Purpose of different firing modes

[A]

How are the different firing modes supposed to be used? Holding down shot seems pointless (unless you want to be slow for whatever reason). I don't see any reason to not just be permanentaly holding down full auto (I'm just playing Original, which has the simpler scoring). I read somewhere that doing C and A+ is somehow the best... Does it give you more DPS? How does that even work. Thanks.

[Bender]

Hahahahaa..... HAHAHAHAHAHAH..... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
You WANT to be SLOW to dodge through tighter spaces and it does more damage... AND it holds your formation options in place... You need to alternate between rapid and heavy (known by everyone as focus fire) in order to move your formation options around so you can concentrate fire wherever needed... Plus, focus fire makes it easier to dodge... master alternating them, then go play on Ultra. Have fun :D Hope I educated you.

[A]

Ok, so holding shot does more damage. Is it doing more damage because of your assist dudes stacking up, or do the bullets just do more damage? What happens when you hold multiple buttons? Just trying to figure out specifically what each button does, such as damage, rate of fire etc. I can't find this documented anywhere.

And how should I make use of the turbo buttons?

[Tane]

You can hold C and tap A as fast as you can, or hold C and rapid-fire A (A+), it deals more damage than just holding A+C, and helps build the overall counter a bit faster than just holding C in 1.0 maniac/ultra.

[Let's Eat Grandma]

For reference
A Button = Z on Keyboard (Shot)
B = X (Bomb)
C = C (Rapid Shot of A)

D = D? (Arrange Mode only) (Cycle shot type)

Once you upgrade your ship a few times, you will notice that holding down A will shoot a thicker laser beam with a narrower spread. When you are taking down big enemies that take a while to kill, you generally want to be holding down A to focus your beam and kill them faster if you are safe from bullets. Next time you play, see how long it takes to kill those big bugs with using just A and then using just C.

I play by basically always holding down C and then holding down A only when I need to slow down or shoot a more powerful beam. You should ALWAYS be firing in this game. C is better for moving fast and hitting a wide area of enemies, A is better for moving slower and concentrating on one enemy or a narrow column of enemies.

If you have no upgrades at all the only difference will be the speed. As said before, tapping A repeatedly is the same as holding down C. I find it easier to think and less strenuous on my hand to just hold down C and press A when needed, but I will sometimes go between tapping and holding A for rough passages. You want to be able to press bomb at a moment's notice if you panic. Try shooting with just A and then with A C to see which is more comfortable for you.

As far as the turbo/interval things, I really have no idea how they work or why they are there. The arcade is only A B C and D in arrange mode so I would stick with that.

[A]

Originally posted by A.I:

You can hold C and tap A as fast as you can, or hold C and rapid-fire A (A+), it deals more damage than just holding A+C, and helps build the overall counter a bit faster than just holding C in 1.0 maniac/ultra.

Strange how C and A+ does more damage than C and A, considering the speed drawback. Sounds like a flaw imo.

What do you mean when you refer to 1.0?

[MMB]

The DLC is 1.5 version of the game with different mechanics so I think they are referring to the non DLC mode as 1.0

[tricosahedron]

Is it possible to switch between focused (shot) and unfocused (rapid shot / full auto) mode w/o the delay? I assume the delay is intended, but if possible I prefer to be 100% in control in danmaku shmups.

[myotak_oke]

Touhou-style? Hmm... Considering the game was built originally for arcade control scheme (compared to Touhou's keyboard scheme, which probably what most people are accustomed with... You can't simply mash that Z, right?), it can be something for the balance, and CAVE isn't a fan of Touhou-style shot changing (with that Shift button).

So yeah, the delay can't be helped until CAVE said something.

[tricosahedron]

Well, I'm fine if it's not possible. But just in case there is a way, I'd like to know. :)

[Uninstall Wizard]

If you tap fast on C, the options will not fire. This maybe helpful in some situations

[TechiRef]

As someone who really prefers playing SHMUPs on an arcade controller - 'cuz muh authentic experience - it really does help a lot. Yeah, there's not so much of a point if you're using something like an Xbox 360 controller, which has full analog, but since arcade sticks are pretty much all digital (unless for some insane reason you're playing with a trackball), being able to switch between pure fast and pure slow helps out a lot. Some people only use pure fast, some only use pure slow, some prefer a mix. It's all about options.

[Red]

How is the xbox 360's analog relevant at all? The game still detects the analog stick as an 8 way arcade stick and you can't change your speed with just the stick. You still need to use focus mode to reduce your speed.

[Ricky the "No Guard"]

Originally posted by Axiom (Vancouver):

How are the different firing modes supposed to be used? Holding down shot seems pointless (unless you want to be slow for whatever reason). I don't see any reason to not just be permanentaly holding down full auto (I'm just playing Original, which has the simpler scoring). I read somewhere that doing C and A+ is somehow the best... Does it give you more DPS? How does that even work. Thanks.

The slower movement ("focusing") helps a lot when you need to get through thin gaps between slow sprays of bullets, particularly with M-Power and S-Power due to their higher speed. It also pulls in the little laser-firing helpers ("options"), which would normally be all over the screen, so you can do a bit more damage to targets right in front of you.

Originally posted by Axiom (Vancouver):

Ok, so holding shot does more damage. Is it doing more damage because of your assist dudes stacking up, or do the bullets just do more damage? What happens when you hold multiple buttons? Just trying to figure out specifically what each button does, such as damage, rate of fire etc. I can't find this documented anywhere.

And how should I make use of the turbo buttons?

The shot itself, and what the options fire, stays the same. Holding down both buttons doesn't change anything; in some very specific CAVE games it actually does, but not this one.

Normally tapping A to fire normally and holding C for automatic fire have the same firing rate; the C button was introduced so you wouldn't have to tap all the time. However, there's an interesting quirk in many CAVE games where tapping A once releases a few shots, while tapping C one releases a single shot. This actually has an effect in Mushihimesama, in that tapping C rapidly prevents your options from firing, which helps with the Maniac and Ultra scoring systems.

The turbo buttons can be used to get a bit more DPS, but they're really meant to help with the complicated tapping-based scoring system of Maniac and Ultra. It's a real shame very little of this is documented, yes. This thread[shmups.system11.org] explains a bit about Maniac/Ultra tapping.

Originally posted by Axiom (Vancouver):

Originally posted by A.I:

You can hold C and tap A as fast as you can, or hold C and rapid-fire A (A+), it deals more damage than just holding A+C, and helps build the overall counter a bit faster than just holding C in 1.0 maniac/ultra.

Strange how C and A+ does more damage than C and A, considering the speed drawback. Sounds like a flaw imo.

What do you mean when you refer to 1.0?

Since your shot doesn't really change when holding A, the slower speed is really emphasized as a tool, not a drawback. You may not need it for Original; the bullets are mostly too fast in that mode.

The tapping system is really strange, and being able to do more damage by holding C and mashing A like that is a part of it.

"1.0" refers to the Normal mode of this game, and is the original 2004 release of Mushihimesama. Novice is an easier version of Normal. Arrange is a sort of "fourth mode" originally made for the PlayStation 2 port and revised for the Xbox 360 port, which this Steam version is a port of. 1.5 is a special version of the game originally released in limited quantities for arcades, then rereleased through the 360 and Steam ports.

Originally posted by tricosahedron:

Is it possible to switch between focused (shot) and unfocused (rapid shot / full auto) mode w/o the delay? I assume the delay is intended, but if possible I prefer to be 100% in control in danmaku shmups.

I'm afraid not. Mushi is a game that could really use it, too. It's just an artifact of CAVE's control standards, I guess. It makes sense for something like Dodonpachi; being able to zip around the screen with the laser is a bit broken.

Originally posted by TechieRefugee:

As someone who really prefers playing SHMUPs on an arcade controller - 'cuz muh authentic experience - it really does help a lot. Yeah, there's not so much of a point if you're using something like an Xbox 360 controller, which has full analog, but since arcade sticks are pretty much all digital (unless for some insane reason you're playing with a trackball), being able to switch between pure fast and pure slow helps out a lot. Some people only use pure fast, some only use pure slow, some prefer a mix. It's all about options.

This game doesn't use the analog of any game controller. The controls in this game are purely digital; "pure fast" and "pure slow" is all you get.

[A]

Thanks for the informative responses guys. Really enjoying this game so far, though I'm a long way off from Maniac lol (still working on 1CCing Novice Original like a super noob).

Is there much to the scoring in Original? Is my goal just to never get hit? And do bombs have any drawbacks score-wise?

[myotak_oke]

I don't think there's any reward for keeping them or punishment for using bombs in Original mode. Can anyone tell?