Mushihime-sama [Maniac & Ultra Strategy guide]

Started by EOJ, December 09, 2007, 04:30:51 PM

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EOJ

Mushihime-sama Maniac & Ultra modes: fundamentals of scoring

1.0 Fundamentals of the game
1.1 Buttons

A: shot button, fires your main shot and lasers. Holding it down shows your hitbox, which is very useful in some of the tight spots in the game. You also slow you down when you hold this button.
B: Bomb.
C: Fullauto. Holding this allows you to have your shot and lasers fire and still move at full speed, but the downside is you do not get your hitbox highlighted nor the speed decrease which is helpful in navigating some of the complex bullet patterns. Still, this is the most useful button in chaining the stages.

1.2 Optional rapid fire buttons
A+: rapid shot.
C+: rapid fullauto.

1.3 Counters
You have three counters:
1)Overall counter (shown in the upper left for 1P and the upper right for 2P),
2)Shot counter (shown on top of the enemy you are firing at), and
3)Laser counters (shown when your lasers are hitting an enemy, in a smaller font size than the shot counter. One for each 'option' you currently have).

Basically, you want to increase your overall counter whenever possible, as it acts as a multiplier (enemy's base score value x multiplier=points received) and like any game you want that multiplier as high as possible. Also, when you can't increase it, you want to be able to at least maintain it at a steady level. These two principals (increasing and maintaining the counters) must be adhered to in order to score well in this game. The techniques described in section 2.0 enable you to do just that.

1.4 Powers
M-power, W-power, S-power. More to come later...

1.5 Options
Trace and formation. More to come later...

2.0 Fundamentals of the scoring system
2.1 Tapping techniques

2.1.1 SAT: Slow A Tapping
This is a very important and simple technique (and also the most poorly understood and overlooked one by Western players) which should be used from the beginning of midboss fights and any other large enemy with a good deal of health whose death should be prolonged in order to maintain the chain and boost the shot counter. Basically, by tapping A slowly (2-4 times per second. Tap 2 tps if you are closer and 3 or 4 tps if you are farther away) you increase the overall counter by adding the values of the laser counters to the shot counter each time you tap A. The shot counter flashes red as you do this, it drops a little each time but then rockets up higher. The longer you do it, the larger the increments of the jumps become, due to the values of the laser counters increasing over time. This technique is very useful as it increases the overall counter much faster than by just holding A or C, while allowing your laser counters to increase at their normal rate. Contrary to popular belief, this method does not make your laser counters increase faster. Also, if you tap A too fast, it will not work, as you won?t get the red flash and thus the laser counter values will not be added to the shot counter with each successive press of A. You can use an A+ (rapid shot) setting of 14 or 15 on the PS2 version if you like, but it?s more useful to do it yourself and save the A+ setting for the HCTA powershot (described below). Unfortunately, your hitbox does not show during SAT.

2.1.2 FCT: Fast C Tapping
Tap C as fast as possible (which is 5-7 times per second for humans), and 10hz (C+ (rapid fullauto) setting 2 on PS2) for rapid fire settings. This should be used most often on midbosses, on the nanabushes of Stage 2, and in segments of Stage 3 after using SAT (or in some cases, just holding C). In any case to get the most out of it you need your laser counters to be at a high value (usually 600+ each). Just like SAT, this adds the values of the laser counters to the shot counter to increase the overall counter. There is a red flash in most instances (unless you're on top of the enemy and tap C very fast), but due to your fast tapping frequency you don't have the same drop in the counter as with SAT, so the overall counter increases at an extremely fast rate. The downside is the laser counters turn red and start rapidly decreasing when you start this method, as your lasers stop firing anytime you tap C. So, this acts as the exact opposite of SAT in that the increments of the jumps on the overall counter get smaller as time goes on.

2.1.3 MFCT: Mid-Fast C Tapping
The only time this really needs to be used is on the stage 5 midboss (as FCT does not work there), and parts of stage 3 when you want to stop your lasers from firing in order to keep your chain going. Tap about 5 times per second, or use rapid fullauto (C+) setting 3 on the PS2 version.

2.1.4 SCT: Slow C Tapping
About 2-3 times per second. Same as MFCT but slower. Use it mainly on parts of stage 1 and 3 to keep your shot counter value steady. It shouldn?t be used on any midboss.

2.1.5 HCTA: Hold C and Tap A
Hold C and tap A as fast as you can, or if using rapid fire aim for A+ at 12hz- PS2 setting 4. This is the ?power shot?, it increases your overall counter slightly faster than by just holding C (but not nearly as fast as SAT or FCT) and it is more powerful than just holding A or C, so it takes down bosses and bigger enemies faster. But the main advantage score-wise is that it increases the shot counter on smaller enemies faster where SAT and FCT do not work. A very tiresome technique for those who do not use rapid fire settings. Very useful in any case on the bosses in the game, as it destroys them faster.

2.2 Proximity effects on scoring
2.2.1 The general proximity effect

Get as close as you can to enemies, especially large ones, right before and during their appearance on screen. Using HCTA while doing this increases your shot counter markedly, especially in Stage 5.

2.2.2 The proximity effect of laser counters during FCT
Using FCT while your option(s) are in direct contact with the enemy you are firing at (as in the nanabushes in Stage 2 and the Stage 2 midboss fight using the formation option) actually enables the laser counters to continue to increase during FCT rather than decrease, which when used properly can have significant effects on your score. [Thanks to maco for this info!]
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

so ive noticed that pretty much everybody uses w-type with maniac mode, but im finding i score better with m-type....

what are the differences between the 2 and why am i doing better with m-type?

am i doing something wrong with w-type or am i just missing something really obvious?

or does it just boil down to personal play style?

im just curious because both here and on shmups the maniac high score tables are pretty much all w-type runs....

EOJ

W-power is the best for score due to its effective fast C button skyrocket ability. If you want to get a good Maniac score (300+mil), you should learn to use W-power. You can score decently with M-power (and S-Power), but you can do a lot better with W-power.

My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

hmmmm....maybe thats it....cuz i tend to use SAT and HCTA but i dont use FCT much......

i was just finding that i was getting much higher multipliers with m-type......i will now go back and try what you have suggested with w-type

also for bosses you would recommend SAT rather than the others, yes? cuz i was usually using HCTA on them cuz it appeared to spike the multiplier much faster then SAT

thanx for the tips EOJ....if you are ever in toronto canada you have gotta come by for some games....id love to see you in action in real life :righton:

EOJ

SAT and FCT don't work on the bosses. You should use them on the midbosses though. For the bosses just hold A or C or HCTA.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

cool....thanx buddy....expect to see some more high scores real soon

jonny5

heres a question.....what is a decent score coming out of the 1st stage with w-type.....like what would you normally have using w-type after the first level, EOJ?

im finding it rather difficult playing as w-type now cuz its so much slower and sluggish than m-type.....so im thinking of seeing what kind of scores i can get if i stick with m-type for the time being


EOJ

There aren't many points on st1 no matter what type you use. I think 7-8mil is the max there, I usually settle for 3-4mil. The big points start in St 2 (from the midboss), and continue through the rest of the stages. Aim to get the counter up to at least 75-80,000 on the st2 midboss, then carry it through the end of the stage. You can get a couple hundred mil on st3, and even more on stage 5.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

hmm.... on my better runs i am getting around 6-8 million on stage 1 with m-type....

i think i am gonna stick with m-type and see what i can do.....im very interested to see if with some more practice i can get some competitive scores with m-type.....i think its possible.....my biggest problem is i tend to get excited when my multiplier starts to get high and i die.....a little more practice and i think i can do much better....cuz most of the time when i die it is after i am through the tough parts and get smoked by something stupidly easy

and im still getting used to the fact that im not playing arrange mode....stupid auto bomb ruined me.....lolz

well.....back to it i go.....yay....i friggin love this game  :righton:

thanx again for the info EOJ

EOJ

If you like M-power, have fun with it (I think it's pretty fun to use in Original mode). You just can't skyrocket the multiplier like you can with w-power.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

EOJ

Quote from: jonny5 on August 17, 2008, 10:51:46 PM
hmm.... on my better runs i am getting around 6-8 million on stage 1 with m-type....



This means you're getting the counter up to 14,000~16,000 before the boss. How are you doing that w/ M-power?
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

#11
like i said im getting that with my good runs....usually around 6-7 mil actually......and its pretty much in the last bit of the level.......

i cant always do it but i can often go into the boss with 4 mil +

ive been experimenting with an 'exploit of sorts'

i run the player 2 side uncontrolled(while i am playing player1) and let player 2 die at the beginning but this lets me double up the first power up and grab the power up when player 2 game overs and so i am usually at max power(no options obviously) by the second power up on level 1....this lets me really spike the multiplier on the last half of the level....although it sometimes costs me a few points in the beginning from the player 2 deaths canceling bullets......and obviously if i die on the first stage it fucks my multiplier

and if all goes well on the boss and i dont get hit by stupid shit i can usually get the multiplier up to like 20-30,000 on the boss

i hope this isnt considered cheating.....i did it by mistake one time...hit the player 2 start by accident....saw the results and started experimenting

i cant score nearly that high without this exploit

if this is considered cheating, please take my score off the high score thread(cuz i used this to get it)....i dont want to be considered a cheater.....i just thought it was neat when i found this and decided to see if i could use it to my advantage

cuz at the beginning of the stage the player 2 death bullet cancels arent saving me from any crazy patterns......if anything its just costing me some points.....but it makes up for itself in the last half of the level

let me know if this is kosher otherwise i will stop using this technique.....i want to work on my scores and work the high score table....so if this is bad i wont do it anymore.....

cuz if anything this makes it a bit trickier at the beginning cuz it changes the flow of enemies as they come on screen....they bee-line for player 2 and all shots seem to be aimed at it, even if i am closer.....so i cant control stuff by herding

jpj

sorry dude, i think it's illegitimate   :P

cool idea though

jonny5

i feared as much.....ah well.....try it sometime tho....if you do it right you can completely rape the first couple levels

i just figured im not actually doing anything to make it easier for myself other than powering up faster than the game would expect you to.....it doesnt really make it easier...well i guess it does make it easier to get nutty multipliers....

oddly enough when i try the same technique with w-type i find the multipliers dont spike nearly as high as m-type....weird huh?

well back to struggling i guess....lolz...well not really.... :-\  just gonna have to work on not dying on stupid piddly shit and losing my multipliers  :'(

EOJ

Yeah, that's definitely cheating because you have to submit all scores on 1 credit, and if you start with both 1P and 2P then you've automatically used 2 credits. You need to play a solo game, one credit, with normal power ups.
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

ok....can you please take my score down then....

my intention was not to cheat.....didnt really think about it to be honest and then when i was explaining what i was actually doing i realized.....oooooh.....this is kinda cheating....

glad i found out now....

sorry about that fellas....hope this doesnt affect my standing here....i dont want to be labeled a 'shady character'.....

EOJ

No problem. Now get cracking at a normal high score!  :righton:
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

jonny5

ya...ive only been doing it since the day i got that score.....i got that score the first time i found this actually....maybe a week or so....

and i truly realized the err of this tactic when you seemed so shocked that i was scoring that high with m-type......i though to myself 'uh-oh!'.....

sorry about that.....it was not my intention to pull one over on you guys.....

and me thinks next time i find something like that i will ask before using it.....

and i will be getting back to basics as soon as i get home =D

this game is way too addictive.....and thankfully my g/f likes the music for it.....she loathed the soundtrack for esprade...especially the school music.....

expect another score tonight.....somebody needs to fill that vacant 9th position..... :laugh:

markedkiller78

As always, thanks for the guide EOJ.

I'm loving this game, but my hands are starting to cramp on my 2 or 3 credit :(

EOJ

Quote from: markedkiller78 on December 18, 2008, 10:13:39 AM

I'm loving this game, but my hands are starting to cramp on my 2 or 3 credit :(

Yeah, that's one reason why I've basically retired from the game. If I could get a nice autofire setup rigged for my supergun,
I'd start playing again. The PS2 port has the autofire settings, but it's too ugly to play for me. The port hurts my eyes, the PCB
hurts my hands. You can't win really. ???
My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999

CRI

how should i map my autofire settings with a 4 button setup?
i'm playing now with:

A: rapid shot (4)
B: bomb
C: Fullauto
D: shot

can i change c or d button to rapid fullauto?
or am i right that i need both buttons because shot is needed for sat and fullauto for hcta?
wanna get a score at this game and i'm still stuck at the controller settings.

EOJ

I thought I'd update this with optimal autofire rates for the X360 port.

If you are using W-Power, the optimal RAPID A setting is TRIGGER TIME=1, INTERVAL=2. If you are using S-Power, the optimal rate is TRIGGER TIME=2, INTERVAL=3 (TRIGGER TIME=3, INTERVAL=2 will also work). This rate (2-3, or 3-2) is also works well for W-Power, though it is not quite as strong as 1-2. It is the best setting if you plan to switch between W-Power and S-Power in one run, however.

For RAPID C, the optimal rate is TRIGGER TIME=1, INTERVAL=3.  However, the optimal rate for the nanabushes in Stage 2 is TRIGGER TIME=1, INTERVAL=2.

My score archive
twitter: @cavexstg
youtube: @cave-stg
Xbox gamertag: eojx9999