October 2018 Shmup Club - 1942

[MetalFRO]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

@Golem - some good observations there. I would question the power-up list, though. I noted that the Grey POW icon is the 4-bullet shot, and the Brown POW is the additional mini-planes, though that could be different, based on regional differences, maybe? I've been playing the Capcom Generations 1 version on Sega Saturn, which was only released in Japan, so it's possible there are differences in region. Which region of arcade version did you play?

@EZ Racer - congrats on crushing the NES version! I will totally agree that the music and sound in the NES port are horrendous, and whomever at Micronics was responsible for that abomination should be ashamed of themselves. That said, I do believe the NES version is a bit scaled back from the arcade version. How many planes did you count on screen at once in the NES game? I think in the arcade version, there were a couple instances where there were up to a dozen planes on screen at once, including times when there were 2 or 3 mid-size planes, depending upon the stage. Keep in mind, I've only reached 6 stages in so far, but that's at least a reference point.

@Normatron - 179K is a respectable early score, for sure. And don't worry about which version you signed up for - play any version you like, and just let us know which you're playing, or which your attached screenshot is, when you snap a pic a post it. You can play as many ports/versions/conversions during the course of the month as you like, and share scores from any/all. The more the merrier, I say, and it's good to get a perspective on all the ports, if possible. Go nuts!

Unfortunately, I made no forward progress over the weekend, and capped out just below 250K, so I have nothing new on that front. However, once I can get my NES to come up properly, I plan to dig into that version. Also, I need to charge my PSP, so I can fire up Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded, and play 1942 on there. That version does the flip-screen thing, so you hold the PSP vertically and play it that way, to get true tate and vertical resolution. Should be fun.

[MetalFRO]

Slowly crawling toward my goal:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/rCrrMaI.jpg[/img]

It seems I'm in that uncomfortable stage, where I can rack up 200K or more in a game, but can't seem to break through to get to Stage 7. I tried a couple other control options last night as well. I had been playing with an InterAct pad, tried my InterAct joystick, and found that it has an issue where it likes to veer right, because the stick is slightly off center. I switched to the official Sega Saturn model 2 pad, which I like, but the D-pad is so fluid on there, it's a bit more floaty than I'd like. I might have to pull out the official Sega joystick, and see if that makes a difference.

[Crabmaster2000]

I tried the PSP version on the Capcom collection laat night. It's a totally different beast than the NES game, probably much closer to the arcade version. Need to put some more time into it but initial impression is that the NES version is quick a bit easier.

[Duke.Togo]

I had a little time to get started on the C64 version. The enemy patterns are always the same, but the bullets are unpredictable. I'm sure that having the same patterns every time would be easy, but the planes are set up to put you into some tricky positions or to push you into other oncoming enemies. Also, you can die from running into a plane as it explodes, which has killed me quite a few times. Here are my scores (initials CRC)

[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/wkmGpaL.jpg[/img]

After reading some other posts here, there must be some differences. I made it through 6 stages and didn't see anything that I would consider a boss. Also, if there is the ability to earn extra lives, it has to be above my top score since I didn't see it. As far as power-ups, so far I've only seen the triple bullets and the mini-planes. I'll have to see if there are any tricks that I am missing out on.

[nupoile]

33550. My first go around on the NES version. I plan on getting better. Ha!

I had to buy this game from ebay to play it, no harm though, can't say no to more NES games and this is one I've wanted for a long time. 1943 is one of my most played NES games, not that I'm any good at it. Shmups aren't something I excel at.

If pressed, I'd have to say that either Popeye or 1942 were the games I remember playing first in my life. The arcade versions were at the pizza place my family went to every week for the first many years of my childhood. I don't actually know they were the first but they would have been pretty early. My dad did have a pong system but I don't remember that, and video games weren't really a thing I knew about outside of the pizza place until the mid 80's.

The NES version. That frame rate....wow. It's as bad as After Burner for the SMS. I thought the whistling would get to me more but the 4 frames per eon got to me way more. 1943 and the arcade version of 1942 are tons better. I was playing on the LED TV for the first go around. I think I'm going to try it on a CRT here pretty soon and see how much better that is.

One thing I noticed (I'm going to keep bringing up 1943) is the 'popcorn' planes don't show you if they have a bullet to fire or not. In 1943 if a little plane has a bullet to fire, and they only ever have one at most, they are actually carrying it on the plane until it's shot. When they shoot it it leaves the plane so you can quickly see which ones can still fire or not. 1942 doesn't do that.

I played with the 8-year-old in two player. She was pretty happy there was 2 player mode. We only got a few minutes in, thus my low score so far. Hope to do more, hope to do it on a CRT.

Since the game was new I opened it and cleaned it. Took some pictures, it's a 5 screw, don't know how you 3 screw people do it 


[img width=700 height=510]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1955/45187398212_30969e8697_o.jpg[/img]


[img width=700 height=512]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1931/45187397802_ec0ca00f50_o.jpg[/img]


Applauding Duke for the C64 version. I thought about going that route but with limited time and the NES ready to go....I just have to be impressed with your set up!

[MetalFRO]

Good start, Nupoile, and glad to see you're playing with your daughter. That's awesome! Also, cool that you have the 5-screw version. I have a 3-screw, round seal version that, curiously enough, uses standard straight groove screws, instead of the regular game bit screws. Not many cartridges past the 5-screw line had those.

[Normatron]

So I traded 1942's with someone else to experience a different version.  I'm currently trying out the NES version and my score is hovering on average 350,000ish point score. I will post my score on here soon. I can tell the NES version is far easier than the ps2 arcade port, that one was make to eat quarters!

[Dingo]

Finally passed Capcom. Truthfully the past hour is the most lengthy playthrough I have had and it helped. Rolling over the big ships is fun.

[Golem]

@Golem - some good observations there. I would question the power-up list, though. I noted that the Grey POW icon is the 4-bullet shot, and the Brown POW is the additional mini-planes, though that could be different, based on regional differences, maybe? I've been playing the Capcom Generations 1 version on Sega Saturn, which was only released in Japan, so it's possible there are differences in region. Which region of arcade version did you play?

I think we may just be interpreting the unremarkable POW icons differently, so I giffed them up:

POW types
-four-bullet shot
https://i.imgur.com/FamgFc3.gif

-points
https://i.imgur.com/7hM4Fxd.gif

-bomb
https://i.imgur.com/pL7hEF1.gif

-options
https://i.imgur.com/pMIFGMu.gif

I'm not sure there are regional differences, although there is a revision A and a revision B: https://tcrf.net/1942_(Arcade)

[Crabmaster2000]

Put some more time into the PSP versions yesterday. Best score yet is 261,580. The enemy fire is significantly harder to see over land than even the NES version which also seemed pretty hard to spot. I may try and play this on a TV as the small screen with such tiny bullets makes the game more challenging than I feel it should be.

[img width=700 height=525]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1950/45286849912_cdd111feba_o.jpg[/img]

[MetalFRO]

Got my NES working yesterday, after boiling the 72-pin connector the day before, and put some time into the NES version of 1942. I also broke out the NES Advantage, and got this score on my 3rd try:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/wuhKgI9.jpg[/img]

And after about an hour of play, I managed to get this:
[img width=700 height=525]https://i.imgur.com/hl96jkP.jpg[/img]

@Normatron - as you can see above, the NES version is decidedly easier than the arcade version. Everything moves much slower, and despite some difficulty keeping up with the action over land-based backgrounds, it's still a lot easier to manage. The arcade version definitely qualifies as a total quarter muncher!

@Dingo - good start, dude! It took me a few tries to get to where I was consistently getting 50-60K, and once you start to get a rhythm, you can really progress quickly.

@Golem - Okay, those GIFs are helpful. Looks like we're on the same page, and maybe I misread what you posted previously. Thanks for clarifying!

@Crabmaster20000 - I haven't fired up the PSP version yet, but I'm assuming you're playing via Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded, right? That usually flips the screen to vertical orientation for play, though I don't remember or not if it flips back for scoring. Either way, that's the ideal way to play on PSP, because of the zoomed in view you get.

[Square_Air]

Congratulations to our NES players that got the clear!

I've been a little preoccupied with Gradius 2 over the last week, but here's an arcade score I managed to get earlier this month.

[img width=224 height=256]https://i.imgur.com/EChgGBw.png[/img]

Square_Air - 871,240 - 17 - ShmupMAME v4.2 (Rev B)

I would like to attempt clearing this before the end of the month (or at least hit 1 million), but with how long and random the game is you're bound to make mistakes from getting fatigued. At 70 minutes long it's a behemoth. I should note that I did also occasionally use 10 HZ autofire in my run, but it was only used for pointblanking large ships. I actually find autofire to be a hindrance in this game since the shot limit is so low. I don't even find much of a difference between autofire and just tapping while pointblanking besides saving my thumb from the pain of multiple ~hour long runs.

Has anyone here got the 100% stage bonus in arcade? It's pretty tricky to get, even on the first stage.

I'm a little unclear about the Perikles quote - with 32 stages, I'm not sure how that lines up with 1984 (when it released).

It's just meant to be a silly joke about the game being old and long

[Crabmaster2000]

@Crabmaster20000 - I haven't fired up the PSP version yet, but I'm assuming you're playing via Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded, right? That usually flips the screen to vertical orientation for play, though I don't remember or not if it flips back for scoring. Either way, that's the ideal way to play on PSP, because of the zoomed in view you get.

Yes that's the game I'm playing. You can choose the screen orientation and aspect ratio on the fly to whatever you'd like. Best part of this version is you can turn on an alternate soundtrack, which isn't anything fantastic, but anything is so much better than the original music.

[Golem]

So I've worked my way up to the first boss in the NES version. Do you guys have any advice on how to handle it? It's big, it moves a fair bit, and the bullet spread is wide and random. I was able to fell it on my last life by rolling over the bullets and hoping I could plant my plane somewhere safe, but I'm not confident I could repeat that.

I'm hoping the arcade bosses are easier with a vertical aspect!

[Crabmaster2000]

So I've worked my way up to the first boss in the NES version. Do you guys have any advice on how to handle it? It's big, it moves a fair bit, and the bullet spread is wide and random. I was able to fell it on my last life by rolling over the bullets and hoping I could plant my plane somewhere safe, but I'm not confident I could repeat that.

I'm hoping the arcade bosses are easier with a vertical aspect!

For the NES version:
Stay far to one side so that you are just barely shooting the tip of the bosses wing. This makes his spread shot spread out more by the time it gets to you and easier to dodge between bullets. Don't be afraid to use your Loops when necessary too and maybe even make a point of banking them all up for the boss fight on those stages just in case you find your self cornered or even just unsure. Here's the video of my recent playthrough and I time stamped it at the boss plane for you. Hopefully this helps.

https://youtu.be/6kXq7_c5YPA?t=4397