IaMP - Immaterial and Missing Power - Touhou Suimusou - GGPO-style Netplay

What’s this about GGPO-style netplay for IaMP? Does that mean IaMP is on GGPO?

Hahaha no. However, we have now implemented variable input delay and rollback functionality just like GGPO. Since both are configurable, you can set a game to have ZERO input lag and rely purely upon GGPO-style rollbacks, a mix of both, or normal input delay with no rollback if you wanted.

How do I get into this?

This is the temporary page for the project. This is still not a formal or finalized releases so there will be heavy playtesting required and bugs to be ironed out. If you wanted to check IaMP out but got turned off by the netplay, now’s a good time to give it a shot.

So how exactly does the GGPO netcode work?

In the original Caster, things went by input delay only. Coast to coast games were usually 4-5 delay, meaning 4-5 frames of input delay, while same-coast was 2-3 delay. Generally, 2-3 was acceptable (but not perfect obviously), while 4-5 changed the game significantly.

Using the new GGPO-style netcode, there are now two delay settings: the minimum input delay and max rollback delay. These are both set in the configuration files to your preference. You can set the minimum input delay YOU want (most people use 0 or 1, default is 0), and the max amount of rollback frames that you will allow (most people use 4, which is the default). The netcode now compares the delay you get with your opponent to the max rollback you set, and anything over is converted to input delay instead.

For example:

If you set 0 input delay and 4 rollback and you connect to someone with 5 delay (WC -> EC), you will get 1 frame input delay and 4 frames of rollback.

If you set 1 input delay and 3 rollback and you connect to someone in 7 delay (WC -> EU), you will get 5 frames of input delay and 3 frames of rollback (obviously, this is still rather unplayable, so changing settings is recommended).

If you set 0 input delay and 3 rollback and you connect to someone with 2 delay, you will get 0 input delay and 2 frames of rollback.

Random stream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/irresponsible-and-magnificent-peasants

Information

Web IRC for those who can’t be bothered to use a real client
Wiki

[media=youtube]H5NyiGU5EOg[/media]
[media=youtube]5QOSq9fRWeA&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]e1oLVb57-sc[/media]
[media=youtube]aNSU2Vl7ouI[/media]
[media=youtube]2d1UyDnYYa4&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]Ph-N7aIia7o&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]d_mLgC_c-Es&fmt=18[/media]

Xenozip’s IaMP Blog

[media=youtube]SDj9HFtnzl8&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]K81XlcAmqtA&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]_bfGXFCNUP0&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]_EKEsQU8w7k&fmt=18[/media]
[media=youtube]HwkFakzeirA[/media]

Matchvids and Accounts

My Youtube
sibladeko’s
Xenozip’s

IaMP came out in 2005 and is still going strong in Japan. The American scene has been following it closely for the past few years and the community is still growing and developing as well. It is a doujinshi game with unique gameplay rooted in fundamentals with a non-traditional system, giving it a completely different feel from regular fighters. The game has a strong tourney scene in Japan drawing an average of 30-60 people for monthlies and around 100 for the yearly. In America the community is unfortunately based largely around netplay, but that can be changed!

FAQ

I have a problem with this game and I’m angry on the Internet!!

Scroll down to the Complaints section.

Where can I get the game?

Use the Internet.

Why should I play this game?

It’s unlike other fighting games but still solid. Good spacing, reads, and baits are crucial to the game. If you want something different then give this a shot; if it’s too GG-esque or donjon engine for you, give Blitzkampf a try.

Why should I play this game instead of SWR?

SWR breaks down at higher levels of play because the stupid shit in that game doesn’t balance out properly. I don’t think anyone who wants to play a fighting game with any amount of seriousness would appreciate having their melee button or their ability to block randomly turned off. IaMP is a better game to play seriously, while SWR is more fun for casual players. It all depends on what you want out of the game.

Who is there to play with?

Although the Japanese offline scene is strong, IaMP is largely a netplay-based game in the US. You will probably have to do the netplay thing if you want to play a large number of people. The netplay uses Caster, which is just a small step below GGPO in connection quality (you may be familiar with this program if you’ve played Melty Blood or Blitzkampf). You can find details on the Netplay page of the wiki.

Am I going to have to get raped before I get some wins in?

Probably. Since most of us have been playing for years the likelihood of a beginner getting a round in is next to none. IaMP’s lower damage means that overall the player that is more solid is going to win more consistently; there’s far less chance of an upset in this game.

But don’t despair, not everyone is godly in IRC. There are players of all skill levels, so as long as you specify what you want you should be fine.

What makes IaMP unique?

Pressure. IaMP pressure can be very intense and is the core component of the game. Blockstrings in IaMP are based around a mix of melee-type and bullet-type attacks. You can dash through the bullet-types but not the melee-types, so matches involve proper spacing so as to not get caught in the pressure, good reads to get out of pressure, and punishing bad escape attempts with your own attacks.

Depth. IaMP is one of the most complex fighters out there and there’s an incredible number of situations and varieties that come up during play. It’s not a game that you can pick up, play for a week, and figure everything out. Most of the scene, both Japanese and American, have been playing for years, even though there are only 11 characters in the game.

Okay, how do I learn IaMP?

Start by watching the [media=youtube]H5NyiGU5EOg]tutorial video. Read the [a bit. If neither is to your liking, drop by IRC and get some games in and talk with the people there to learn.

What do I need to get started?

Go [url=http://iamp.mizuumi.net/index.php/Netplay]here.](http://iamp.mizuumi.net[/media)

You get a kick out of getting people to play poverty fighters, don’t you?

Yes.

COMPLAINTS: Feel free to suggest some!

This is a fucking loli fighter

If you can’t get past that then that’s a shame, as there’s good gameplay beneath the surface.

IaMP is too slow

[media=youtube]z-IZ1LKcFHo[/media]

IaMP’s damage is too low

[media=youtube]Y-w439M6qsc[/media] but it is overall.

IaMP is too hard

IaMP’s difficulty lies in a few things: 1) understanding your character’s movesets to put together effective blockstrings, 2) recognizing the situations in which you can do BnBs since most combos are situational in IaMP, and 3) having the patience to block through pressure. IaMP execution is fairly easy, but the game has many permutations of possible situations that arise during matches, so recognizing what you can do is difficult for beginners. The patience factor is the hardest part for everyone at first because it can be difficult to block for a long period of time when you’re being pressured, but that comes with experience as well.

I like SWR more

Good for you!

I wish people played offline

We do too! Make it happen. I tried bumping the game at NEC and Evo, but I’m not able to travel as much as I used to.

IRC is a hassle, can you guys make this like GGPO with a lobby so our IP addresses aren’t hacked

If you think connecting to IRC is a hassle, you have no chance of surviving IaMP at all.

P.S. no

I Just Don’t Like It™, I Just Can’t Get Into It™, IaMP is boring, other random reasons

Sorry to hear that. Thanks for reading though.

This game is cool and one of the most original fighters ever made. Play it.

In before SWR IS BETTER I CAN MASH.

I love watching vids of this game, I just wish I had more free time to learn it.

i wanted to get into swr because my friend likes it a lot but i couldnt because of random shit like no blocking.

maybe ill try this game

out of curiosity are you supposed to play this with keyboard, pad, or stick?

There is no set control scheme because of the donjon engine. Japanese players (and a lot of US players) use Saturn pads. Sp00ky uses stick, and there’s a few keyboard players. Whatever control scheme works for you is fine, really.

I’ve always wanted to play this game a little more seriously then I have, because I really suck at it. All the pew pew lasers are awesome to me, but, yeah, I’ll get owned in this hard.

Yeah, none of that no-blocking garbage here.

In Japan, Saturn pads are the controller of choice by a large margin. Here, we just use whatever works. We’ve got everything from keyboard users(I’m one of them!) to pad users to stick users around. There’s nothing here technically that rules out any particular controller or control scheme as long as you’ve got the dexterity to man it up.

Where’s the section that says ‘Don’t choose China’?

Feel free to drop by. There’s a bunch of people starting out right now so you should be able to find people around your level to play with.

Shhhh.

…I was wondering if this game was still alive…

I’ll learn to play this summer, when I’m not busy with work/research.

I’m assuming I’m supposed to pick a character based on which loli I like the best?

Pick whoever you like, they’re all playable.

Even China.

I love watching people play this game, it’s fucking amazing, but the moment I try to sit down and learn the damn game I feel like a complete fucking moron.

:frowning:

Not that my opinion really matters, but this game despite what it looks like (unless of course you like what it looks like then awesome) is tons of fun, and really deep. If I actually had more time to play games this would definitely be on the short list of games I would play. Its not like any fighter you’ve played before yet it definitely is a fighter and once you get into the system all your regular fighter skills do apply.

Also Suika is the coolest.

Just watched the tutorial. Wow, this looks hard. This will probably be like the first time I played Guilty Gear 5 years ago. Pure “Huh? WTF I don’t get it” looks will abound.

Looks interesting ,but the characters design looks like shit!

No they don’t.

Don’t get me wrong.The game it self looks interesting, but the characters…:confused:

Never died! In fact, it’s still going pretty strong all things considered. There’s still regular daily netplay in US, EU, and Japan with a decent following for all.

The game itself is unique enough to have gotten its own followers.

It makes a lot of sense once you get it, but it definitely clicks with some people faster than others. Just focus on moving good and fluidly at first through the game’s cancels and the rest kind of starts falling in place on its own.

What about the characters?

Yeah. MC don’t act like you don’t know where this is going. :rofl: