Pulstar (New thread)

[Mero]

Updated, thanks for the replay.

[EmperorIng]

Why not a bump? I've really been into this game lately! Got my first 1cc today but I'm not done yet.

EmperorIng - 1,168,400 - ALL



https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2785634032?t=0h35m16s

Proud of this run because I lost all of my lives on the final stage's insanely brutal checkpoint, and on my last life, I managed to get a 1.1m extend and muscle my way through to the final boss and kill him. What a rollercoaster! Also this run had me do a shameful and hilarious double-ko on the lobster boss of stage 5. That's not who you're supposed to DKO!!!!

I've been really digging into the "scoring" lately, practicing the infamous double-ko as well as all the scoring opportunities this game has. I haven't really focused on boss milking because it's a little dull, but all the enemy spawns you can milk is kind of interesting. It reminds me of Thunder Force AC. Prickly's video on all the places you can get points has really been helpful in this regard.

The biggest place to get score is in stage 5, where the strong, tanky spined enemies appear in droves. I have been practicing a route through to kill as many as possible, since each is worth 2,000 a pop. That's quite a bit! I have managed to get just over 100,000 points in that section alone, which is no small amount. I am sure someone could do better. It makes me wonder what the possible max score you could have before the final boss could be. 1.1 million is what I got, and I am sure if I didn't die you might be able to squeeze closer to 1.3 million if you milked absolutely everything and got every 10,000pt brown worm on the final stage. I wouldn't be surprised if a japanese player got all the way up to 1.5 and really cashed in those extends on the mind-numbing marathon of boss k.o.'s! I read somewhere, maybe it was on this forum, that the world record run is over six hours long. Yikes. I doubt I have that stamina but I would like to push my score a little further in the game.

[TerminalInternet]

Pulstar Classic is very wonderful R-type gameplay style.

I usually have to play wayback then. Someone recognized with the game, Including the anime opening scene in the arcade, Wonderful design and amazingly skills gameplay.

[EmperorIng]

Thanks man! I haven't really cleared any R-Type style games aside from Image Fight, but I have taken a liking to this game despite its immense slowdown, mammoth length, and questionable scoring

I didn't think I'd improve my score so quickly, but here we are!

Video on youtube

EmperorIng - 1,533,350 - ALL



I guess the practice is paying off! This run has a hilariously stupid death in stage 7 right before the boss, which led to miserable chain-deaths, and a number of fuck-ups during the final boss. Because of the power-down I couldn't target all the brown worms on the final stage worth 10k, which affected my score (1.06 before the final boss). I made up for it by attempting the double-ko a couple of times, and getting at least a few of them down right!

Still looking for a cleaner run... Maybe 2 million is possible for me.

[Mero]

Updated, good work.

If you've got the double KO technique down then you could just keep going until you've had enough.

[EmperorIng]

Well, there we go. I had wanted to get a score of 2 million and it only took 35 minutes of milking to get it

Replay

EmperorIng - 2,225,020 - ALL



Most annoying aspect of this run is how I choked three times during the boss milk, which really set me back. And in nearly all three times, it was during the 15th charge shot needed to perform the double-ko. All that time wasted for nothing!

However, I am really happy with just about everything else, especially the time spent before the infamous final boss checkpoint milk-o-rama. I had about 1,140,000 pre-final boss.

While I skipped normal boss milks, I hit about every other aspect that I wanted to. I even pulled off some things that I haven't seen other replays ever do - for example, I actually destroyed the stage 3 boss, Carellpi's tail (which is actually worth a lot of points). I also made an effort to destroy as many of the tanky Nechan enemies (the spiny things in stage 5) as possible, and while far from my best (which is around 50+), I still got a goodly amount. As I said above, at 2,000pts each this is really the second-best place to attempt to score. The other being the final stage with the brown Gaji worms worth 10,000 each. Which I unfortunately missed a couple that I normally get.

I've translated and read Gemant's ARCA document entry about Pulstar, so it's given me some fresh perspective about what is possible in the game and what strategies to take.

Here is that entry and it is pretty detailed:

Spoiler

1,308,770 – official Italian record set on Wolfmame 103 on February 11, 2006, by the player "GEM" (Team M.R.A.) from Trieste (Gemant ZBL-Fukuda). The game is a complete run with 6 lives remaining and a score of 1,098,740 points before the final boss. The stage scores are also known:
stage 1, 131,090 points;
stage 2, 260,960 points;
stage 3, 392,700 points
stage 4, 537,080 points;
Stage 5, 729,450 points;
Stage 6, 845,150 points;
Stage 7, 969,260 points.

A 150,000-point double and super double were applied, with no misses until the boss. Structure damage: 21/24 on stage 1, HP 1, 400 points each; Nechan x 26|86 in stage 5, HP 63, 2,000 each; Gaji x 6|9, HP 64, 10,000 points each; Carpi x 10|15, HP 111, 1,000 each.

According to a theoretical calculation, the maximum scores for each stage are:
Stage 1: 135,000 points; you can damage 24 parts of structures, each worth 400 points; additionally, the boss has 130 seconds before self-destructing, so you can score 1,280 points from the homing bullets

Stage 2: 270,000 points. You can damage 15 parts of Nyan’s tail before destroying its head; each part is worth 280 points, while the head is worth 2,400 points; Polab is a ball of sperm; it is worth 110 points, but it should only be destroyed when it splits into smaller parts, as each of its 8 parts is worth 100 points

Stage 3: 415,000 points. You can damage 24 parts of Moet’s tail—the fire snake—after destroying its head, which is worth 5,000 points. This is possible with a pattern that yields up to 17,000 points; the Carpi boss consists of 15 sections worth 1,000 points each, which must be destroyed before it self-destructs, otherwise they do not yield any points. The anchor, located at the bow, is separate from the boss and is worth 15,000 points on its own

Stage 4: 570,000 points. Be sure to destroy all the Battleship Nyutori beam guns defending the spaceship, as each of the three is worth 3,000 points; Girlbeck is a fish-like creature whose head is worth 800 points, while each part of its body—4 or 15 pieces—moves off in two directions and is worth 300 points

Stage 5: 820,000 points. You’ll need the Spread Bomb and, preferably, the Flip Laser for the first half. Each Tessa monster is worth 1,400 points; if you exceed that, it drops 4 plates worth 100 points each, up to seven times. The hardest part of the game is the second half, where you’ll need the Break Laser. Nechan is the main monster in this area; it advances in rows of 8 or 10 units and is worth 2,000 points. Due to their high hit points, it is difficult to destroy a large number of them; however, you must complete the stage with at least 50|86 enemies defeated. During the boss fight, you can leech points until time runs out, for a total of 8,500 points

Stage 6: 950,000 points. During the boss fight, you can execute a technically infinite loop; however, once you’ve accumulated 15,000 points, it’s best to finish the stage to avoid being killed by the time-over character, represented by a green spherical laser that gradually increases its speed as time passes

Stage 7: 1,085,000 points; during the boss fight, you can leech health until the time runs out, earning a total of 8,500 points

Stage 8: 1,245,000 points; this score is calculated before facing the boss and is earned by defeating 9 Gaji, a very tough insect worth 10,000 points. During the boss fight, you can perform a modest leech on the first three forms of this enemy, accumulating a maximum of 5,700 points.

By counting the number of fully charged cannon shots, it is possible to achieve a double KO with the fifteenth attack, before the boss activates its fourth pattern. With perfect timing, the shot will kill the boss as you collide with the last enemy laser on the screen. During the fourth pattern phase, the boss’s score increases from 50,000 to 150,000 points. The procedure can be repeated up to 34 times, provided it is performed correctly each time, for a total duration of 4 minutes and 30 seconds per attempt.
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The current world record was set by Japanese player ELH with a score of 6,694,510 points at the JOY game center in Hiroshima. The run is a complete run with autofire enabled, 0 remaining lives, and a partial score of 1,240,000 before the Boss. The run reached an extreme level of pattern mastery, especially on the fifth stage, where a large number of Nechans were destroyed.

During the final boss battle, a "double-KO" pattern was implemented for Buhi's third form, in which the final pattern was triggered. This pattern activates after 120 seconds of resistance and increases Buhi's score value from 50,000 to 150,000 points. This procedure was performed 34 times. Since you earn an extra life every 200,000 points, this technique cannot continue indefinitely but ends when your remaining lives run out. In the same player’s previous game, a score just 10,000 points lower had already been achieved.

Applying the “super double” technique is difficult, mainly due to the physical strain caused by the game’s length, which lasts about 4 hours and 30 minutes. The double technique requires the use of the "spread beam." It is necessary to charge and release the shot with maximum force just before being attacked by the swarm of green enemies released by the Boss. After charging 14 shots, it is crucial to hold back the 15th shot; this is possible by avoiding two more enemy attacks and then releasing the final shot as the ship crashes into the boss’s last stray shot.

Against Boss 5 and Boss 7, you can perform limited "leeching" that continues until "time over." In this case, the score for the boss is automatically awarded once the time runs out. This does not happen against Boss 3, who retreats without awarding any points.