I don't consider myself a shmup expert by any means.

But, I was surprised at how well I was able to do at Sine Mora after just a few hours and careful consideration of the game mechanics.

I glanced at the Guides section expecting to see something like a basic tips guide or section that would corroborate or supplement what I learned, but was surprised to find nothing. Not even in the Guides section of the original Sine More title.

So, while I'm not setting out to write a comprehensive guide (pretty sure I'm not qualified to do that for a shmup anyway), I wanted to at least share some basics that I hope will help others trying to break into this game.

Scoring in Sine Mora, at least in Story Mode, seems to hinge upon combos/streaks. Specifically these two:

1. Score multiplier - 1X - 9X indicator to the right of your score in the top right of the HUD
2. Points powerup - starts at 1 000 and increases to 100 000 with every drop.

If you max both of these, every point powerup will be worth almost 1 million!



Since point powerup values take quite a while to build, you never want to miss picking one up. Here are a few tips for keeping the points big:

• Don't die. Using a Continue resets the value!
  
• Prioritize the point powerup if there are multiple on the screen and you're not confident about getting them all.
  
• Always remember - normal enemies destroyed can drop a powerup! Any time you destroy an enemy, be ready to be to their left to pick up anything they drop. That includes enemies that start close to the left edge of the screen - don't move away right after you've destroyed them - wait a bit in case they drop a powerup!

Be mindful of what resets the score multiplier:

• Taking damage
  
• Using a sub-weapon
  
• Using your capsule power
  
• Starting from a checkpoint after dying and using a Continue

A few more multiplier related tips:

• All targets destroyed help increase the multiplier. That includes e.g. the depth charges in the water levels! When fighting the depth charge boss, make sure to max your multiplier by destroying depth charges before defeating the boss! Things like destructible missiles/torpedoes and mines count too.
  
• If you just lost your multiplier, that's the best time to use sub-weapons, capsule, etc, if you need to. Similarly, don't be shy about using Speed Up at the start of the game, since you have no multiplier to work with yet - try to get as many kills as you can so you can upgrade your primary weapon quickly.

Given the many things that reset your multiplier, the second most important powerup after Points is Shield!

Always try to keep a Shield in reserve and be mindful of whether or not you've got one.

You can always tell if you have a Shield ready by looking at the top of the screen. If you have a shield ready, SHIELD will be rendered in white text (vs gray if you do not).

If you have a shield, (almost?) nothing can hurt you. E.g. a boss's laser beam can't harm you. If you're in a situation where you can't dodge projectiles or beams, but have a shield, don't worry! Don't dodge, don't use your capsule - just ride out the shield and use the opportunity to focus on DPS if you're fighting a boss - get right up to its weak spots!



Focusing on Multipliers is probably the most helpful in Story Mode.

Arcade Mode gets a big boost from maintaining high rank, but keeping score pickup maxed and multiplier high still helps.

I'm not too familiar with Score Attack yet, but I think the same principles apply.



I haven't fully analyzed how scoring works. Following these guidelines was enough for me to get well within top 10% on the leaderboards.

It's possible that there are better / more refined approaches. The top leaderboard score are very, very high - much higher than mine. I'm not sure how many (if any) of those might not be legitimate. Maybe they all are. I simply don't think I know the game well enough at this point to comment. If you know something I don't, please let us know in the guide comments or ping me directly!

For example, I know that completing stages/checkpoints contributes to score, but I don't quite understand a) by how much b) whether score multiplier applies to end of phase/stage scoring.

Seems to me that other potential scoring considerations are rarely going to be at odds with the principles in this guide.

Again, I'm not a shmup expert. There are probably much better general shmup guides around, but here are some general, hopefully decent tips for shmup newcomers:

• Your hitbox is basically a tiny point - NOT your whole ship! If you try to start an Arcade Mode game, it'll show you where the hitbox on each ship is.
  
• Learn the patterns! Shmups are mostly deterministic - meaning that the movement of enemies are entirely scripted. As you replay the levels, try to remember when and where enemies appear on the screen and what their attack patterns are. Note that in Sine Mora, there are some differences between game modes and difficulty settings, and I think for some bosses, the order of their attack types might be random.
  
• Your main weapon's spray pattern matters! If it's an arc, the closer you are to your target, the bigger your DPS! On the other hand, if you have an arc, you can effectively spray large portions of the screen by keeping to the left and bobbing up and down - BEFORE enemies spawn in. This might be a crutch, but it's a pretty effective one!

Tips that don't fit anywhere else:

When you reach a checkpoint ("TIME MASS STABILIZED"), a few things happen:
1. If you had just lost your weapon upgrades from taking damage, you'll automatically get them back.
2. Any remaining hostile projectiles disappear.
You can use this to your advantage during boss fights - if you're close to completing a phase, consider holding your ground instead of dodging, especially if you've already taken damage earlier in the fight and have lost your multiplier anyway.

There's a Boss Training mode in Sine Mora if you're having trouble with a particular boss.

Powerups "drop" leftward in screen space - regardless of how the camera is moving. Powerups dont' fade out. So:
1. No matter the situation, be prepared to pick up powerups by making sure you can be directly to the left of destroyed enemies.
2. Don't get greedy and rush forward in to pick up powerups. Doing so will cause new enemies to catch you out of position.