[Softdrink 117]

Quote:

 
The JLF is a fine piece of engineering, all it needed was a stiffer spring. I've tried to narrow its throw but that didn't really work....the LS55 spring + octo gate truly turn a chump into a champ as they say ^^
 
and I think the LS58 is clicky as hell because of the long thin metal plates that stand between the rod and the switches...terrible idea really.
 
Humm, Border Down is quite fun 

 
The reason I like the LS58 is because of the levered microswitches (levers are those metal plates you mentioned). They decrease the effective deadzone and the throw/actuation point of the switches by using the actuator of the microswitch as the fulcrum for the movement of the lever. It's actually a totally ingenious solution.
 
But if you prefer your setup, then that's fine too. I prefer it this way.
 
It is clicky as hell though, and I need to damp it soon. Over the summer, when I dual mod my stick with a Paewang pcb, I'll probably overhaul the damping.
 
Also, I feel morally obligated to post a link to this blog here:
http://www.cave-stg.com
 
It's basically all about CAVE shooters, and it's got a fantastic amount of information and resources along with a comprehensive forum.
 
Which brings me to my second point:
I've decided that I will be buying an NTSC/J Xbox. I'm not sure when, but I won't be satisfied until I can play the console releases of CAVE's games in true arcade style. I don't really have the money for that right now, but I will find a way to work it out.
 
Also, beat Mushihime-sama Futari on Original/Hell a few minutes ago. What a rush. The last level... damn. No other words to describe it. It ended up being a 3cc-- I died once accidentally on stage 2 and twice accidentally on stage 3, and used my first continue against stage 4's boss. From there I made it through all of stage 5 on one go, except the final boss, who I hadn't fought before, hence the last continue. Here's the fun bit-- my score for stage 5 was almost as large as my total stage score for levels 1-4. Which means that if I hadn't died and continued, my score would have been at least double what it currently is.

 

[ZenErik]

Stage 3 in Futari is a bitch.

 

[Softdrink 117]

Quote:

Stage 3 in Futari is a bitch.

 
Yeah, it is. The final section and boss killed me I don't know how many times before I learned their patterns-- not really looking forward to doing that again, lol. Really fun though.
 
In Mushihime-sama, my favorite stages are 3 (which is a huge PITA on Maniac and Ultra) and 5, which is just fun. Futari my favorites are 4 & 5, and I strongly dislike 2. The final stages of both games, in my opinion, are absolutely excellent-- totally frantic, with wave after wave of enemies and multiple midbosses before you finally get to the end.
 
One thing that surprised me about Futari, coming from the first game, is how many 'bullet cancels' there are. In the first game, there are some-- enough that it feels fair, but not so many that you actively think, 'oh, I can kill this guy and the shots will disappear.' In Futari there are a LOT more cancels, especially on stage 3, where every ten or twenty seconds there will be a large enemy that clears the screen when killed. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does change the way I approach some sections of the game.

 

[Softdrink 117]

So I just placed an order for an NTSC/J X360 and two of CAVE's ports-- the upcoming Mushihime-sama HD release and the Daifukkatsu double pack.

 
It was quite pricey. Like something I might expect from this hobby. Only not.
 
Suffice to say I'm very excited. I'll also need to buy a Paewang for purposes of dual modding my arcade stick when I get home. But it will all be worth it.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

 
Mecha themed? Ikaruga certainly has mecha influences, but I'm not sure that's what you're referring to. Looking up 'dreamcast shmup' and 'mecha' on google gets some hits for a game called 'Mars Matrix' -- is that what you mean?
 
Other news, tried playing Perfect Cherry Blossom again. It's been a long time since last I played one of the Touhou titles. Got to stage five, midway through, then ran out of lives. I consider that a decent start.

It was Irkaruga I saw the name in the posts above and it hit me,
 
I played it on the Dream Cast and it was stunning, still is stunning
 
Proably not the best Shump to even mention but :3 GunBird 2 was tons o fun for me. I enjoy shumps mostly for teh visuals as I still really suck at them so xD I can never play for to long lol

 

[Softdrink 117]

Well apparently this thread has sort of died. q.q
 
My stuff arrived, and I am loving it. Ketsui is beyond fantastic, and totally deserves all the praise it gets. It and DaiOuJou are probably my current favorite CAVE shmups-- something about the absolutely brutal difficulty keeps me coming back to those two. I'm currently trying to learn DaiOuJou with A-L, which is both fun and frustrating given the relative obscurity of that combination's use in superplays and the like.
 
I've sunk a few hours already into each of the ports, and have been enjoying them all immensely.
 
Any news? Updates?

 

[Brad Murphy]

Quote:

BTW, if you do ever get a Q4 RAF, I recommend just getting the regular black model. Qanba seems to have great customer service so I am sure they will be willing to help if it really does bother me. And Videogames New York, whom I bought it from, will also help me out.

 
I got the Qanba 4RAF Blackout edition a month ago and love it. However, it is causing MK2011 to desynch online--on both consoles. As for their customer service: There isn't any. I wrote to them and they said, "Post it in the Official Qanba thread on Shoryuken." That's it. No help whatsoever.
 
Quote:

Looks like the Eightarc Fusion is a good option for those that complain about the QanBa Q4's start button placement. Apparently, accidentally pressing start in a fighting game tournament will get you disqualified. 
 
The only downsides to the Eightarc Fusion sticks are the "mode" button is replaced by "start", lack of a handle, and higher price. I do not think the missing "mode" button would be much of an issue, but perhaps on certain games it may be. "mode" allows you to switch from digital to analog controls on the stick. The stick remains 8 way, but it resolves potential compatibility issues with some doujin games. The handle is a nice touch but not a deal breaker for me. And the price difference does not matter to me but may to some. 

 
I hit the Start button as well when I configured the game to use only the buttons on the far right. I don't think it's a good placement position. Should be on the top like the Madcatz TE. When I have the stick in d-pad mode (light on) it will desynch the game online every time. If I use the analog mode (light off) it will desynch anywhere from every time to 1-in-5, to 1-in-10, or completely random. I got it from ArcadeShock and they aren't returning any emails I send, so it looks like I'm stuck with it. Very very disappointing.  
 
***EDIT***
Problem solved! Apparently changing the button mapping causes the game to desynch online. With default settings there is no issue. 

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Well apparently this thread has sort of died. [..]
Any news? Updates?

 
Well, as much as I like my Sanwa stick, I find it too laggy and the buttons hell too noisy.......I just pulled the trigger on 8 of those in Dark Hai color: http://www.focusattack.com/search.php?search_query=Silent
 
The stick is too pricey and of course they don't sell the silent microswitches separately huh...
 
For the lack of responsiveness, I will solder the wires that come off the PCB directly onto the crimp-on connectors, and if it still feels laggy I will solder them directly onto the buttons or possibly switch PCB's.
 
I've already fully damped my JLF so it's entirely bearable, but the stock OSBF30 really aren't...the youtube video of the new buttons looks really cool!

 

[Softdrink 117]

Oh hey, things happened. And I missed them, lol.
 
Regarding joysticks, I stand by the LS-58 as my current favorite. I've tried out the LS-32 and like it a lot, but not enough to warrant switching. JLFs are still too loose for my liking given the amount of shmupping I do, but they're not as bad as I remember them being.
 
Brad, glad you figured it out. My stick is basically a factory-modded Q3, so unfortunately I don't know much about the Q4 line. It seems weird to me that changing button mapping would have that kind of effect, but... shrug.
 
leeperry, I believe that the difference between the silent and regular switches is 50% the microswitch and 50% that a new damping pad is added inside the button itself. There are some people who've made their own pads with some success, but I can't think of any specific links at the moment. I actually preordered a set of HBFS-30 buttons, which are being developed independently via an Indiegogo campaign. They use Cherry MX series microswitches, so theoretically should offer much better instantaneous feedback while also quieting inputs. If the new silent buttons aren't working out how you'd like, I can let you know how these ones are. One of the designer's goals was to create a smoother and quieter button. 
 
I've sorta been going nuts with shmups. I ended up spending about half the summer buying, cleaning, repairing, and modifying an imported arcade cabinet that I bought from a reseller in the Bay Area. It's a Sega Blast City, a very nice model with a 27" CRT. I've since built an adapter to connect my Xbox 360 to the cab, and really enjoyed the ability to play all the Cave ports on an actual arcade machine. Excuse the crap cell phone pic.
 

Then school started, so I left the thing at home. Sadness ensued.
 
Last weekend I went to a Long Beach Shmupmeet, which was definitely an awesome experience. I got to play a whole bunch of amazing games, meet similarly-minded people, buy a Cave T-shirt, and perhaps most importantly, got a chance to try Dodonpachi Saidaioujou. It's a fantastic game, and I can't wait for the port to arrive next year.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

Oh hey, things happened. And I missed them, lol.
 
Regarding joysticks, I stand by the LS-58 as my current favorite. I've tried out the LS-32 and like it a lot, but not enough to warrant switching. JLFs are still too loose for my liking given the amount of shmupping I do, but they're not as bad as I remember them being.
 
Brad, glad you figured it out. My stick is basically a factory-modded Q3, so unfortunately I don't know much about the Q4 line. It seems weird to me that changing button mapping would have that kind of effect, but... shrug.
 
leeperry, I believe that the difference between the silent and regular switches is 50% the microswitch and 50% that a new damping pad is added inside the button itself. There are some people who've made their own pads with some success, but I can't think of any specific links at the moment. I actually preordered a set of HBFS-30 buttons, which are being developed independently via an Indiegogo campaign. They use Cherry MX series microswitches, so theoretically should offer much better instantaneous feedback while also quieting inputs. If the new silent buttons aren't working out how you'd like, I can let you know how these ones are. One of the designer's goals was to create a smoother and quieter button. 
 
I've sorta been going nuts with shmups. I ended up spending about half the summer buying, cleaning, repairing, and modifying an imported arcade cabinet that I bought from a reseller in the Bay Area. It's a Sega Blast City, a very nice model with a 27" CRT. I've since built an adapter to connect my Xbox 360 to the cab, and really enjoyed the ability to play all the Cave ports on an actual arcade machine. Excuse the crap cell phone pic.
 

Then school started, so I left the thing at home. Sadness ensued.
 
Last weekend I went to a Long Beach Shmupmeet, which was definitely an awesome experience. I got to play a whole bunch of amazing games, meet similarly-minded people, buy a Cave T-shirt, and perhaps most importantly, got a chance to try Dodonpachi Saidaioujou. It's a fantastic game, and I can't wait for the port to arrive next year.

 
... Wow... that's really awesome!

 

[leeperry]

Finally got ahold of the silent SANWA buttons, I also installed the alternate artwork that came with my arcade stick, and tada:
 

 
I will now seek black screws and solder the wires that come off the PCB directly onto the buttons and that project will finally be over 

 
I thought about using flat screws and dremel'ing my way into the plexiglass top but tbh I don't think that I will ever bother doing that, and even though I got a spare top, I just make sure to not touch the screws et voilà problem solved.
 
Anyway, thanks for creating this thread as my last attempt at installing a stock JLF and regular SANWA buttons into a dreamcast agetec years ago failed big time because:
-the tiny stock "start button" was light green and whatever color scheme looked ugly
-the silent SANWA buttons didn't friggin exist yet
-I had to no way of sourcing LS50 springs and I really hated the loose spring of the JLF.
-I used a PSX PCB that introduced lag with PC USB adapters
= I really couldn't find any fun using it so I sold it.
 
Needless to say that this new stick is as good as it gets as:
-it's pretty darn silent, I stuffed every cavity with acoustic foam and the silent SANWA's barely make any noise once I have headphones fitted...the high-pitched plastic noise of regular SANWA's was literally turning me crazy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fRg8lT3gA
-the LS55 spring on the JLF is neither too noisy, too stiff or too loose.....a combo made in heaven with the octo gate 

= focusattack.com has really provided all the solutions to my requirements, so grateful!
 
Ketsui is mad fun! Next stop is this new game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaO1djQMhF4 

 

[leeperry]

Oh, maybe it's not my PCB's that lag after all: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=30659
Quote:

it turns out that mame emulates a frame/sprite buffer for most arcade hardware. What I found out is that this buffer can “safely” be removed

 
The author also says that you can cap the fps to 60 and overclock the board CPU by 400%, that would supposedly do wonders in DDP..gotta love how the rabbit hole literally never ends

 

[HalidePisces]

Anyone tried out Caladrius?

 

[Neccros]

Anyone still playing Shmups???? Tons of them on Steam lately

 

[SilverEars]

Love this genre! Lots of great Shmups. Notably from Raizing/8ing or Cave. Visuals are fantastic.

Are there any notable ones that were recently developed? The genre has been fading away.