where the MAME ROMs are hacked to use lossless audio taken from the official CDs as some of the lossy compression is horrendous on some of the games.

Oh, gotcha.  Perhaps someone with both the PCB and the port can record the audio for a stage with the SFX off so we can do an A/B comparison for the music, because I'm quite sure that the mastered tracks are different for each version.  From doing professional audio work I can tell you that you would probably never see a merely folded-down track (stereo->mono in this case) as a master, unless people were irresponsible, the client ran out of money, or something else like that happened.  You would mix and master for mono from the start and then repeat the process from the ground up for a stereo mix/master if you needed that as well. 

As for lossy compression, I don't think it's as much of an issue for recent games (SH3 and such) as it used to be with older games (like DonPachi [cringe]). I think that having stereo sound outputs instead of mono for PCBs would probably make a bigger difference in sound quality than using lossless audio, at least for more recent games. 

Examination of the sound effects bank reveals them to be mono (@ 48000Hz).  I'm only playing through a stereo TV and I can't say I've noticed any particular stereo panning on the sound effects in-game.

Thanks for this.

[EOJ]

Just got 1,444,780,862 in Ultra Novice with Normal Reco. Does anyone on the online leaderboards have a higher score than this?

BTW the 50pt achievement for "clearing Ultra on one credit" actually isn't too hard. This is because:

1)You can set the extends to every 80mil
2)You can restart any stage as many times as you like!
3)You can continue after the first form of Larsa, you just have to beat the first form on one credit, then finish off the other two forms.

I'll try to do this tonight or tomorrow.

[adverse]

You first! 

I'm up to 870 GS.  Only got the Maniac clears/score and the above ridiculousness to go.

[EOJ]

I went down to A-Cho again today and played a credit of 1.5 Maniac. Bad news. I was wrong about the slowdown being basically 1:1 in the stages. Stage 3 in the port has a lot more slowdown! I tried to play stage 3 on the PCB with the strats I've been doing on the port all week, and I kept dying due to the lack of slowdown. So scores between the two versions definitely are not comparable. Such a shame!

Spots where the port has more slowdown in stage 3 maniac:

-Every hive (load the screen up with bullets from them, and there's lots of slowdown that makes scoring on these easy. Not so much slowdown on the PCB, so it's much harder to score here)
-The big beetles - there is only slowdown when you use shot in the PCB. When you revert back to laser to
score on them, the speed throttles back to normal. On the port, the slowdown remains even after you switch back to laser, making scoring here much easier.

[bucklemyshoe]

If it sells less than DS I could think this is because of the screen format.

or lack of lolis

[antares]

Just got 1,444,780,862 in Ultra Novice with Normal Reco. Does anyone on the online leaderboards have a higher score than this?

Last time I checked the highscore was something about 1,9b.

[NR777]

Just got this yesterday, and I'm loving it.  No DLC card, though, and I ordered it on 9/28.  A little bit pissed about that.  So much for "First come, first served." 

[lawnspic]

I just started to play maniac novice and i really like the scoring here. It lets me concentrate on the game more and not be so distracted with counter like in original and ultra. Sometimes you can keep your eyes on the action and use your intuition more.  Almost got 200mil on my first score attack.

[EOJ]

Just got 1,444,780,862 in Ultra Novice with Normal Reco. Does anyone on the online leaderboards have a higher score than this?

Last time I checked the highscore was something about 1,9b.

Really? In Ultra Novice? It's hard to fathom where they're finding an extra 400mil.  

[Megalixir]

The highest is indeed 1.90 bill, followed by 1.87.

[EOJ]

Hmm. Looks like I need to rethink some strats. BTW thanks for the info, guys. 

Ultra Novice is actually a really quality game (my favorite among all the Arrange and Novice modes in the port). It would be perfect if they took out the autobomb, kept the bomb carriers as in the normal game, and beefed up some of the bullet patterns a little bit (like the snakes in stage 4). I also wish they kept in the last form of Larsa.

[adverse]

EOJ, did you give the 80 mil extend Ultra run a try?

Achievement-wise I'm at 900, but the maniac clears are probably gonna take some time.

[EOJ]

Nah, I haven't bothered with that Ultra thing yet.

[Megalixir]

It sure was fun watching the Ultra Arrange 1.9 bill replay, complete with 10 minutes of stage 2 boss milking.

[NR777]

Pulled out a quick and dirty 1cc of Original Arrange last night on my first try.  Still need to try out Maniac and Ultra Arrange.  I've played all modes of 1.5, and can reach the Stage 3 Boss on one credit in Original Mode...but that bastard ices me very quickly.  Overall, I'm having a total blast with this game and I really think it it something special.

[gsl]

10 minutes of stage 2 boss milking.

Ah, so that's part of it.  I was able to pull 630 mil my first go, and last night brought it up to 680 mil, but I'm really having a tough time seeing how to easily pull another 400 out of my ass.  Granted I start losing bombs and lives on stage 5 which probably makes a big dent on the final score, but would it really account for that much?

It would probably behoove me to get back online and download some of those replays.

[Megalixir]

Dying isn't really an option, it brought him up from 1.88 to 1.9something. I did see some strategic bombing against Larsa. She has one pattern which comes and goes.. he bombed timely enough to cash in on it.

[EOJ]

I played a bunch of Maniac 1.5 360 mode last night, and I think it's slightly more accurate than Arcade. Slowdown in Stage 3, in particular, feels closer to the PCB.

I did experience my first graphical glitch in 360 mode last night - got to Larsa (in Maniac) and there was a thick pink beam going through her body horizontally, stretching across the screen. It was there the whole fight, and was rather distracting. They need to patch this shit.

[Megalixir]

How is the slowdown in Stage 3 Original Arcade compared to 360 mode?

[EOJ]

I haven't played much 360 original yet, but I haven't noticed any differences yet. Both modes seem pretty close to the PCB in Original, to me at least.

[EOJ]

There's a nice 5bil ALL clear vid for Arrange Ultra up on nico douga, for schmucks like me who don't have access to the leader-boards.

Pt1:
http://dic.nicovideo.jp/v/sm9024212

Pt2:
http://dic.nicovideo.jp/v/sm9029837

Too bad half the score is done on the last boss, and he has to milk it for 10 minutes via bombs and suicides. Seems rather Yagawa-esque, but too much, to the point where scoring is pretty much broken.

[Megalixir]

I'm only asking because I always seem to score higher on 360 mode for some reason.

[EOJ]

I think it might be due to the clearer, HD bullets. Easier to dodge. That's my theory for why I find it easier to score in 360 Maniac compared to 360 Arcade.

[zap]

Anyone else experiencing this graphic glitch with Reko normal shot in 360 Original mode? I took a video of it, and it's quite disturbing...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zapeipaa/4169167121/

[NR777]

Anyone else experiencing this graphic glitch with Reko normal shot in 360 Original mode? I took a video of it, and it's quite disturbing...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zapeipaa/4169167121/

That's odd...hasn't happened to me yet, though I can confirm the Ultra Novice TLB glitch.