Taking Despatche's advice, I was able to get roughly 177K on my first credit, up to the second boss. It's not a bad game though it feels a little imprecise. My first impressions are a whole lot more favorable than those of Andro Dunos.
Seeing as a lot of lesser-known shmup devs are being represented in this tournament, it gets me wondering what the other choices will be. NMK week? Varth? I sure as hell hope Varth makes it in.
EmperorIng wrote:Seeing as a lot of lesser-known shmup devs are being represented in this tournament, it gets me wondering what the other choices will be. NMK week? Varth? I sure as hell hope Varth makes it in.
Other choices? This is the last week. Surprised that a TRP-STGT lacks both Raizing and NMK?
Despatche wrote:but yeah last ruldra checked scoring is basically melee everything because you get double points
Well, there's also the 99,990 point bonus at the end of the level which I'm not sure how it triggers. I think I got that bonus on the 1st stage only (maybe on the 2nd stage too, but I'm not sure. It's been 5 years since I last played this).
Anyway nice pick trap15, this game really deserves more attention. Looking forward to see how you people manage the final boss. That guy is a huge asshole.
except it looks (at least for now, until I really get into the game lol) a lot less anal than Viper Phase 1 in that regard. Viper Phase 1's 100%-goal sucks all the fun out of the game!
EDIT: Lol, did I speak too soon? I don't know how many people are going to be able to dedicate the time to kill everything on the screen in each level.
I boot up game, the intro plays. "Looks sweet." Play a credit, ram into everything and melee things like a maniac. "This game seems shmuppin' awesome O_O."
Looking forward to this one, lol. I am immensely relieved that this game runs without complaint in my default MAME setup.
Well, for the remaining "survivors" here's what I've gathered so far.
Special Bonuses:
I've found one on all but the last 2 stages. Depending on whether your health is full or not, the stage 1, 2, and 3 bonuses will give you either 50K or 99990 points at the end of the stage. The stage 4 bonus is actually a nifty item (and quite useful for both scoring and survival!) that grants you 100K regardless of your health, and it is picked up in the middle of the stage.
Stage 1 - collect the energy power-up near the beginning of the level. When you defeat the boss, kill the green mechs that are gathered around the red one before they flee.
Stage 2 - use the saber only. Collect the power-up on the left half of the ship. You don't have to actually kill anything specific, just make sure you don't fire your rifle. Of course, this also applies to the boss...
Stage 3 - keep the cannon alive all the way to the end of the stage. It can take a number of hits before it's destroyed, but it'll only take damage while you have it attached. You can let go of it and grab it later if you want, just make sure it doesn't fall off the screen. And make sure you're holding it before the score screen comes up.
Stage 4 - a little after you exit the tunnel, you'll come to an area where you can destroy pipes. On the second pipe, there is a structure on the left. If you shoot it with your rifle long enough, an item will come out. You'll probably want to do this when you're on the top side of the structure as it will leave the screen in a short while.
"Stage 5" - I guess this isn't really a special bonus as the special text doesn't popup, but I felt this was worth noting if only because I find it really strange. This one you'll probably get without knowing; after killing the red Char wannabe, it'll attempt to grab you in a last ditch effort to self-destruct and kill you. Let it grab you and you'll get a nice 100K, but if you actually avoid it, you only get 5K, wtf? Of course, if you don't kill him in time, it'll go for a grab and if it succeeds, it's instant death (it even goes through the shield). Avoiding this also grants 5k.
The Defense Shield:
That bonus item on stage 4 is actually a defensive mechanism that you get to use on stages 5 and 6. It comes with a limited number of charges; I don't know for sure, but I think it depends on how many special bonuses you've obtained prior to picking it up? Or perhaps the chevrons? I've had 20 once where I believe I missed the 2nd stage bonus and 30 when I got all 3. In either case, you don't get any charges back.
To use the shield, press the saber button and before the animation completes, perform a quarter circle clockwise motion. You don't have to start in any specific direction, but it just has to come out during the saber animation. The timing isn't too hard, and actually you'll probably be doing this a lot by accident especially with autofire.
This shield protects you from all sources of damage, although you can still get knocked back. It also slows you down for the duration of the shield, so you should already be close to your target if you intend to use it offensively. Each use lasts for a good long duration, and is perhaps required to beat the final boss.
And on the scoring part...each use of the shield gives you 10K points. Yup, 300K easy points (is it possible to get more charge?).
Chevrons:
Anyone figure out a use for these? I'm guessing they're just small point items, but sometimes I see a triple chevron appear after destroying the turrets at the end of stage 4...
Despatche wrote:i tried hitting every part of the stage 2 boss with the saber and it didn't do any damage, watdo
Righto so here's how you melee the 2nd boss:
When he emerges, sit half way up the screen on the left. The boss will come up from the bottom and leave enough space to go under it and get some hits in. Then wait for it to come to the bottom of the screen, get right up next to it and hold down + right, or down + left towards the boss. This will make it's grabby arm not get you. You'll glitch through the boss and get a few hits in. Repeat this process for a couple of rotations avoiding the bombs it drops when it flies of screen and you're set.
Illyrian wrote: Then wait for it to come to the bottom of the screen, get right up next to it and hold down + right, or down + left towards the boss. This will make it's grabby arm not get you. You'll glitch through the boss and get a few hits in.
even when i'm in the corner he still gets me.
so fucking infuriating.
Oh yes, since we're giving hints, let me give a few of my own that may not be totally obvious.
If you use autofire on shot, you can get a far faster rapid shot than the built-in autofire, but this will also not lock your direction. If you want to lock while using an autofire shot, hold the melee button (so B+autoA).
For the last boss, there are some tricks not immediately obvious:
The needles that he fires at you are in a fixed pattern. This pattern is angled in 16 (? maybe different angles based on your position.
Said needles can be shaken off if you wiggle the stick (but only a single one?)
You want him to throw the scythe as much as possible as it's the most vulnerable attack
His behavior while waiting for the scythe is easily abusable. If you shoot him in the center, he will not try to dodge your shots like he does if you attempt to shoot him off-center. Takes a bit of practice to figure out the positioning, but you can do something like 1/4th of his life in a single go with this trick.
You can get a bubble shield if you shoot up the 2nd steam machine in stage 4. If you do it right, a special item will pop out, and you will get shields for the rest of the game starting on stage 5. The number of shields is determined by your number of health bonuses at the end of stages 1 through 4 combined (I think? need to verify). You activate the shield by doing a clockwise quarter-circle motion at any starting point while slashing (this activates way too easily, it'll become annoying quickly).
!!!
different angles based on your position.
