Daily Touhou Best Topic Round 2 Part...2

[Zengeku]

Score mechanics in these games generally have a hard time engaging me in them since taking the time to learn the scoring in any shooter is hard on me. My favorite one is Mountain of Faith since that is the one that requires the least amount of memorization and practice. Its mainly about raising the item value, not dying and capturing spellcards. There are of course small things you can do to further boost your score but its still a simple system which is good for Touhou.

Second place would go to IN or SA. These are mainly a question of the score plays being impressive. These games will have players doing absolutely looney stunts in the pursuit of score which makes for interesting watches. IN even allows a survival player to get like 30-35 oku just by capturing cards and not dying. That stuff appeals to me more than the sort of game where survival play gives you maybe 10 while great scoring is 30-40 (SA). I appreciate the SA vids though because of all the effort that must've been put into learning those involved scoring strats.

Oh boy did i just contradict myself there. Let's just sum things up before I cause a paradox. I like the MoF one best because its rewarding and actually something I can play without losing the interest before I even get to learning Stage 2. IN and SA i consider to be good systems spawning crazy cool replays but they are too time consuming for me to learn.

UFO is being omitted because Naut is hoarding all the liking and PCB because blasdsoaguhwglsdlkgboring...

...
 :V

Okay so I admit that that the cherry borders appealed to me because it means the opportunity to dodge freely without having to fear dying. It just needs to implemented into a difficult game for it to be truly appreciated.

[LeviLamprey]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhmmmm...
This one is hard to answer...
UFO's scoring is fun, but too drastic: scoring between survival and a blue ufo run is OVER 9000 (000000000000000) points in difference.
PCB's is nice, but the game can get a little dull sometimes :x
I think IN's is my favourite, tied with the simplicity of MoF Zengeku described~

[I have no name]

MoF.
Only game I ever bothered to do any somewhat serious scoring in.

I forsee a troll saying Ten Desires.

[ふねん1]

I believe this question was already used, but I'll answer anyway. I like SA's the most since the system turns out to be surprisingly deep. Like Zengeku said above, you have to do some really unconventional maneuvers to get anywhere close to a good score. I kinda liken it to SSBM in terms of learning technical skill - it takes a while to get good, but you can really see yourself getting better as you continue to practice. I'll also add that I like the Communication Gauge because it works so well with normal play, letting you focus more on the patterns instead of constantly heading up to the PoC.

[Star King]

EoSD. As in I don't like scoring gimmicks /troll  :V

[ARF]

UFO is the best.

If I could choose the scoring system for the next game I'd want a mix of many of the previous games though.

Item value multiplier like in SA minus the autocollect. Borders like in PCB minus autocollect and grazing with them now increases the UFO multipliers. Spirits and trance like in TD except the trance is more like an extra border on demand, and picking up items with it active further multiplies the value of items (including the UFO loot). Faith/Base item value increases the score bonus from spell cards, it is also lost if you miss or bomb. Base item value is also increased by shooting unfocused/grazing with the human/youkai gauge maxed like in IN. Collecting extra tokens while UFO's are summoned increases the trance-border multiplier by 0.05. Furthermore, capturing spell cards increases this multiplier by 0.1-0.7 depending on the stage number.

That would be awesome  BV

[Zengeku]

EoSD. As in I don't like scoring gimmicks /troll  :V

You wanna head down to the corner and drop a few bombs then? 

[Naut]

UFO is being omitted because Naut is hoarding all the liking

Well that's because it's just far and away the best.

[MMX]

I never bothered of any serious scoring runs in any game, but from what i've played i found TD system pretty fun and easy. Though real scoring runs in it look retarded :V
Also i can surely say wich type of scoring system i dont like - the one where point item value may decrease, especially like in MoF by dying.

And from scoring runs i've watched i found EoSD most impressive, cause you need to graze hard and do a lot of crazy tricks to earn every little increase of score. And owerall EoSD scoring run always looks nice.

[MaStErSpArK94]

I'm not really into scoring that much, but i like SA's system, mainly because I love grazing.

Heck, I even graze in MoF, even though it doesn't do anything in that game  :V

[Star King]

You wanna head down to the corner and drop a few bombs then? 

Okay, the one thing I would change is that graze increases the value of point items, rather than star items - like in the later games. Then it would be perfect 

Besides, I was more referring to the simple mechanics - not the gimmicky strategies that may arise from them.

[Zil]

Yes, I think Donut asked this question, but my answer has chenged since then so I'm glad I get to answer again.

Favorite scoring system - Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream.

It's all about chaining the enemies as quickly as you can while reflecting bullets back and forth turning the entire screen into a shit-storm of lightning fast danmaku. Most fun, fast paced game to score out of all of them.

[Skyler]

I've only played 3 games (6-8) so I'll go with PCB. Even though I haven't figured out how to time my borders right, they're still a nice thing to have when you're faced with stuff you can't dodge.

IN's system is a little annoying but collecting the time points is very satisfying to me for some reason. SA's system looks pretty cool too, another reason why I'm looking forward to that game so much.

[K.B.]

I forsee a troll saying Shoot the Bullet.

Hi.

[VIZINGORD]

 If it wasn't for stage 5, it would had been UFO's. I don't even have problems with stage 4 and 6, but stage 5 ALWAYS kills my runs. 
 My favourite is PCB's system.

[3266442]

SA, because grazing is fun.

[Zengeku]

Well that's because it's just far and away the best.

Too true, though it's only good when you play it. That's how it works.

[Desu_Cake]

Favorite scoring system - Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream.

It's all about chaining the enemies as quickly as you can while reflecting bullets back and forth turning the entire screen into a shit-storm of lightning fast danmaku. Most fun, fast paced game to score out of all of them.

Agreed. The two Phantasmagorias are the only games I actually play for score.

[Alfred F. Jones]

Oh man I can't believe I forgot about StB's. No troll: it is definitely my favourite scoring system, mostly because it is so straightforward for me. The flashiest photos get the best scores, and extra if you get a shutter chance!

[nintendonut888]

Ooh, yes. I wasn't going to answer, but DS is definitely my favorite.

[Phlegeth]

I didn't want to say it either, but since other people went ahead.  StB and DS for me too.  When you weave your way through the bullets and get up in the boss' face and realize you only have 98% charge and go "OHSHIOHSHIOHSHIOHSHI" and pound the Z key until it takes you score in the six digits.  So worth it.

[Esper]

I forsee a troll saying Ten Desires.

Hi.

Personally I don't think it's that bad. But if you want my absolute favorite, it'd have to go to SA and IN. I like SA because it's based fully on grazing and this makes me a graze whore, and IN because it challenges you to stay in one form for portions of a stage.

[8lue Wizard]

StB/DS... no. Just no.

The Last Spell system in IN is really nice; I feel really great even seeing that Last Spell, since I feel like I earned it; if I cap it, all the better. However, I can't vote IN in good conscience since goddammit, I will focus or unfocus wherever the hell I feel like it, and no scoring incentive can change that. Implementing the youkai/human gauge as a damage bonus or something would have been better, but still a little forced.

SA is out since it promotes bombing and suiciding for graze. (Blech.)

MoF is fairly solid, but it doesn't punish bombing enough, and dying, too harshly. Also, PoCing at the wrong times can really put a dent your Faith meter, which just feels... wrong.

PCB, UFO, and TD are my finalists, because they balance survival vs. scoring well. This inherently rewards good play, since the less you have to worry about survival, the more you can pursue score simply by virute of not needing the extra resources that would otherwise require you to sacrifice scoring potential to get. Borders can be used as a free bomb, or to increase your score multiplier, but not both. Unfortunately, timing your borders involves metering your focus status and drop collection, both things I've already expressed concerns over.

UFO, you can get hellabuncha resources by building red and green UFOs, but serious score runs demand rainbow and blue UFOs instead. However, lack of ability to summon UFOs during a boss kinda takes some of the focus away from the main event, so to speak, and I'd like to see a bit more reward for not screwing up spellcards (something that IN did very well).

TD... is amazing in nearly every aspect. You have to choose between using your trances to multiply your resource intake, or during gluts of white spirits for massive multipliers. Simply gathering enough spirits for a trance to begin with encourages agressive play. Unlike UFO, the gimmick is still in play during boss fights, and capping spell cards gives you a bonus of extra spirits. Now, it's not perfect, since the "automatically use up all your trance gauge when you die" thing means one poorly timed mistake can screw you up a bunch, but all in all, it's a very impressive system, and I hope to see more like it in the future.

[I have no name]

Ten Desires scoring=dodge a few patterns, bomb every nonspell for trance and trance everything else for score value increase.

[MMX]

Ten Desires scoring=dodge a few patterns, bomb every nonspell for trance and trance everything else for score value increase.

Indeed. 8lue Wizard look any TD highscore run. It's completely retarded. Bomb Trance Bomb Trance Suicide Bomb Trance etc... Yeah, speaking of scoring itself TD scoring system is pretty nice and easy, but speaking of how it looks in the run - it's not that amazing.

[Formless God]

UFO. It's just beautifully balanced. Go for Reds and Greens, easy run, no score; substitute everything for Blue, harder run, more score. And there's this nonspell grazing thing too. Scoring relies very heavily on raw skill here.

because Naut is hoarding all the liking

sup

Oh, and honorable mention to TD. I don't particularly care how retarded it look in WR replays, but the spirit collecting and point blanking already make it more fun than, say

PCB blasdsoaguhwglsdlkgboring

[K.B.]

I thought that liking StB's scoring was so obnoxious it'd be a bannable offense.  Interesting to know I'm not the only one who'll replay the same half-minute a couple hundred times in a row.  It's a shame that ZUN's never heard of the rule of thirds, though.

I am having more fun now that I'm actually going for clears (to beat the game), but I imagine I'll eventually go ocd again and score on a few of the best scenes.  Like 9-1.

Warmly awaiting ban.

[Esper]

I thought that liking StB's scoring was so obnoxious it'd be a bannable offense.  Interesting to know I'm not the only one who'll replay the same half-minute a couple hundred times in a row.  It's a shame that ZUN's never heard of the rule of thirds, though.

I am having more fun now that I'm actually going for clears (to beat the game), but I imagine I'll eventually go ocd again and score on a few of the best scenes.  Like 9-1.

Warmly awaiting ban.

Where do you live? I want to punch your lights out now.

[Zil]

The photography games have pretty fair scoring systems in my opinion. They're much more approachable and just plain "fun." Scoring most of the main games means studying high-scoring superplays and then trying to replicate them. It's really a matter of tedious memorization, while scoring in StB and DS is like playing the game how it was meant to be played.

[Azinth]

My favorite scoring system is probably IN's.  I like its relative simplicity, and how there are a bunch of different ways to get your item value up (unfocused shooting, familiar breaking, capturing cards, graze milking etc.).  UFO's also looks very interesting, milking aside, but I haven't taken the time to properly learn it yet.

That said, I've never tried to delve that deeply into any Touhou game's scoring system mostly because almost all of them involve heavy boss milking, which is a scoring mechanic that I greatly dislike in just about any form it takes.  I know it's possible in most Touhou games to get a pretty good score with little to no milking, but it's still something that kind of turns me off from spending time on pursuing hi scores in these games when I could be devoting it to other STGs of equal quality that don't have this problem.