SOTM December 2023: Gun Frontier - Raffles 'n Shit Edition

[Ajax]

Here we are, Gun Frontier. Released by Taito in 1990, the level of detail and heart imparted on this game indicates that they expected it to become something of a landmark shooting game. A number of factors prevented that from happening - the rank system in the game is pretty brutal, which polarized players. Fighting games eclipsed every other arcade genre shortly after this release, things like that. Nonetheless, this game deserves a deep dive - It's a big one that effectively influenced the genre forever. You'll see things that originated in this game which have become staples of a certain style of shooting game, even now.



This game is playable on Arcade, Egret 2 Mini, PS4 and Switch via Arcade Archives, PS2, and Saturn.

The Saturn version is different from the arcade version in some key areas:
- No rank system at all. It seems they attempted to balance the difficulty over the course of the game.
- Extends every 20k points.

Thus, we are running two boards: One for the arcade version and one for the Saturn version.

If you need help finding the rom for PC (ShmupArch) or Saturn, PM me.

Same rules as always:
Default difficulty, default number of lives

No shenanigans - Respect the game and your fellow players. Play with honor.

Arcade Scoreboard

Player​	Round​	Score​	Platform (PCB, Shmuparch, Fightcade, etc)​
Ajax	Round 4	241,220	PS4
Prof82	Round 2	193,310	Switch
PixelJunkie	Round 3	165,560	Egret 2 Mini
Gremilin	Round 4	163,600	Mame
ggallegos1	Round 3	155,310	PS4
ShootTheCore	Round 3	116,140	PCB
JoeAwesome	Round 3	109,880	ShmupArch
The Chief	Round 3	105,490	Mame
kuze	Round 3	86,040	Mame
Johnny16bit	???	57,140	Fightcade
opt2not	Round 2	38,770	PS2

Saturn Scoreboard

Player​	Round​	Score​	Platform (Saturn, Emulation, etc.)​
Ajax	All	894,910	Mister Saturn Core
Neodogg	All	673,190	Saturn
wataru330	Round 4	203,210	Saturn
JoeAwesome	Round 5	185,790	Mister Saturn Core
gusmoney	Round 4	149,460	Saturn

Good luck, happy shooting!

 

[Ajax]

Rank is the name of the game with this one. It seems like just about everything you do in the game affects rank. Here are some excerpts from the Shmups Wiki strategy guide:

Shot Button Presses

Probably the most misunderstood and over-discussed source of rank is the rank caused by shooting and autofire. The rank increase is entirely based on number of button presses in a short time, and is neither related to the number of shots wasted, nor the number of shots that actually are fired (that is, a button press that results in no shot coming out is still counted).

When a player presses the shot button, the game will start counting the duration until the next press. If the next press occurs within 8 frames, a counter is incremented. When this counter has incremented 42 times, the rank will increase by 1, and the counter will be reset. Player 1 and Player 2 have separate counters and timers.

So long as the player does not press the button again within 8 frames of the last press, there is no effect. Thus, an autofire rate of 6.6Hz (every 9 frames) will not affect the rank. Below is an effective table of rank increase rates for each autofire rate. These rates are the autofire interval multiplied by 42.

Timer Rank

The rank is increased periodically every 600 frames (~10 seconds). When this period has elapsed, the rank is increased by 1 plus the number of full bombs in stock. During a multi-player game, this value is taken from the player with the most number of full bombs.

Bombs

Firing a full sized bomb increases rank by 4, as does firing a partial bomb with 6 or more fragments. Firing a partial bomb with 5 fragments or less only increases rank by 2.

Stage Clear

When a stage is cleared, the rank increases by 6 plus the number of remaining lives times 5. During a multi-player game, this value is taken from the player with the most number of remaining lives. Below is an effective table of rank increases per life count. When stage 5 is cleared, all lives are converted to score, so the rank increase for clearing stage 5 is always 6.

Death

Dying will lower the rank by $0D (13) for the first death in a stage, and $20 (32) for any subsequent deaths. The number of remaining lives has no effect on this change. This rank change does not apply if you will respawn in-place, such as during multi-player games or during a boss battle.

When a continue is used in a single-player game, the rank is lowered by $3A (58). A player joining in mid-game or continuing during a multi-player game will lower rank by 8.

 

[Ajax]

Ok, raffle details. The idea is to encourage people to play, to get better, and to hopefully learn to appreciate the game, and to win cool junk stuff. To that end, we'll go with the following rules:

Arcade Rules

- You must post two scores in this thread. The second score you post must be at least a 25% increase over the original score in order for it to count. For example, the following scores would qualify for entry into the raffle:

First score: 100,000
Second score: 125,000

- Players who meet these criteria will get one entry into the arcade board raffle. Additional scores beyond this won't count toward the raffle, but you should still play.

- A legitimate clear of the arcade version will count for 5 entries. If I suspect shenanigans on this point, I reserve the right to ask for proof.

Saturn Rules

- Same as above, players must submit two scores in order to enter the Saturn board raffle, but the second score must be a 50% increase over the original score. For example:

First score: 100,000 (don't fudge this - zero/low effort scores will not be counted)
Second score: 150,000

- Players who meet these criteria will earn one entry into the Saturn board raffle. Additional scores beyond this won't count toward the raffle, but you should still play.

- A legitimate clear of the Saturn version will count for 2 entries. If I suspect shenanigans on this, you should quit playing STGs altogether. The Saturn clear ain't all that hard.

Additional Rules:

- Every player is welcome to enter both raffles.
- Should you win something, you are responsible for covering shipping.
- If I don't know you, or you happen to be a fuckboy, I reserve the right to exclude you. This is N-G after all.

Prizes will be shown off soon.

 

[Johnny16Bit]

I confirm the 1CC is not too difficult on the SAT, I did it a few years ago.
I'll be trying the Arcade version
On Fightcade it's listed as "gun & frontier" (gunfront.zip rom)

 

[pixeljunkie]

This game busts my balls so bad - but I love it. Had no idea about the ranking

 

[Ajax]

 

[kuze]

This game looks rad, thanks for the rank details - looking forward to giving it a go!

 

[Ajax]

Copped the PS4 version. Holy cow, difficult

 

[Neodogg]

Depending what your substrate is, goo gone or any citrus cleaner will work on adhesive.

If it’s not painted or wood acetone will do it

 

[pixeljunkie]

For real though, fuck this game. The ranking creates a brick wall, if you use rapid fire and bombs (as previously stated)....jeebus!

PXJ - ROUND 2 - 68810 (Arcade emulation Egret 2 Mini, default settings)

Slowly improved after this, but I'll post in a couple days to see how far I can get. Goddamn these Cheetos ass bullets.

 

[The Chief]

Somehow, when I went to grab my phone to take the pic, initials for cunt(CNT) were chosen. I feel slightly cheated but it was a good round.

DGH - 105,490 - Round 3 - MAME

 

[Ajax]

This fuckin’ game

 

[pixeljunkie]

I should probably be playing this on something with less lag if I want to actually do well.

 

[Ajax]

 

[Ajax]

I’m jazzed to see some scores already tonight. A friend was over and got 120,xxx on the PS4 version. This game is brutal, but there is something about it that keeps me coming back.

 

[gusmoney]

I should probably be playing this on something with less lag if I want to actually do well.

The Saturn version, right? I fired it up once and it felt really mushy, I thought maybe it was my pad.

 

[pixeljunkie]

The Saturn version, right? I fired it up once and it felt really mushy, I thought maybe it was my pad.

Nah, MAME - but after a bit with it, doesn't feel much different than the Egret 2 Mini, honestly - I think I just suck

 

[Ajax]

I played on both PS4 and shmuparch yesterday, and it felt about the same between them. I’ll drop a totally ready to go folder with shmuparch here, if anybody wants to try it.

 

[Johnny16Bit]

Arcade is definitely not like the SAT version.
I'll do a few more tries before I post anything

 

[pixeljunkie]

I played on both PS4 and shmuparch yesterday, and it felt about the same between them. I’ll drop a totally ready to go folder with shmuparch here, if anybody wants to try it.

Yes plz

 

[Ajax]

I’ll try to get it done this afternoon. Also, I’ll update the scoreboard with all the scores up to this point tomorrow morning!

 

[Neodogg]

Oof, I really dislike shmups that shoot from behind…got to stage 2 and then got wrecked. Seems like Ghost Pilots where the plane is really slow…

 

[Ajax]

C’mon doggie

 

[Ajax]

Added a link near the bottom of the OP where you can download ShmupArch with the US and JP roms for this game. All you should have to do to play is double click the .exe, configure your controller, and point it to where you keep your roms.

 

[Ajax]

Scoreboard updated