Stella Vanity

A Bullet Hell game that is simultaneously the successor to Crimzon Clover and Hellsinker, by the absurdly detail-oriented developer Tris_Gram. So far, about 5 trials have released, during which time the game has changed from a simple Esp Galuda clone to an absurdly complex shmup with RPG Elements. The current version, 0.30d, uses six buttons.

The game is expected to be done by Comiket 82.

This game contains examples of:

 * Beam Spam: In Ethereal Shift mode, your homing lasers constantly fire at a rate of about 10/second.
 * Bullet Time: With the added advantage of being able to delete enemy bullets by killing the enemy a la Esp Galuda.
 * Cast From Hit Points: One of the items that can be bought allows you to exchange lives for bombs without actually getting hit.
 * Development Hell: Development halted (to the surprise of nearly everybody following it) back in August 2010, only to resume in November (with the creator also learning enough english to explain enough of the game mechanics to the english-speaking community), only to be paused AGAIN (albeit briefly) in Early February 2011. Development resumed (with a complete overhaul of the gameplay mechanics) in late February 2011. If Tris_Gram stays on track (which, given how much attention to detail is being given to EVERYTHING, is kind of a long shot), there's a chance the game will be released for Comiket 81 (Winter 2011).
 * It struck again, but Tris_Gram is already considering doing the final touches on the previous version of Stella Vanity (from before the complete overhaul of the game mechanics) and releasing the "OLD" version at C81 (with potential plans to turn that version freeware after a period of time), with the NEW version aimed for C82 (August 2012).
 * Guide Dang It: Figuring out exactly how the two item value counters are affected by everything else is very important to scoring and making the most out of Delayed Shift. Tris_gram has been mostly silent on this one, only saying that a balance of both gems and coins is needed for maximizing scoring.
 * And then the current lack of english translations (partly due to Tris_gram suspending english documentation at least until the game is released) makes figuring out some mechanics mostly trial-and-error, with an extra helping of error. While there are buttons specifically for Blade and Ethereal Shift, nothing (in english, at least) hints that Overdrive is done by holding the bomb button down. And then there's the accessories...
 * Harder Than Hard: Pandemonium mode. Hard more is already difficult enough that the creator of the game got hit on Stage 1, but Pandemonium... well... looks a lot like this.
 * Improbably-Female Cast: Averted. At least one of the characters is male, unusually for a Doujin shmup.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: As if it wasn't hard enough to master one character, Tris_Gram has stated that he intends to have at least 5 in the full version, all of whom will control differently.
 * Money for Nothing: Overkill an enemy, and some of their bullets will turn into shiny gold coins.
 * No Range Like Point-Blank Range: In the older versions, it was really hard to score without this.
 * Roboteching: Homing lasers, yay!
 * Smart Bomb: Can also be burned to activate a Super Mode and a barrier.
 * Some Dexterity Required: Bombing right before pulling off a Raid is difficult but can skyrocket your score.
 * Also, the controls. Default configuration for them gives you 6 buttons (the minimum, mind you), with both shifts on one button and your shot type determined by whether or not you hold the slow button down. You can up this to 8 buttons in the config, splitting your laser and auto shots to two different buttons WHILE ALSO having Ethereal Shift on its own button.
 * Spin Attack: With a sword.
 * Super Mode: At least 3 of them (which can stack, too), and possibly more in the final game. Just from the trial:
 * Delayed Shift, which gets stronger based on how much you increase your gem counter during it at the cost of preventing overkill on normal enemies, preventing any and all coins from dropping (most of them change into gems), and increasing the amount of bullets fired by all enemies and bosses (this still applies to Pandemonium difficulty, by the way.)
 * Ethereal Shift, which gives you a rapid-fire variant of the Assault Lock-on Shots fired for the duration, prevents the coin value multiplier from decreasing, Allows you to perform considerable overkill on a boss while also preventing overkills on normal mooks.
 * Overdrive, which consumes a bomb but boosts your shot power for a short while.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: The basis of the entire scoring system revolves around overkilling enemies. Including bosses.