This article covers some gameplay points of Shoot the Bullet.
Controls
Best Shot Controls
L (Scene select only) - locks the best picture for the selected scene. Indicated by an L in the upper-right hand corner. While the lock is active, any pictures in that scene that may have a higher score will not replace the locked best picture. All other statistics still apply.
The best pictures are placed in the "bestshot" folder, which is in the save data folder. A file "bs_**_?.dat" is a best picture of Scene ? of Level **. If you delete a file, the corresponding best picture is discarded. All other statistics still remain. These statistics are stored in "scoreth125.dat".
S (Scene select only) - shows the score and bonuses of the best shot.
S (Scene results only) - stores a selected picture as the best picture, when the scene results are shown. The stored picture can be selected with left and right arrows. The best picture is forced to change if locked.
Playable Characters
Only Aya Shameimaru is playable.
Stages
Stage Listing
Scoring
Your score depends on a number of factors.
Bonuses
There are two types of bonuses, additive and multiplicative. The Result Score of a shot is calculated by (Base Point + sum of additive bonuses) * (product of multiplicative bonuses).
Additive Bonuses
- <color> Shot (+300): Awarded when there's a significant amount of a particular color of bullets in your shot. Possible colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, cyan, and purple.
- Rainbow Shot (+2100): Awarded when sufficient numbers of each of 7 different colors of bullets appear in the shot.
- Clear Shot! (+600): Awarded when there are no bullets overlapping the boss.
- Macro Bonus (+???): Condition unknown.
- Front Shot (+100): Awarded when the shot is taken with Aya below the boss.
- Side Shot (+200): Awarded when the shot is taken with Aya to the side the boss.
- Back Shot (+300): Awarded when the shot is taken with Aya above the boss.
- Risk Bonus (up to 2000 points) Awarded when Aya is close to bullets, akin to a graze bonus of older Touhou titles. The amount varies with respect to the numbers (or the lengths when lasers) and the kinds of the bullets close to Aya. The bonus is capped at 2000 points.
- Solo Shot (+100): Awarded when only the boss or Aya herself appears in the picture except lasers.
- Cat Bonus (+666): Awarded for a picture that contains Orin in her cat form.
Multiplicative Bonuses
- Boss Shot. (up to x2.00) Awarded when the boss is in the picture. The multiplier increases as the boss nears the center of the crosshairs, with a 2.0 given for almost perfect alignment. You need this to get a valid picture, but you get a bonus for it anyway. You won't get this (or a successful picture) if you manage to clip the feet of the boss only - the engine needs to agree that it was a significant portion of the boss sprite. Note that you will still see other bonuses for failed shots, but you receive none of the points/bonuses mentioned. (The picture will still be eligible for your "best shot," though this bonus is usually enough to prevent a failed shot from taking that spot if you've taken any successful ones.)
- Self Shot! (x1.20) Awarded when Aya is in the picture.
- Two Shot! (x1.5) Awarded when both Aya and the boss are in the picture. Thus, if you get this, you will also get the Boss Shot bonuses. This overrides the Self Shot! bonus.
- Nice Shot! (up to x1.50): Awarded when the "spell circle" of a boss is in the picture. The "spell circle" is pair of concentric circles, one red on the inside and one blue on the outside, that tends to appear quickly at preset times during a boss' attack pattern. Note that spell circles, while not always implying an immediate wave of bullets, can still be used to predict boss movements - and is not considered an attack, meaning Aya may stand in it without fear of being hit by it. It generally starts fairly large, centered over the boss, but shrinks in size and disappears quickly. The larger the circle in the picture, the higher the multiplier received.
- Angle Bonus (up to x1.30): Conditions unknown, but appears to depend on the angle of the frame of the picture.
Other Notes on Scoring
- The base score of the picture presumably comes from the number of bullets and other objects in it. Other objects may include Alice's dolls, Letty's mist, Medicine's poison fields, and the like. While they are not bullets in the strict sense of the word, they are treated as such for photos, including removal from the screen.
- Not all bullets are equal. The game itself provides some hints on this matter - larger bullets score better than smaller ones, but you naturally can pack more smaller bullets into one shot. As well, the velocity of the bullet matters - the game will give more points for faster bullets.
In certain cases, a bullet may be worth zero points. (rf: Reisen may, as in Imperishable Night, "phase" bullets around. If you catch a picture of these bullets in transition, it's possible to have a successful picture, full of bullets, worth 00 points.)
- Common sense suggests a larger picture would be best for getting points - and if one doesn't relocate the center, the Self Shot bonus is automatic. However, there can exist situations where moving the picture center may actually score higher than simply settling for what is immediately in front - though those situations may require exemplary skill and awareness for a noticeable improvement.
- Understanding the timing of bullet generation is also critical for high scores in some scenes. While such things as lasers are self-evident (where the more of it you catch, the more points you get), there is a difference in optimal timing between something that spits out bullets with a constant velocity, and one with an acceleration on it, for example. Further, things that appear to generate bullets in circular patterns or in a "fog" may be caught right after a moment of bullet generation for maximal impact. Also, keep in mind that, in some cases, all the bullets of a particular pattern are generated at once.
- There are certainly other strategies and points not mentioned above. See what you can discover yourself!