Made a shmup speedrun discord in order to discuss strategies/consolidate info etc https://discord.gg/WW8UQ9WBd2

I also made a shmup speedrunning discord, if only so there is a place to discuss strategies and consolidate information about the games/catalog my research (as I primarily am interested in 1cc runs which are very much not pick-up-and-play). It is still very much under construction though. https://discord.gg/WW8UQ9WBd2 Feel free to link it on pages you moderate.

Platforms are now split. I need to look into the iOS version but I separated it just to be safe since the controls are of course drastically different (and there's no runs on it yet anyway). I don't know if the loads are faster on PS2 than on PS1 and/or by how much, but I have a 90k JP PS2 so I'll check once I have a copy.

I am fairly sure there are no regional differences and the PS1 and 360 ports most definitely only have one region.

PS1 and Saturn have load times that Arcade does not, and also run at 60fps as opposed to 57.5 (about 4.3% faster). X360 version has correct framerate but it and the Saturn port do not have slowdown or have incorrect slowdown in many segments (The x360 version is a full copy of the game in a visual novel also made by CAVE called Instant Brain which costs over $100 now, FWIW) meaning they will get times much faster than other versions can achieve. X360 version in particular will be almost 30 seconds ahead after 2 stages because of this and over a minute and a half faster in a full run (I have a TAS of the arcade version using faster strategies than the new 1cc WR and it is still slower because X360 has incorrect slowdown. I am happy to make a side-by-side comparison).

Managing slowdown is part of the speedrun (killing enemies on screen quickly to prevent them flooding the screen with bullets that cause slowdown) and playing on certain versions removes that element almost entirely. The arcade version is the original and thus should be considered the standard, and the fastest possible time for a 1cc on that is in the 17:30ish range.

Source for platform differences:

I'd also like to moderate for this game if possible, I don't have a completed run yet but I've been practicing for a 1cc and have a pretty thorough route and a TAS of it, and I moderate a few other shmups.

Please set the number of players for 1P subcategory to 1 or otherwise reorganize the board to fix this. I have a run I cannot submit because SRC claims I "don't have enough players" even though I am trying to submit for the 1P category.

The run in question:

Also, why are emulator runs hidden by default? A fairly decent number of people are going to be emulating this game on MAME.

Special Version differences:

1. Game has 4 loops, each increasing in difficulty
2. Player hitbox is significantly smaller
3. Bombs act like co-op bombs even in single player (triple damage bombs of standard version)
4. In addition to the peach pigs that give score, there are lavender pigs that give exp. The primary impact this has on the speedrun is making level 3 shot possible before the stage 3 boss.
5. The player gets a one-hit shield every time the exp bar is filled. This amounts to 2-3 hits that can be used strategically or to cover mistakes throughout a run.

The end result this has is that the first loop of Special is much easier than completing standard Batsugun. This is a much more beginner-friendly shmup.

The ship types are separated because B is much better than the other two by every conceivable metric, especially since this game has built-in autofire (for the record, I would allow autofire even if it weren't built in - protect your hands, you only get one pair).

The fire pattern and rate, yes, which affects speed of killing bosses, particularly in the original version of the game as bombs deal 1/3 as much damage as Batsugun Special Version. Currently, Type-B makes the other ships essentially pointless because it's so much better than both of them.

Hi, I saw there is no 1cc/1-ALL category. I think that should be added since it is a completely different way of playing (can't credit feed to spam bombs on bosses, which is the only way to decrease time besides avoiding slowdown). I am working on a 1cc at the moment (alongside ones for DoDonPachi and the original Batsugun).

There are also several version differences:

• JP version is considered the "standard" version.
• US version is much easier as it refills your bombs every stage and has lower "rank" (internal difficulty that affects bullet speed and count)
• Korean version is much the same as JP except the first boss has an easier final pattern.
• Hong Kong version is the hardest as the player's hitbox is larger and the starting rank is higher than JP.

In particular I would advocate splitting US/All other versions due to the difference in bomb count which is the primary factor in speed.

Source: https://shmups.wiki/library/DonPachi#Versions

It also seems a tad strange that the only category involves finishing both loops. I would imagine it would be beneficial to have a 2-loop category and a 1-loop category - the only argument I can see for not having a 1-loop category is that there are no requirements for entering the second loop or fighting the TLB.

Great run!

I strongly agree with separating by character in particular rather than by patch except in the case of particularly egregious patch changes. Information on patch can presumably be adequately preserved as a (non-subcategory) variable.

Characters should probably be under ILs rather than full game. I'd look at Persona 4 Arena Ultimax's board for an example: https://www.speedrun.com/persona_4_arena_ultimax

If it's helpful, I'd gladly retime them with IGT (adding together round times), assuming there's no mechanic that pauses them. I've done that for several games in the past, maintaining public spreadsheets to this end.

Oh, thanks for pointing that out, I had accidentally copied the video title rather than the link.

Generally speaking breaks are not expected to be part of runs, especially ones as short as they tend to be for this game. That said, I can add a line to the rules referencing the SRC general rules if you feel it would help with clarification once the re-timing is done and runs have been appropriately re-sorted. I have used this timing method for several other Musou games and never had someone try and abuse the rule in this way, nor have I had to reject a run due to what appears to be a break taken in the middle.

Currently working on these changes, hoping to be done by this time next week.

Sum of IGT retiming: In progress (6 runs left). IGT has been added to all other runs on the board. Sum of IGT run sorting & removal of platform subcategory: Not started. Audio/FPS counter rule updates: Done. Side Story organization: Done. IL Additions: Not started, needs discussion with SubParGamer on name format.

No. This scenario is covered by SRC Moderation rules.

https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/moderation-rules > Run Requirements, second bullet point.

Firstly, I think the timing method for this game, rather than RTA, should be Sum of IGT. The reasons for this proposed change are as follows:

1. Load time differences between platforms become irrelevant, and platforms can be grouped together. This removes the need for a platform subcategory and declutters the board.
2. Load time differences on the same console due to hard drive swaps (for example replacing your PS4's hard drive with an SSD) or load time differences due to different PC specs also become irrelevant, leveling the playing field for players who cannot afford such things.
3. Install skill drops do not cause random timeloss.
4. Runners on PS4 or PS5 can capture directly from their console, removing the need for a capture card.
5. IGT continues counting through cutscene attacks and Extella Maneuver and is impossible to abuse.

I say all this as someone who has the game installed on an NVMe SSD (2TB Firecuda 530), meaning I have a significant advantage over PC players who are using an HDD and don't have $200+ to drop on that kind of SSD with the current timing method.

Basically, Sum of IGT encourages fair competition more than the current rule set in this game. I am happy to retime every run on the board with the new timing method if it is implemented and I am made a moderator.

Note that, in the event this new timing method were implemented, RTA would still be preserved and displayed alongside the IGT.

Secondly, I think Side Stories should be organized differently for clarity and neatness. Rather than being miscellaneous categories, "Side Story" should be a single category with subcategories for all the stories in a drop-down. This would make the board look neater and make it easier to find the desired subcategory. Main story should be organized the same way. Difficulties should be upgraded to subcategories, because at the moment there is no reason to ever play on anything other than easy mode.

Thirdly, I would like individual levels added to the boards. Specifically, the individual chapters of the main and side stories. Free Battle is pretty much impossible to add because of the layout so I can live without that.

Fourth, the rules should be more specific. There should be an audio requirement in order to prevent splicing in run submissions, and it should be encouraged but not necessarily enforced to display an FPS counter for PC runs

Fifthly, I would like to moderate for this game:

1. I am on SRC daily and I verify runs within 48 hours as a rule.
2. I moderate for several other Musou games (including this game’s sequel) and am knowledgeable on this one.
3. I will handle my proposed leaderboard changes (altering categorization, adding ILs). As previously stated, if sum of IGT is implemented, I will manually retime all runs in a publicly visible spreadsheet (for transparency). I have already retimed all the side story runs.
4. Having two moderators is almost always better than having one.

Sure, it's not my board.

In that case, I'll add my theoretical ruleset to my original post, so if someone sees it and wants to try it, then at least they have a metric with which to time it.

In the most polite and respectful way possible, I don't feel it makes sense to consider it an issue to make a miscellaneous category for a single run since:

1. It's barely on the main board by definition
2. That's by and large the point of miscellaneous categories (as in, why they are a site feature - for elements ancillary to the main game that will receive fewer runners and runs),
3. The whole point of leaderboards is to serve the community, But you do you, I guess.

I'd do another one on the Complete Edition (PC) if that makes a difference (The UlforceVeedramon buff doesn't apply to the whole party in that version so it would require different strats), just need to find a complete save so I don't have to grind for like fifteen hours.

1 8:19.000 2 8:12.000 5 8:44.000 9 8:55.000 12 1:26.000 15 11:31.000 18 3:00.000 11 3:59.000 13 10:14.000 17 3:28.000 19 2:18.000 20 8:33.000 21 1:42.000 22 7:17.000 24 1:15.000 25 10:35.000 27 2:20.000

Hi, curious about adding a category for the Master Rank Colosseum Battle, I have a run for it from back in 2018:

Not sure if it would be better as a single IL or as a separate category (probably under Misc categories) etc.

This is the original PS4 release. Happy to submit through normal channels once they exist.

Rules would be to start time on selecting the Master Colosseum and end time on the last frame of the battle rewards UI moving into place.