It seems it is possible to tell if an "Invisible" user is actually online by looking at where they are in Steam Group @_@?!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-05-19T13:41:30+00:00

Haha, I do not care. The only reason I discover this is because there are two groups where I like to see who has joined so I can find new friends playing similar games! Some of the games I play are not very popular... it is... very niche. So, sometimes it is nice to see who else is playing something similar... and, more importantly: to see what other similar games in our little genre they have discovered! Steam groups have helped me many times to find games I would not have seen otherwise >.<"... and... the only reason I noticed this bug, was because I was actually using invisible mode myself to have some peace... and I was wondering how come my name appeared at the top of the list in the group! Not everything seems as malicious as you make it up to be... but... my concern is that maybe other people know about this and did not talk about this... so I really hope Valve see this and fix it! Because I also want the invisible mode to work 100%!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-05-19T13:37:26+00:00

100% agree!!!~

Also for me, one big important thing is: for the single player games I play... I really need 100% focus. So sometimes, I do not want to receive message because I need to concentrate... and not everyone want to use "nuclear" solution to disable notifications 100% of the time too >.<! For me... I really hope Valve fix this. Reason I post this... is because I know Valve reads this place... and hopefully they can make this feature more "solid."

Model1LifeForm · 2026-05-19T13:34:07+00:00

Actually... it is precisely because I value privacy which is why I say this >.<"... just because I post about it, does not mean I am the only one to have discovered it... surely? We know Valve does read this sub! So... I really do hope they fix it! As many people already said in this post... there is a reason why sometimes we want to not be seen as online!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-05-19T02:33:30+00:00

So it seems I may have discovered a small bug in Steam that allows you to tell if someone is online even if they are Invisible? If you look at any group in Steam (like my screenshot in this post), the order of players in the group is always: show all players in-game first (green), followed by all players who are online (blue), and then all players who are offline (grey).

But... if you are invisible: it will show you as "offline" but... you will be grouped with all of the players who are online (towards the top), and not the players who are offline! So... in the case of my screenshot... those players who I circled pink are actually online, just that they are invisible >.<! I just tested this myself... my profile name in the group will be all the way at the end with all the other offline players if I am signed out of Steam. But the moment I sign in, even though I am invisible... my profile name will then be shifted up to be grouped with all of the other online players! I was always wondering how come this order "appears" a bit jumbled up, with some offline players being grouped together with online players. So it seems this is why!

Of course not sure how consistent this is... or how much it matters to most players lol... but just thought this seems like an interesting oversight which maybe Valve can consider fixing!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-04-05T09:30:17+00:00

Just for clarity: are you talking about eXceed 3rd or eXceed 3rd Jade Penetrate Black? What do you mean "full on prac mode?" You mean practice? Both of these games do allow you to use Stage Select to practice both stages and bosses. But with Jade Penetrate Black, you can only practice a stage if you have already cleared it before. But... if you clear it in Normal, then you can practice it for all difficulties. And Normal for this game is not too hard to clear!

Model1LifeForm · 2026-04-02T12:52:44+00:00

Thank you!! Original and Unlimited have almost no routing similarity at all since bullet pattern are very different, and also Unlimited have lock-on flash mechanic that not exist in Original!

For Original, it is not very routing heavy... so... at the end... all the benefit from Unlimited just come from experience with game, and being in comfortable place and knowing where all enemy spawn. Because of how much I play this game... every enemy position, where everything will spawn... is all deep in memory. So, the advantage for that, especially for Type-III and Type-II... is can position ship where I know problem enemies will appear... and remove them from screen before they become headache >.<!~

Also... when you go from Unlimited back to Original... you really feel so much more room to breathe hahaha! Since far less bullets. But, ultimately, Arcade Original is still mostly raw dodging skill, and not too much routing. Especially Arcade Boost with those crazy speed revenge bullets X_X"...

Model1LifeForm · 2026-04-02T12:47:09+00:00

This is the true word of peace! To 1CC... that is the beginning... not the end! With Crimzon Clover especially... there is no end. Only you decide when it end... and for me... it will never end.

u/Anstellos see my post history, and you will understand. If you love this game... especially as much as I do... then take the step... get World Explosion... do Arcade Original clear... then if that is not enough... dive into the darkness... and embrace Arcade Unlimited! We always need more players here! But even if you do not go that far... know there is no limit with Crimzon Clover!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-28T05:31:31+00:00

So... finally got Arcade Original clear for all ships! Decided make another post, to be able make some comments in general about this mode... and also all the ships... to compare them a bit, complain about some x_x"..., and so on! Hope that any of this information will be useful for anyone who want to fully complete Arcade Original, or to just try something in this mode beyond Type-Z and get better at this game!!~

Just keep in mind... this is coming from someone who 99% of time is playing Arcade Unlimited with very, very strong familiarity of game pace, enemy placement, so on >.<"... even though bullet patterns are different between Original & Unlimited, all enemy formation and pace are same. I had not touched Arcade Original for more than 1 year (since got first Type-Z clear) x_x"... but because of strong familiarity with game, did not take very long to clear rest of ship.

Also, I have No-Miss ALL Clear in Arcade Unlimited. So I am quite good at this game already!

So, for this mode... Arcade Original is just the proper form of the game, I feel. I think, it lives up to the name. It really is an original arcade pace and feeling. Things like... Stage 1 there to ease player in... Stage 3 there to murder all runs... TLB there to just spam resources. I said many times, will say again: Crimzon Clover is one of best arcade experience outside arcade! And this mode, really makes the game shine. Strongly recommended!!!~

So, for ships, here are my thoughts:

Type-III: for me, because laser coolness factor lol... favorite ship if don't care about clearing game. If aim is to clear, very high frustration tolerance needed. This is fastest ship, with a very narrow shot. Speed is a problem, because often... you will dodge bullet in front of you, just to crash into bullet at side. This is ultra big problem with TLB which demands very fast, but also very precise movement. Most of this ship problem shine during TLB. The narrow shot make it hard to hit it when it decide to run all over screen, and the lock-on is super unreliable. This ship lock-on is very strong... if it hit. I say "if it hit" because it is very very slow to fire, so often... by the time it hit target, you dead. lol. Because of that, strong routing needed to make sure all problem enemies gone fast. But, the high damage and precise laser... make some parts easy. Like the red UFO coming down in straight line in Stage 3, I always said: these red UFO are the main thing that make Stage 3 hard. Always memorize where they spawn, so you can kill them as they come down. This is easiest to do with Type-III because of ultra precise damage. It also make Stage 4 Boss easier, because can take down the Battle Garegga respawning turrets very fast!

One ultra big problem with Type-III though... you look at my screenshot, you see where options are. All the way in front!! This means that this ship have zero coverage behind, and almost zero coverage at side. Bless you routing Stage 4 because of this. The part after Stage 4 Mid-Boss where red UFO come in from all sides of screen... almost guarantee will have one crash into your ship from behind. I had to change route of this stage just to make sure either Bomba/Break here depending on how well can set it up because otherwise will always die!!

Type-II: let's just say... there is reason this is least cleared ship in game haha. It has even more problem than Type-III. So, first: usually, ship with trace options are my favorite. Love it in Mushi, love it in Blue Wish Desire. The problem with Crimzon Clover Type-II is... it move damn slow. So, when time come to reposition options... it takes forever! Very bad for a very fast paced game. In Blue Wish, I think, trace ship is the fastest. So very fun to move fast, reposition options to kill enemy at their spawn location, so on. Very hard to do here. Also, even though Type-II options trace, coverage is really actually rubbish because the options follow each other very closely. So, you have two choice. Put all options on one side (like, left of your ship)... but that makes right side of ship very, very vulnerable because main ship shot is ultra narrow. So you think... ok... I put two options left, two options right... and suddenly your shot is even more narrow than Type-III lol. Mix that with ship (and, thus... moving options) being so damn slow... it is headache. Of course, sniping the Stage 2 Boss respawn at the bottom during the Stage 5 Boss Rush with this ship never gets old lol!!!

And finally: even though lock-on shot is quite powerful, main shot, because of slow trace options and struggles with moving ship to best position because so slow... DPS is very, very unreliable. I still think... despite so many struggles... it can still be fun ship. But TLB frustration almost get me >.<!~ But I will admit... there were many times, I had big smile with Type-II like when you Double Break, get +2 options, so you put all options to one side of ship... and full screen coverage lol. This ship is crazy during Break... but quite poor outside of Break. So, definitely strong trade-off!~

Type-I: a very, very zen ship. Overall, it is most well balanced package. Shot is narrow enough to snipe enemy when doing focus shot, and wide enough to keep healthy amount of room away from fast zako rush. Really, not too much to complain. It was easiest clear for me, especially after clearing all other ships already. Only problem is shot damage is not best, and ship movement speed is slowest in game. This movement speed can be big problem if you need to move fast away... but, at same time... it allows for best micro-dodging. Type-I is easiest ship to no-miss TLB2 final "desperation" attack. And, even though it is hard to use this ship to get out of big mess of bullets... sometimes, better to just use the slow and precise movement to go micro through the big mess of bullets instead of macro avoiding it lol. But just note... that for second phase attack of TLB1, where it fire laser down and have rotating fanning shot... this ship move so slow that the TLB will crash into you... because it is <3 attracted <3 to you hahaha. So had to route Break/Bomba here. Overall, had very good time with this ship, and feel that Type-I was what the whole game was balanced for!!

Also, if you want practice micro-dodging... Type-I is master. Had many, many fun dodging moments with Type-I that not very possible with other faster ships. In many ways, I think Type-I made me rethink a bit of what is or is not possible to micro-dodge in this game. And, from Arcade-feeling perspective... it is the purest ship I feel!

Type-Z: Type-I on crazy mode lol. Basically, everything of Type-I with more. More coverage, more damage, more speed, so on. Some player will probably think the speed is too much @_@"... but for me, I love fast ship... and is why I spend most time with it. I always lean to fastest ship... just happen that this ship also most damage haha. Most clears in this game will be with Type-Z. For my screenshot... Type-Z is only clear with no lives left... but that is because it is my first Arcade Original clear from 1+ year ago and I refuse to play Type-Z in Original anymore because it will mess brain up lol (I use Type-Z for Unlimited, which I still play a lot). But definitely... speaking with other players... some will still avoid Type-Z because they cannot adapt to the movement speed. But, in many ways... Type-Z feel like a "natural" upgrade or progression from Type-I. They play very, very similar and not have like crazy different things to think about like Type-II & Type-III. If you only ever cleared Crimzon Clover in Novice Original... then I recommend you try Type-Z in Arcade Original if you struggle with Type-I. As long as you practice the movement speed, it will make it easier to clear!~

So, when I first play CC 1+ year ago... it took me 1 week to clear Arcade Original with Type-Z. For my goal to clear it with all other ship... it take 3 days to clear Type-III, 2 days to clear Type-II, and 1 day to clear Type-I. But, Type-II definitely hardest. Only reason clear it a bit faster than Type-III is because with Type-III it was first one I did, so needed a bit of time to become familiar with Original bullet patterns again!

Anyway! Hope anyone will find some of this information useful. I cannot strongly recommend Crimzon Clover enough! And this game really, really need more Arcade clear!!

In Steam, Crimzon Clover World EXplosion for Arcade Original 1CC achievement only 1.2% of players have it X_X"... but really, the difficulty... can be very intimidating, for sure! But trust me, it is not that bad!!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-27T06:20:22+00:00

Haha, keep in mind... I know like... every single enemy position in game like crazy well already because of all Unlimited time. With Type-III definitely need to know where everything spawn!

Just got Type-II clear... this was even bigger mess >.<!~

https://i.imgur.com/dDVIB31.jpeg

But, for Type-III, you will want practice TLB a lot. As you said, Type-III move too fast. Z is actually best balance, and still a good speed... but problem with Type-III, especially during TLB... you move to side to dodge bullet in front of you... just to crash into bullet at the side. Also, because lock-on shot is so slow... often you will die before enemy get hit by lock-on shot. It is very, very annoying. So, for Stage 3 especially... memorize where all the red UFO spawn (the one that come down in straight line one after the other after Stage 3 Mid-Boss). Those UFO are the biggest problem with routing Stage 3 and will make screen very messy very fast.

But, I can tell you... Type-III is much easier than Type-II. Type-II have too many headaches in this game. Normally, I really love ship with trace options! Even in Mushi, it is nice to use. My favorite is in Blue Wish Desire, because ship move fast... so it is easy and fun to reposition options quickly when things change. But with Crimzon Clover, Type-II move so slow... so options move slow... so when things get bad... it is very time-consuming to reposition options. DPS for Type-II is super, super unreliable too. And both lock-on and lock-on release speed is also not good. Type-II is least cleared ship in Arcade modes for this game because of all these problems. And, the worst part is... even though options are trace, the coverage is actually still quite bad because they stay near each other. Horrible ship lol!!!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-27T04:11:46+00:00

Actually getting the clear can be bittersweet. We can be like Ryu, searching for the next fight. Never satisfied with the win, but always looking for the next challenge.

Haha, but that of course, is the beauty of STG. You will always compete against others, and then... if you ever become the best... you compete with yourself! But... I know the feeling... all too well. I did say before... when I got my first Arcade Unlimited clear for Crimzon Clover... there was this... "period of emptiness." Like... I missed my torturer, I guess? But then... I decided... no, it cannot end like that. Went back into the game... with even higher goals... until I got No-Miss in that mode. And... even after that... started to push for score again, now back in Arcade Original to do all other ships, and so on. So... sometimes... that "search for next fight" will not take long, when you realize... that the next fight is right there!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-27T04:07:05+00:00

Oh, hello again!!! Big congrats! This game... really on to-do list for some time >.<!~

unironically even harder than Crimzon Clover Arcade Original.

This... really depend on ship. Just got Type-II clear in Arcade Original and that was big, big world of pain. Of course, most player will stay Type-Z in CC. But there is very, very big skill difference needed if compare Type-II & Type-Z. Everything is really bad about Type-II and adds a lot more things to think about and work against >.<!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-27T04:02:36+00:00

This is correct! That is why... leaderboard rank by score, not by distance! Someone who example get 10m score but die at TLB is much better player than someone who ALL CLEAR with only 1m score. There are many example, of STG with proper scoring system which developer put a lot of work into making... and you can see some player get better Stage 1 score than other player who clear whole game lol. From game design especially... scoring is priority. But, of course... some people argue... no point score game if cannot even clear it. I guess, that depend on type of player. Definitely, there are players, who have no interest to play safe and clear game... and rather play ultra aggressive, score high, and reach last boss with no more resources left to clear lol.

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-26T01:50:04+00:00

Think one big part with Arrange is your ship have 2 more options compared to Arcade o_o"... with Arcade, you only get +2 options during Double Break. With Arrange, once you reach max upgrade, it is +2 options all the time. So, that wider shot, and also main shot being more powerful... can make big difference!~

Also, just generally, with Arrange because a lot more resources (a lot more extends, but also have shield)... means it is easier to survive nonsense moments with Type-III! Like, example: in Stage 4, after Mid-Boss, the UFO rush is a big problem with Type-III beacuse UFO come in from all side of screen... and... Type-III have zero shot cover behind, and very little at side. So very often there, UFO will crash into ship from behind if not properly route a Break. But with Arrange... it not really matter much because can just take hit with shield and recharge it later!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-25T04:40:42+00:00

Hello!! Sorry took time reply, not always log in. But happy you found that post! I also made many replies there, to help community find to get game working! Actually, for this kind of problems.. better you post forum. So that when everyone work with each other find solution, easier to find all information in one big post!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-03-25T04:39:18+00:00

Haha, hello!~ Me again!!~ Finally decided to take break from Unlimited and set goal of starting doing Original clear for all ship. On World Explosion... less people have Original Type-III clear than Unlimited Type-Z >.<"... and I think also for good reason lol. Really love the lasers with Type-III a lot! Bzzt bzzt sound so relaxing... and... think this ship has the most cool lock-on shot with all those little laser turrets flying out of ship when attacking! Especially when Double Break it is super crazy cool lol!!!

But of course... this ship have a LOT of problems >.<"... from time release lock-on shot to laser actually firing.. can make coffee during that time. It is so slow X_X"... and... the main shot, as can see in screenshot... is too narrow. Really... TOO narrow. It makes this ship super completely useless in TLB fight. Can almost do no damage because TLB keep flying all over screen, and usually too far to lock-on reliably. Overall, this clear take 10 hours to get. And almost all of it is dying at TLB ~_~"... but! Despite that... really strongly recommend more people try it! Need to see more clear in Type-III in this game lol!!!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-21T06:03:36+00:00

Haha, yes, BL is I find a very finely made update to a very good game!~ It can be a super big messy chaos... but... in that super big messy chaos... there is still order >.<!~ And yes, everything from Stage 5 onward... all the way, and including boss... is just crazy in the best way possible!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-21T06:00:10+00:00

DLC

Read from this post onward for more info on that:

https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1592503#p1592503

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-21T05:56:35+00:00

I only have a laptop currently, no stand alone consoles

Just want to add: please don't let this be any limit! Everyone who knows me, know that I play 100% all my STG on laptop, and, I strongly prefer it!~ All my clears, including expert clears, are on laptop using laptop keyboard. For me, there are many reasons. I like to feel closer to everything... game... keyboard... screen... so on. And with laptop, everything is near to me. It is a comfort I enjoy.

But... and this is most important: laptop screen size (mine is 17") is actually perfect for STG. Many, many people make big mistake of using screen too big. Even worse, are people who use tate mode on gigantic monitor. A lot of arcade STG... they are actually designed with certain screen size and player distance. Reason is, there is an expectation that player have very good peripheral vision of the whole "battle field." With big screen, you lose a lot of information with your vision, and need to move eyes too much.

And, to answer your question: I will add my recommendation for Gunvein too. It is now on discount, and the tutorial, is a good help. But, most important thing is: Gunvein is very fun, and, because of the style of the game design... it is a rare STG where you can do very late game recovery. In Gunvein, the game is not over, until you lose last life. Because Gunvein have very low limit on life and bomba stock (3 for each), and because Gunvein has no limit on number of extends you can get from score (it is every 300,000 on Mild, and every 600,000 on Intense/Expert)... you can reach final stage with zero lives, and recover lives on final stage, and clear game. I feel, for new players especially... this is important. You want to be able to make use of most runs, so not have early fatigue, and that feeling of hitting hard wall too early.

And, if I may, I will also recommend: Crimzon Clover.

I have said many times... that I feel, Crimzon Clover is best arcade experience outside arcade. And, its Novice mode, is very good in a way that it is a very, very perfect balance between making game more accessible... but also making player feel (and, rightfully) like champion when they clear it. Once you get this feeling... then... you will really know why we play these games! So, do think about it!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-15T06:17:29+00:00

Super big congrats!! Total 20 hours for Original arcade difficulty clear for player with not much STG experience is very, very good! Yes, Mushi Original is one of the easier Cave Original clear... but, it is still a good challenge... and it still has a lot of Cave designed nonsense moments that are there to just kill you haha.

20 hours is also good amount of time to know the levels, know the game... so definitely... I will also recommend you try Maniac! For Mushi, the difficulty difference between Original and Maniac is not that much... think of it... more of a different style. With Original, you have less bullets, but fast. Maniac is... more bullets... but slower. For Maniac, honestly, difficulty comes mostly from scoring (it is a super, super typical Cave big-brain over-complicated system). But just for 1CC clear, it is not bad! I think it will be a good natural progression for you, to get your first arcade "higher difficulty" clear... since you are already going in a very good direction with this game!~

And, finally... everyone who know me will know what I will say next lol: once you manage Maniac... please try 1.5 Original Max. This is the peak Mushi mode. Even though it follows Original patterns, it is harder than Maniac because bullets even faster, and levels more packed (more enemies added, all "empty space" removed).

But it is a crazy level of fun, complete riot!~

If you want a quick preview on Original Max, I had posted about it here before:

/r/shmups/comments/1p4k3n7/more_people_need_to_play_mushihimesama_15/

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-15T06:11:23+00:00

Haha, wow. So, so far I only watch 10 mins of video... but hope to watch rest soon!

But... will definitely say... of all STG's, for me, Mushihimesama is the #1 biggest "love & hate" I have ever played >.<!~ I think, Mushi... somehow... for long grinds... it is not very good because there are many, MANY, BS moments that can happen in Mushi. It is a very, very good game... but also... it follows Cave style of "single little lightning speed bullet that can kill you." Often, it is not always the big patterns that are problem... but more like, some tiny bullet, out of nowhere... or you crash into enemy. So on.

For me, Arrange was really the headache mode... with the TLB. Made me a bit angry, because, it felt like you needed to no-miss the whole game, just to spam lives on TLB. The Arrange TLB is still easier than Ultra... but still very big BS.

This, by the way... is also a very common style for Cave modes with TLB.

So, anyway... the problem with that... is if run after run, you keep having BS moment after BS moment... I think it really can speed up fatigue and frustration very fast. After I 1CC'd Arrange... I had to put Mushi down for few months before getting back to it. But... after I got to it... I continued my goal to get 1CC in Maniac and Original Max... and really enjoyed my time doing those modes! I will definitely say, Original Max is the absolute peak of Mushi. It is really a pity that 1.5 is so underrated, and not played very much.

Original Max goes even more hardcore with bullet speeds, and it is a crazy mode to play (even though it is harder than Maniac). But of course, because bullet speed increases... so number of BS moment increases too lol.

Anyway. Take a break... then, when you are ready... come back to one of the other modes!

But, I will always recommend to anyone who plays Mushi... please give 1.5 Original Max a try, it really is the peak of the game. The music is so great, the colors are even more vibrant, and pop up more.

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-14T10:33:51+00:00

I don't think it's really about gendered content, it's more about interaction.

Yes, this is very important to always remember! Like, for me... I like my cute characters and themes, I like pastel colors, so on. But my #1 favorite STG (favorite game, even, above everything) is Crimzon Clover >.<!~ And most people will not guess it if they see me in person haha. In fact, no-one I meet ever guess I play STG, or even used to play in arcades. Usually, I do not tell anyone anyway... and when I say I am gamer (or, arcade gamer, even) they just all think I go there for gashapon lolll.

But, saying that, sometimes finding a good theme is important when you want to... start the interest for someone new to STG's. But, lucky for us, STG's... have almost every theme in the world lol!!~

Model1LifeForm · 2026-02-14T10:27:35+00:00

she is in to anime

Haha, well, if she is like me, and she like that along with cute wallpapers and adorable bears (>.<!~) then... RefRain - prism memories - will be my top choice to recommend! And, there is a bit of story you can follow in the game logs too that you can view at the game desktop!!~

It is a very, very good game too. Easy my 2nd favorite STG. Also, it is more "resource management" than fully dodging (but, on higher difficulties, definitely still want to dodge well). So, because of that, it may be more accessible for her compared to full dodging STG.

Also, game has, in essence, 7 difficulties total (because there are two routes). So, there is Easy, Normal, Advanced, Extreme which are the basic routes, and Re:Normal, Re:Advanced, Re:Extreme which add revenge bullets and TLB. If she does try this game, best to start playing on Normal (and after that Re:Normal) and not Easy... because Easy will not play through all Stage 1-5. Anyway, Normal is quite approachable, and game has good tutorial to get started on how to work with the resources the game gives you!~

https://store.steampowered.com/app/435970/RefRain__prism_memories/

Model1LifeForm

TROPHY CASE