東方心綺楼 Hopeless Masquerade (TH13.5) - Discussion

[Suikama]

ORAORAORAORA and then ORAORAORAORAORAORA SUPER oh man UNZAN you are the best

[Dead Princess Sakana]

It appears the audience does not approve of trying to declare a spellcard when you don't meet the conditions to actually use it. Quick way to gain negative approval. :V

[Polaris]

The three corners of the triangle seem to stand for the factions, if I'm not mistaken that's the kanji for "kami", "buddha" and "way" (in the sense of a philosophy) there.
No idea what exactly that does for gameplay though, maybe in certain stages (like Hakurei shrine) or depending on the audience members they are more likely to give approval for moves of a certain faction?

<Faith Chart>
Depending on what is equipped, your character will incline towards [Shinto], [Buddhism], or [Taoism] and will decide her faith.
By satisfying a certain faith you can get special effects, but these are not implemented in the trial version.

From the manual. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

It appears the audience does not approve of trying to declare a spellcard when you don't meet the conditions to actually use it. Quick way to gain negative approval. :V

It doesn't look like trying and failing to declare a spell card is what lowers your popularity, but passive play is what does, so if you were avoiding your opponent while trying to declare then that was probably the cause.

[monhan]

I'll try to make a quick review of what I've seen from the live broadcast.

First, yay ICHIRIN!!! Now is her time to shine! I hope we also get Byakuren and Shou or even more from Byakuren's side(haven't seen Mami yet) and Miko's full team.

As for the gameplay, here's what I got:

• Seems like there's some sort of balancing of heights system between the players, it seems to pull them to the same height or to the middle height(the latter is more likely). This can either make combos easier or harder, since it pulls them a little, but if the attack whiffs it risks getting an  overhead because the way they get pulled is like a vertical pendulum motion.
• Aside from normal guard, it also seems to have a barrier or something, I've only seen CPU does it so I don't know how it works or the benefits.
• Grazing is there. Also there seems to be something we can do when we dash at top speed. Haven't seen any though. :ohdear:
• From what I've seen, the timer seems to be really fast(or I'm just enjoying it too much), most of the match I saw ended in a time up or just a few seconds left. I'm afraid this might be a problem in matches between experienced players who know what they're doing.
• A new stage with the Palanquin Ship in the back and the Prismriver Sisters, Lily, Nazrin, Murasa, and Nue as spectators. We can expect different size among the stages since this one seems bigger than the Hakurei Shrine one. Also despite being in the sky we still can do a ground bounce. Also nice 3D effect for the ship.
• An improvement in AI? Or they just haven't got the hang of it.
• This can be either good or bad, but time up win is determined by the appeal percentage, the Yes - No number under the health bar. Better be aggressive and more careful. :derp:
• It seems that only Reimu can teleport at the edge of the screen ala Yukari, and she can also do it with the upper or the lower boundary? :wat: Need more checking,
• Choosing spell card is much like the system in Tenjou no Tempest, one spellcard for each style, with each character having two or more spellcard and one? Last Word.
• There doesn't seem to be a limit of how many times we can declare and use spellcard as long as the HP bar is fully blue. I hope this isn't the case since it can lead to people spamming convenient spellcards. :ohdear:
• There's some kind of "appeal mode" when the appeal reach 100% that need to be declared and the character shines gold and the enemy shines red. During this mode we can use the spellcard like normal and got access to the Last Word.
• For the Last Word, Reimu got Musou Tensei as a counter ala Kenshiro(I love you Tasofro), Marisa got broom surfing spark, Ichirin got Giant Unzan mode. I think the only useful one against boss with super armor is only Ichirin's. We can expect varying effects with each character though. But the Last Word isn't overly powerful, Marisa's Blazing Star is more damaging than her Last Word, albeit harder to combo. So I guess it's more as a flashy move for most characters.
• Comboing after a stun seems like a legit strategy. Some Marisa player can do 6000s with just simple combos that stun and followed with a Master Spark. Though if we drop the combo when hitting a stunned opponent they'll get total invincibility.
• And now, following the main game, the loser side explodes when the match ends. :derp:

Regarding the "Appeal System"
Higher Appeal

• Easier to combo(unsure)
• Faster spirit gauge recovery
• Less spirit depleted when guarding
• Access to Last Word

Lower Appeal

• Slower spirit gauge recovery
• More spirit depleted when guarding

That's all I can get from watching the live. I might be wrong on some parts though, feel free to correct. Really hoping to get this game, also a new costume for each character's would be nice(Ichirin got a really cool one here).

[DX7.EP]

First impressions:
 - Unzan ORAORAORAORA-
 - hooray botched X360 binds
 - Renders at a nice 1280 x 720, but it could be more crisp (thanks filtering)
 - Smooth animations always welcome, backgrounds chars could use more anims I think
 - yay Samurai Shodown-esque rage function
 - Controls feel floaty but thanks to the flying nature it fits better than in the previous fighters, in both good and bad ways
 - Smash-style commands for specials? Makes sense control-wise
 - Sound effects department could use more expansion (and no I don't mean voice work)
 - Getting Skullgirls vibes :V

So I am liking this a bit more than the previous fighters currently. Let's see how the final product holds up.

[Agent of the BSoD]

The heck is this? Also, some of the attack images, like the orbs and stuff, are missing too, but not all. (I did download it twice thinking the first download was corrupted, second yielded the same results, thinking it's GPU related now)

Piracy ahoy! We don't do it, neither for sold demos. --Hele

[Polaris]

The appeal system isn't gold and red, it's blue and red :V
Blue and red auras seem to occur pretty much randomly. They also occur when popularity hits 100%, when both blue & red auras show up simultaneously. If you don't beat the opponent or use your last word after your popularity hits 100%, then it'll drop majorly?back to zero, generally.
Spell cards aren't spammable?after you use a spell card once, your blue bar will deplete and you'll have to fill it back up again.
The barrier-type guard is instant guard, which works if you guard right before you get hit. Something happens when you do that. It doesn't look like it's mentioned in the manual.

[Zork787]

so... has anyone managed to figure out how to extract the pak file to see if theres anything that could hint to the full roster thats gonna be in the full release in it, haven't had any luck myself extracting it yet myself

Also have some terrible gameplay from me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynYi_O4v7cI

[sako145]

can anyone try to summarize the whole thing bout the demo?i seem kinda lost and hav no idea on how to do anything like special moves,declaring,dashing properly(?),the moves,and wats a+b and z?help

[Tsalop]

After mastering this game, returning back to IaMP and SWR will be pain.

[Cadmas]

so... has anyone managed to figure out how to extract the pak file to see if theres anything that could hint to the full roster thats gonna be in the full release in it, haven't had any luck myself extracting it yet myself

Also have some terrible gameplay from me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynYi_O4v7cI

I love how Reimu just explodes when the fights over.

[teefa85]

Ichirin's fighting style is pure awesome.

[Hinacle]

Fucking love how Ichirin is playing!

Also fuck Reimu and her cheat ass AI!

Oh thank god I'm not the only one that sucks at fighting Reimu.

[Tsalop]

Sooo, more roster speculation? 8D
.
.
.

Could happen... Also Sanae (and Suwako)  most likely will appear. I do hope that Kanako will be a playable character.
And hopefully we see some PC-98 character like Sariel (not going to happen).

Prismrivers were in audience... Does this mean that we have no Merlin with trumpet bazooka nor Lyrica beating people with keyboard?

[Agent of the BSoD]

Anyone else experiencing borked replays? I have two replays in total, and both are borked. The first one I lose both times, but the replay shows I won both times. The second one I won both times, and the replay shows I lost, then won, then began a 3rd round and ended the replay immediately after that. (because there was no 3rd round, obviously)

I also have to note that the AI hardly moves in the replays. Most of the time it just floats in one spot and does nothing.

[AJS]

Anyone else experiencing borked replays? I have two replays in total, and both are borked. The first one I lose both times, but the replay shows I won both times. The second one I won both times, and the replay shows I lost, then won, then began a 3rd round and ended the replay immediately after that. (because there was no 3rd round, obviously)

I also have to note that the AI hardly moves in the replays. Most of the time it just floats in one spot and does nothing.

It's just a demo, and a rather glitchy one at that.  I wouldn't put too much faith in the replay system until the final product rolls around.

Hehehehe...c wat I did thar? :getdown:

[Agent of the BSoD]

It's just a demo, and a rather glitchy one at that.  I wouldn't put too much faith in the replay system until the final product rolls around.

Hehehehe...c wat I did thar? :getdown:

Yeah, that's true.

Also, oddly enough, I see more stuff like yin-yang orbs in replays than I do actually playing the game. Seems I can see more images in replays for some reason, and ones that seem to stick on the screen and not leave.

[MaStErSpArK94]

So I just woke up and... DAT ICHIRIN OUTFIT

I'm happy that she made it into the roster.

[Helepolis]

Just a friendly reminder for all. Since Comiket 83 seems to be around the corner, I just want to say that Touhou 13.5 demo is not a free downloadable game. It is in fact sold at C83 for 100円 as Tasofro reports on their website.

* Helepolis continues to drink his Sunday morning tea

[Tsalop]

Seems like every character has many different poses for entry, victory and lose... I was quite shocked when I saw hoodless Ichirin.

[Frog]

I just can't get over how this artist draws their portrait arms... they're all ridiculously tiny and that bugs me.  :V

[Tsalop]

[Dead Princess Sakana]

It doesn't look like trying and failing to declare a spell card is what lowers your popularity, but passive play is what does, so if you were avoiding your opponent while trying to declare then that was probably the cause.

I noticed I was mistaken in what the spellcards are. What I had used that caused a massive loss in appeal was the "item" (for lack of better words). How exactly do those work? I get the impression they take effect when the enemy hits them with an effect while they are used?

[Sungho]

霊撃札.
It's the Spritual Strike in the older games.
If it whiffs, your popularity will drop. A lot.

[Cadmas]

The wonder that is how her hair went from Lavender to Cyan.

touhoucolors.jpg

[fondue]

Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod Ohgod BROFIST 

If Youmu isn't in...

But SHE WILL MAKE IT!!!
...Somehow!

Totes saving that pic :V

[Star King]

I just can't get over how this artist draws their portrait arms... they're all ridiculously tiny and that bugs me.  :V

So it's not just me. Actually it's just Ichirin's arms that look tiny to me. Reimu's and Marisa's are fine.

I actually think that looks more "Ichirin" than her default costume. Not to mention Black Marisa, but that one's obvious lol.

But that Cirno-colored hair still bugs me. Not to mention the eyelashes in the portrait art :wat: GFW Cirno eyebrows v2

Anyways IDK why I'm criticizing the art lol. I guess I don't know what to say about the gameplay because I don't know what the eff I'm doing

[Reddyne]

Of all the characters suitable for Hopeless Masquerade, Ichirin is definitely one of the characters who deserved additional characterization and a costume upgrade. I'm really pleased.

[homing curvy laser]

So the game actually runs on the other computer lying around here, although Unzan or the hit effects lag the hell out of it. At least the former is solved by halving the FPS in the config, and I suppose the latter would be solved by not using on-board video anymore!
I just hope ZUN doesn't follow their path and suddenly announces a new HD Touhou game that requires something from this decade to run

[Kosachi]

I spy no Kogasa on the Palenquin stage, so hope for her appearing in the final game restored? :derp:

Is it just me, or is Ichirin REALLY hardy to combo with? She just kinda looks a little slow to but together combo strings   :V