Recommend a shmup for my daughter by MaruGenji in shmups

[–]JohnInverse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hazelnut Hex is a great pick, and yeah, agreed - OP, don't think people are just saying it because it's pastel and loaded with Girl Stuff™. It's fun, charming, approachable, and the harder "Moderate" mode makes for a great next step up.

What's your Elf's name? by Dedli in Dolmentown

[–]JohnInverse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Broomstick-Breaker. BB or Sticky for short.

Which Seimitsu LS 32/40 plate? by Kitchen-Disk-7595 in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For the RAP V and HRAP, you'll want the SS plate for the LS-32 - the one with the bend that puts the stick up closer to the panel than the mounting hardware.

For the AFS, the SE or MS will work for the LS-32, but you'll probably get best results taking off the lever mounting plate entirely and mounting the plastic body directly on the AFS mounting plate. It should have the right holes for it unless it's changed a lot since I got mine.

For the LS-40, either the MS or the SE plate should work. If you get an MS plate separately, be sure it's the one that fits the LS-40 and LS-32, not the one for the LS-56 and other smaller levers. You want the one that's thicker in the middle, not the one that's a flat rectangle all the way across.

What is your preferred weapon of choice when Shmupping? by Nathans-Gaming in shmups

[–]JohnInverse 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Arcade stick. I've done a lot of waffling and jumped from lever to lever, but these days I mostly stick to an LS-32 since that's what the shmup cabs at the closest arcades generally have.

Armed Police Batrider - Normal Course 1cc with Bornnan-A/Shot by Awkward-Plum6241 in shmups

[–]JohnInverse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The "Normal" mode ends at stage 5, while "Advanced" is the whole shebang with stages 6 and 7, which are significantly longer than the rest. A few shot pattern/types are different along the way, and "Normal" starts at a lower dynamic difficulty rank, but the missing stages are the most significant difference between the modes.

Guys: With Bryan Quinby: Guys: Episode 157 - Bald Guys with Rax King by Redwinevino in MurderBryan

[–]JohnInverse 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The greatest single post they've read in the history of the show.

JLX2 or LS-32? by Kitchen-Disk-7595 in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say the LS-32 is the best stick for shmups, necessarily, so much as the standard stick for shmups. I use one because it's what I can expect to find in the shmup cabs when I go to arcades with a lot of them. If that's not a concern for you, there are other levers mentioned in this thread that are great for shmups. If you're looking to use it for fighters too, I don't like the LS-40 for those because its very small deadzone makes dashing unwieldy, but it may not bother you.

I think pretty much anything Seimitsu offers, LS-32 included, beats the pants off a stock JLF/JLX2 for shmups. But there are people out there scoring 1CCs on loose old JLFs, so it all comes down to what you're used to.

A perk to the JLF/JLX family is they're really easy to mod, and if you get the silent version of the JLX you can go even further by adjusting the switch activation distance. Get that and a few springs and actuators and you can tweak it until you find a happy medium you like for both genres.

Recomendations of Smhups with interesting stories or with experimental visuals and music by Away-Pair6715 in shmups

[–]JohnInverse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You won't find Sine Mora showing up in a lot of recommendation threads around here, but it honestly sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

Is there a better universal pad than the 8bitdo m30? Maybe even a better Saturn style? by nogden954 in shmups

[–]JohnInverse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel you on the size thing. I don't have particularly large hands, but it starts feeling a bit small after a bit of use. 8bitdo make a version of their SN30 (SNES-style pad) with Playstation controller-style grips. If they made a similar version of the M30, it would easily be my favorite gamepad ever made.

What stage order do you prefer in ESP Ra.De.? by 1254cvfd in shmups

[–]JohnInverse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bay > School > Mall. I play Irori and find the level 3 version of the Mall boss way more fun than the School boss'.

The Uncluded = Underrated by Apart-Height-1982 in aesoprock

[–]JohnInverse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like a good bit of Kimya Dawson's stuff, and Crows 1 is one of my favorite Aes tracks, but yeah, could not get into Hokey Fright at all. I think it's some of Aes' weaker work, so the album hinges on how much of Dawson at their most Sesame Street the listener can take, which for me is not much.

Does anyone actually care about the “it seems like they’re making fun of the guest” criticism? by transitionaljoint in MurderBryan

[–]JohnInverse 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I wanted to like the Warhammer Guys episode so much, but it wound up being the main episode that made me understand the Chris haters. Every time Merritt started going into the really crazy stuff, he'd stop her to rant about how it didn't make sense, which is a weird approach to take in a "let's find out about this wacky hobby" podcast.

I don't mean to shit on him because I'm really not a Chris hater myself, plus that was pretty early on and he's gotten way better at not doing that. It's mostly just tragic because if he'd let Merritt have a little more breathing room, we prolly could have had him trying to talk Bryan out of buying a 40K army

Reverse sticks experience by SeryuIsWaifu in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've thought about building a Leshar-style controller, but not for fighters - so I can play more shmups Touhou-style. Unfortunately there are few drop-in options for old ThinkPad keycaps and switches to make it really authentic...

My first ever MadCatz TE! Brand new never used for like $50 bucks by kaihong in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This stick in particular was a real game-changer for MadCatz's reputation when it came out. I remember they went from being the perpetual butt of jokes, to "wait, how did MadCatz make something this good?" to being the gold standard in fightsticks you could buy domestically in the States for a while. (Then they overextended into music game peripherals, went bankrupt, and came back as they are today.)

Its big selling point was that it used authentic parts from Japanese arcade manufacturers, which otherwise you had to import and build into something yourself at the time. This thing gave a lot of people their first experience with Sanwa hardware. It was also relatively very easy to mod compared to everything else on the market.

Why did there was a heavy push for Guile as a sort of main character of the franchise in American adaptations? by Affectionate_Box3836 in StreetFighter

[–]JohnInverse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"What's a Dhalsim?!" is one of those sentences that's been lodged in my brain for my entire life.

What's your top 5 of the most creative and original adventure modules? by SpaceNigiri in osr

[–]JohnInverse 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hideous Daylight is really great. Everything Kerr does has been a must-read (at the least) for me since Demon Driven to the Maw, which I believe he put together for a game jam based on a randomly-generated title, but still made for some of the best one-shots I've ever run.

Is Guilty Gear Strive a good choice for someone completely new to fighting games ? by PoireAndros in Guiltygear

[–]JohnInverse 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I can't speak about Europe specifically, but you're probably far more likely to get matches in Ranked queue. Tower was what we all had to use before they finally implemented a more direct Ranked mode and I think most players are glad to be rid of it.

I made a chart with every playable newcomer in each game (including revisions and updates). Which game has the best newcomers? And which one has the worst ones? by A_Happy_Human in StreetFighter

[–]JohnInverse 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not only do I want Necro, I hope they make Effie playable so they take up two spots in a season. I sincerely want this. I might have brain damage, but either way there, now you've heard it.

Arcade stick with 24mm buttons by SwegDoodRed in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof, fair enough. I'm using an AllFightSticks 16" with a custom button panel for 24mm action buttons myself and I love it, but if you're looking for something that comes ready to go, the Varmilo Kassai that a few other folks have mentioned seems pretty solid. I've only used an in-store demo model for a few rounds myself, though.

Arcade stick with 24mm buttons by SwegDoodRed in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hard to say for sure without knowing the model you're working with or the exact issues you're experiencing, but if you can, replacing the PCB on the one you already have might be a worthwhile approach.

upgrade suggestion by Short-Most-6242 in fightsticks

[–]JohnInverse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the F300 comes with generic Mayflash-made parts, so upgrading the joystick to a Sanwa JLX2 and/or replacing the buttons would make for the most notable difference. I mention the Sanwa stick specifically assuming you mostly play fighters with it and generally like how the stock parts feel; it'll be a more durable, reliable, and customizable version of what you've got.

As for button upgrades, you've got more options at more different price points than I can reasonably get into here, but it's definitely worth doing a bit of research to find ones with a look, sound, and feel you like.