March 2019 Shmup Club - Crimzon Clover

[MetalFRO]

[img width=700 height=417]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59c1e02ef7e0abf0fba2aa79/t/59c400cfdba43298a1ed71cb/1506019319399/bpezvxkciaajmne-1.png[/img]

Get ready for insane bullet hell action, with the March selection for the RF Generation Shmup Club! We'll be taking a look at our very first "danmaku" game, otherwise known as the "bullet hell" variety of shoot-em-ups. Often considered to be the hardest segment of shooting games out there, danmaku shmups were initially kicked off with the final Toaplan title, Batsugun, and popularized by now-legendary Japanese developers, CAVE. With many indie developers having been influenced by Japan's masters of bullet hell style, it was only a matter of time before we began to see independent games take on the CAVE juggernaut with new takes on the formulas laid out by DoDonPachi, Ketsui, and Mushihimesama. Enter indie developer Yotsubane, and their highly lauded title, Crimzon Clover.

Initially released in 2011 on PC, the game later received a version for the NESiCAxLive arcade platform just 2 years later. The game saw a worldwide release on Steam and GOG toward the end of 2014, with the updated PC version having been re-titled Crimzon Clover: World Ignition. Taking a page from not only the CAVE school of design, but also calling upon earlier titles with lock-on mechanics, such as RayForce or Soukyugurentai Otokuyo, aka Terra Diver, the game employs a lock-on system, where you can create a field around your ship, and target enemies that come into proximity with you. This factors into the scoring multiplier system, and is a key mechanic in the game. The other key mechanic is the "Break" system. As you play the game, the Break gauge fills up. When activated via a bomb, your ship has temporary invincibility, your firepower is increased, and your score multiplier is higher. It also means your Break meter will fill back up faster, giving you the ability to stack up for a Double Break. It all adds up to an interesting scoring system, and game mechanics that give this vertical scrolling shooter a unique flair. Come join us in March, as we set the world ablaze!

Participants:
MetalFRO
Addicted
lordb0rb4
zoydo
Dingo
Square_Air
Normatron
coin_tengoku
Mark_MSX

High Scores:
1. Notice - Original: zoydo - 509,699,519,050 points
2. Novice - Boost: zoydo - 1,970,069,510 points
3. Arcade - Original: Mark_MSX - 353,099,482,030 points
4. Arcade - Boost: zoydo - 573,137,000 points
5. Arcade - Unlimited: zoydo - 27,237,332,790 points
6. Arcade - Time Attack: zoydo - 35,349,150 points

[lordb0rb4]

I've been slacking off the past months but i'm all in for this one!

[MetalFRO]

I've been slacking off the past months but i'm all in for this one!

Welcome aboard!

[zoydo]

Hi, i'd like to join too.

[MetalFRO]

Hi, i'd like to join too.

Glad to have you, thanks for joining in!

[MetalFRO]

If everything goes well with my setup, I plan on trying to start streaming this game, as early as tomorrow, so be watching for some live streams of Crimzon Clover over the course of the next month!

[Square_Air]

Count me in as well. I was interested in the last few games, but was a little too preoccupied to satisfyingly participate. I'm glad that there's such a good game selection on the same month as my return.

[MetalFRO]

Welcome aboard, sir!

[Dingo]

Put me down for this one. I already have a few hours practice so lets see. I haven't passed Stage 2 Boss on Arcade. I've been able to get to stage 4 boss on Novice once but died swiftly.

[zoydo]

I haven't played too much Crimzon Clover before, just a few hours to take a look at the game and do some credit feed-runs in novice mode. So i didn't play for scores or clears before, just very casual.
Two weeks ago i started to play some Novice mode to get back into the game and to get used to the mechanics.

This weekend i started to play Arcade mode. Stage 3 Boss was end of the line. In Unlimited i barely made it to Stage 2. But i could finish the Time Attack with a C+ rank and without dying (Midboss and Boss defeated).

Boost
[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7839/33393589138_132d3f5b4a_m.jpg[/img]

Original
[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7808/33393589868_8c3b42f6c3_m.jpg[/img]

Time Attack
[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7832/32327459397_de8bba93b4_m.jpg[/img]

Unlimited
[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7867/32327460727_f15a36bdb0_m.jpg[/img]

I also managed to improve my Score on Boost/Novice.
[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7901/33393588338_130fa2e6ba_m.jpg[/img]

[MetalFRO]

Welcome aboard, Dingo!

Zoydo - wow, awesome participation already! I've only tried Original/Novice mode so far, but I'm really enjoying it. Here's one of my early high scores - it's not my highest score so far, but it's the one I got a photo of:
[img width=480 height=640]https://i.imgur.com/ZDERXkSl.jpg[/img]

Also, I streamed the game over the weekend, and managed to capture what I thought was some pretty decent footage of a newbie playing the game. Ignore the title that I'm playing Zanac - I forgot to change it before I started the stream

[Normatron]

Im going to try my hand in this one and to ask a question, how do you get your video to show up on the page?

[Normatron]

My first real run and I dont think I did that bad, but I cant get to the 2nd boss without getting shot down

[MetalFRO]

Welcome aboard, Normatron, glad to have you along!

Im going to try my hand in this one and to ask a question, how do you get your video to show up on the page?

You have to have a YT link that has the "watch?v=" portion in it. Put it between two

Code:

[url]

and

Code:

[/url]

tags, and change it from "https" to "http" so it will display.

I streamed the game again last night, and managed to pull this off...
[img width=700 height=933]https://i.imgur.com/RTsRhuz.jpg[/img]

I'm playing on Novice, in Original mode, which is where I've been spending my time. I will stay in that mode most likely until I can get a 1CC of the game. I think I'm close, as I managed to reach Stage 5 last night, and I got reasonably far. If I can continue to tighten my approach, and avoid needless deaths in Stage 4, in a couple spots where it can be easy to get boxed in by enemy bullet spam, I think I can probably get the clear. Then I'll probably move on to Arcade mode, which apparently is a lot less forgiving than the Novice/Original mode. The key to scoring big in this game is using and abusing the "Break" system. going into "Break" mode, and especially a "Double Break" at mid-bosses and end bosses, will earn you a TON of stars, and accumulating those en masse leads to giant bonuses at the end of each stage. Just by way of example, I can get to the boss in Stage 1 with just over 1 billion points, and if I can collect between 30K & 35K stars between the level and boss (a Double Break on the boss ups your number considerably), you can bump that up at stage end to over 20 billion. Later levels with mid-bosses to milk stars from will yield even more stars, if you can Break or Double Break effectively during those encounters.

There's also a score multiplier system that I haven't worked out yet. Bananamatic of the shmups forum did a brief strategy guide for the game a few years ago:
https://shmups.system11.o...topic.php?f=5&t=51292

It doesn't explicitly say how to increase the multiplier, but definitely points out that point-blanking enemies will help you fill up the Break gauge faster. Also, using the lock-on is a must for large enemies and bosses, to increase break. Also, I noticed while playing that holding down the lock-on button attracts the stars to you, so as I've been playing, I hold down on that constantly, and then only let up briefly to fire the lock-on weapon, and hold down again immediately, so ensure that all stars go directly to your ship, rather than just falling down off screen.

[zoydo]

Zoydo - wow, awesome participation already! I've only tried Original/Novice mode so far, but I'm really enjoying it.

thank you^^

There's also a score multiplier system that I haven't worked out yet. Bananamatic of the shmups forum did a brief strategy guide for the game a few years ago:
https://shmups.system11.o...topic.php?f=5&t=51292

It doesn't explicitly say how to increase the multiplier, but definitely points out that point-blanking enemies will help you fill up the Break gauge faster. Also, using the lock-on is a must for large enemies and bosses, to increase break. Also, I noticed while playing that holding down the lock-on button attracts the stars to you, so as I've been playing, I hold down on that constantly, and then only let up briefly to fire the lock-on weapon, and hold down again immediately, so ensure that all stars go directly to your ship, rather than just falling down off screen.

i think you can raise the multiplier by doing lock on-kills, but i'm not sure about the details

I will stay in that mode most likely until I can get a 1CC of the game. I think I'm close, as I managed to reach Stage 5 last night, and I got reasonably far. If I can continue to tighten my approach, and avoid needless deaths in Stage 4, in a couple spots where it can be easy to get boxed in by enemy bullet spam, I think I can probably get the clear.

nice progress, you already made it!
maybe a few tries on the last boss and you got it. The Type-III is a good choice for this, it's really quick and has a high damage output.

I did some progress too. I could finally reach stage 4 in Arcade-Original.

[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7819/47301498621_acdb5b19b4_m.jpg[/img]

I could also improve my score in Novice-Original and Unlimited.

[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7865/33403894228_04a9b74328_m.jpg[/img]
[img width=240 height=150]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7815/47301503921_b3804e2138_m.jpg[/img]