I'll give feedback on all difficulties tommorow, and play on full screen to make it accurate feedback.
The game is meant to be played Windowed. Graphics will mess up Fullscreen. Maybe even more.
...Oh yeah, and if you're actually looking forward to it, I can go and wrap up Version 0.13b. Not now, of course.
@Arachnophilia
The bullet patterns throughout the stage are much too predictable; every single attack is fired towards the player. This makes the stage very dull, since by slowly shuffling to the left/right, one can completely avert the attacks and essentially turn the stage into two boss scripts. This also makes the difference between difficulties somewhat meaningless.
OK. Will change some/most of it.
There are many, MANY bullets on the screen at once during the stage. In fact, there are enough to occasionally lag the game, even on lower difficulties. I hope you do something about the regular enemies' attacks so as to correct both this and the complaint above it.
I'll think about it when playing/testing through Lunatic and Overdrive.
I feel I must emphasize this: There is too much yellow on the screen! Even if Pichu/Pikachu are lightning-type pok?mon, that does not justify every single bullet being yellow! (It's not like yellow is the only colour symbolizing lightning, either.)
Note: This might be less of a complaint if there weren't so many bullets on the screen at one time, but as it stands, it's an eyesore.
Note 2: Why are there only lightning-type pok?mon in the forest anyways? I'm pretty sure bug-types or plant-types would have a more dense population in these areas. It would give an excuse to use other colours of bullets, if nothing else, if there were different types of pok?mon.
It was always meant to be a forest of Pichu, but now I've added Hoppip. A sad excuse to use non-yellow bullets.
Just a small qualm: the banner that appears at the beginning of the stage just flashes on, then back off. I think it would be more attractive to have it fade in and out instead. (I don't know if that's too much to ask since I'm not that familiar with Danmakufu, but it can certainly be done.)
I'd have to create another annoying variable that might screw things over, but I;m sure it can be done.
In general, the stage could benefit from not having so many attacks based on player position.
I agree that it seems unfair to not have the Veemon player file included in the package if he is necessary to play the scripts.
The spell names might be a bit dry for my tastes.
Some of the enemies appear immediately on the side of the screen instead of offscreen.
Understand one and two. The spell names won't be changed because this is, once again, a port (at least stages 1 and two are ported). As for the enemies... I'll think about it, although it'd be a massive pain to alter every single number in all four stage scripts.
Now, I'll try to express my concerns with the bosses and their attacks as well as I can...
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Midboss: Pichu
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Before even talking about the attacks, I find it odd and annoying that the bullets were not cleared when Pichu appeared.
Bullets are not cleared before a midboss in Touhou, I think. Only before a boss.
Non-spell Attack (Player-aimed shots + lasers)
This attack is very basic; I guess that's to be expected of a Stage 1 midboss, though. It's a little different from the attacks used by the other Pichus, but unless the lasers are anywhere near you, the same tactic of shuffling left/right still works. This attack is fine; however, I don't like obsessions with shots aimed at the player.
Spell Attack "Miniature Jolt"
There seems to be a sudden 'jolt' in the difficulty level coming from the non-spell... maybe there isn't? I couldn't tell because of the glaring existence of SAFE SPOTS in many places in the attack. Standing still in specific areas of the attack turns this attack into a "Stand Still to Kill" situation. (This can be remedied by adding angles that don't divide well into 360, or by using irrational numbers.) This would be a less flawed attack if you could get rid of the safe spots.
Overall, a midboss doesn't really inspire much in general, so I guess Pichu's simple attacks fit in well enough to the script.
For the first, I really either use GetAngleToPlayer or rand in situations like this. Once again, this attack was directly ported. As for the spell, I was probably sleeping if I didn't see that. It's been fixed now. (Also, if that was meant to be insulting, I'm fine with it because it's clever.)
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Boss: Pikachu the Thunder God
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Non-spell Attack #1 (Electric waves)
Not a particularly enthralling attack; waves of yellow bullets emanate from Pikachu in a spiral pattern. The bullets move a little slow on this one, but otherwise it isn't a bad introduction to the first boss. I feel like there could be a little more variance in the attack, though (such as a small break in fire followed by a change in direction for the spiral increment, or another element of attack mixed in).
Spell Attack #1: "Sparkle: Lightning Shocker"
This is another of those attacks that rely on player position; what makes this attack different from the patterns of the enemy Pichus is a combination of multiple different speeds of bullets (particularly the slower ones) and the fact that Pikachu continues to move throughout his attack. However, I believe this attack could benefit from having more complex patterns than "all of the bullets aim at the player"; some of the bullets could be shot at random or incrementing angles to add some variety to the attack. Also, should the streams of yellow bullets be bent whenever Pikachu moves?
Understand the first, has been changed. As for the spell, it's not meant to be a hard spell, even on Lunatic. It's meant to give a breather before the hell that is spell 2 sets in. Also, they are supposed to bend because that's the only way Pikachu will really hit the player. It's the only danger the spell actually poses.
Non-spell Attack #2 (Double electric waves)
A like mind to the first non-spell attack, now with double the trouble! Although this attack does play a little differently than the first one, it feels like there's little effort put into making this one much different from the last. This attack could definitely use some variance added to it, or simply rethought altogether.
Spell Attack #2: "Thunder Sign: Spiral Thunder Blast"
I don't like these kinds of attacks. ?_? They take the powers of curving bullets and use them for evil! Well... that's not my main complaint; this attack is quite a bit more difficult than those preceding it, and I notice that this becomes a pattern as you progress through the boss. Even if this is your intention, it's not a subtle change in difficulty at all. I'm sure this attack could survive being dumbed down a little for the sake of being less overwhelming. (Of course, I may just have a personal bias...)
For the spell, I'll be shifting the spells one difficulty upwards. I realized that I can't beat Hard without sweating profusely or bombing at least once.
Non-spell Attack #3 (Stray sparks & sonic booms)
This attack can be a little overwhelming the first time you see it, and it may take time to remind yourself that this is still a stage 1 script. I like this one, though; if it were made a bit less surprising, it would make a solid non-spell attack. I would recommend turning the waves of large bullets into singular shots; they cover a wide area as they are right now, making the other bullets a hassle to work around.
...That's the entire point.
Spell Attack #3: "Thunderbolt: Electrical Storm"
I don't think this kind of barrage belongs in the first stage. :p This attack is just ridiculous; an unpleasant, repeating pattern which floods the entire area with obnoxious trails of bullets makes this attack less than enjoyable. It isn't actually hard to overcome if you stay in the back, but even disregarding whatever difficulty issues it has, this simply isn't an easy attack to get interested in at all due to its monotony. I believe this is an attack worth rejecting in favour of another. (Also, it suffers from the same illness as the midboss's spell attack in that the pattern is predictable enough to exploit.)
Angles no longer divide into 1080, less dense. It's not meant to be hard, but I doubt I'll be scrapping it.
Spell Attack #4: "Crackle: Rain of Thunder"
The waves of slow bullets making tight spaces to fit in consequently draws attention away from the main attraction of the attack, which is the thunder rain. On top of that, making it through the waves is made even more ridiculous by the fact that the thunder rain can actually close in on the angle it's going at and trap the player. These can make the attack seem both slow and unfair. If the waves were faster, less dense, or more spaced out from each other -- or maybe replaced with something else -- I believe this would become a much more engaging spell attack than it is right now.
The waves are actually easier on Hard and Lunatic than on Easy and Normal. That has been fixed and they are no longer dense to the point of oblivion.
Edit: Moved Arachnophilia's review here to make things easier to read and keep track of
