GD: Metal Black

[Klatrymadon]

Top work, and a timely bump! Just started revisiting this myself, and fancied partaking of this section of the forum for a change.

Currently only getting to level 4, so I'll hold off on posting scores until the all-clear is in the bag. Getting a perfect score on the bonus stages always seemed to make a big difference, if I remember correctly. Do you folks find this to be accurate?

Mod edit - split from Metal Black High Score thread by request of the thread's maintainer

[Limbrooke]

Currently only getting to level 4, so I'll hold off on posting scores until the all-clear is in the bag. Getting a perfect score on the bonus stages always seemed to make a big difference, if I remember correctly. Do you folks find this to be accurate?

Perfect on the bonus stages is relative. Doing well is another story. My benchmark for bare minimum of a decent score on either would be as follows.
Bonus Round 1: 10,000 (for all 10 enemies), 10,000 (for timer), & 10,000 perfect.
Bonus Round 2: 10,000 (enemies), 20,000 (timer), 20,000 perfect.

Black Out (BR2) is a bit tougher thanks to the larger movement area but there is a trick/strategy to getting the quick lock-ons. Try different things is all I can suggest but I would say on a normal clear getting fair bonus rounds is important but not overly, not concerning extends anyway.

Also, there's no shame in posting a non-ALL score. No need to feel all high and mighty out of the gate, so to speak.

[Klatrymadon]

Cheers for the tips! It's not about feeling high and mighty, though, hehe. I just know I'll end up making about 20 slight improvements on the score before the all-clear, and don't want to start spamming.

Then again, it's perfectly possible that my best score will be a stage 5 one, given the bonus round dodginess.

Since it's not considered bad form to bump really old scoring threads, I might have a dig around for a Layer Section one. I've been single-crediting this quite a lot lately, and trying to improve my scoring runs on the last few levels (where I'm usually just happy to survive).

[Klatrymadon]

I think I'm spoiling the soundtrack for myself. I listen to it far too often, and when it's finished I really don't want to listen to anything else. Well, apart from the arranged album.

[Dragoforce]

I share your "pain"! Born to be free from the Zuntata live 97 performance is probably the most soothing track ever. The OST itself is without a doubt the greates shmup soundtrack of all time if you ask me.

[Klatrymadon]

Effortlessly. There isn't a single so-so track on it, and every one is used to amazing effect in the game itself. If I had to pick a favourite, though, I'd probably go for 'Area 26-10', which is one of the tracks I think I'm killing by playing so often!

'Visitor' and 'Time' are the best boss themes ever. Even Yack still thinks MB is his magnum opus, and he's usually quite detached and self-deprecating about his older stuff.

[BIL]

^That's very cool to know, re: Yack! MB's OST is a high point in VGM for sure... it's (as I've typed more than once now) like a wavering sunbeam within the game's burnt-out atmosphere. Until the boss themes hit, that is... I never tire of "Visitor" (the most ominously titled boss theme I know of) chilling the mood as the first boss erupts from the rubble.

[Klatrymadon]

He's always dead about 20 seconds into it, sadly (especially if you keep collecting Newalone whilst having a laser-off). I think it's awesome that the boss themes aren't repeated, though. Every encounter has its own distinct atmosphere, which really helps to give the game a sense of narrative progression, even if the story is just some bonkers beer-mat scribblings.

Edit: I've just realised I should use a new scoring initial around these here parts. I've always used BAL (as in Bal-Sagoth), but that'd be like turning up to a party wearing the same shirt.

[Klatrymadon]

Now I really am spamming, but I've just noticed that the Black Fly does actually resemble a fly in some of the concept artwork. If you take a swatch at the front cover of the official soundtrack, the cockpit looks a lot like compound eyes, and the nose is like a proboscis.



I'm beyond help.

Edit: It even has antennae!

[BIL]

I'd never noticed just how much more stylised the OST cover's Black Fly was... the in-game sprite is extremely sawed-off looking by comparison (as are all the models of it I've seen). Someone here once called it a "space submarine," my favourite description of it!

I'm working on a no-miss WolfMAME inp, for an ST I plan to start writing next week... MB is a pretty demoralising game in that sense, though, since a no-miss no-bomb run could easily be destroyed by the bonus rounds. It'll just be a straight survival guide, since in that regard I absolutely love this game. Some of the brushes with death the slow ship and grueling nose-to-nose combat produce are absolutely hair-raising.

[Klatrymadon]

Sounds good! There don't seem to be any threads about it in the strategy section at the moment, so hopefully it'll get people talking about it. I'd offer to help, but over the last week I've gone from consistently getting to level 6 to clumsily spunking lives away at the ends of levels 2 and 3, in which I keep trying to dodge everything myself rather than just busting out the lightning. This should have a far higher success rate than it currently does. Hopefully I'm just getting all of this year's "bad days" out of my system.

By the way, I've noticed that most articles about the game say that you have to tap the B button (or whatever your laser button is) to create the big energy ball during the boss battles, and I'm pretty sure some places mention controlling the focus of the beam from the big spread of lightning and back again, but I've always found these happen of their own accord (on the Saturn and in MAME), with no influence from me beyond keeping them going with Newalone. Are these people talking bollocks, or am I missing something?

Edit: it's got a wing and an abdomen! That's just a gigantic space fly who's got himself trapped in some satellite debris.

[Limbrooke]

By the way, I've noticed that most articles about the game say that you have to tap the B button (or whatever your laser button is) to create the big energy ball during the boss battles, and I'm pretty sure some places mention controlling the focus of the beam from the big spread of lightning and back again, but I've always found these happen of their own accord (on the Saturn and in MAME), with no influence from me beyond keeping them going with Newalone. Are these people talking bollocks?

If you have full MAX laser(newalone) bomb, holding B focuses the bomb into a laser, which can result in laser battles with the bosses who similarly have their own red laser bomb. Releasing B results in a screen clearing type bomb for the majority of the duration of the MAX activation. Neither choice is a 'point of no return', meaning you can go back and forth between the types for most of the activation period, so there is a level of control.

As far as an guide is concerned it doesn't seem too necessary, not for survival anyway. It's a strict memorizer so once a certain area is conquered it's pretty much just gravy from there on. Strategies for destruction and milking, however, are another story.

[Klatrymadon]

Thanks, Limbrooke! I know how to use it, obviously, but I've had no success with manually re-focussing it after it has spread out (although it doesn't really matter when you're using it on a boss, because the huge ball of energy will materialise either way). I'll get experimenting.

Edit: I can't believe I hadn't figured this out earlier. The extra pulses of energy the beam gets when you hold B are lovely.

On the bonus stages, it's a good idea to get your crosshairs back into the middle of the screen as quickly as you can after each hit, because the next enemy will usually sweep right across the centre before it pulls any dick moves like going out of sight. In my last game I had two of them flying really closely to each other in the foreground, and was (naturally) aiming at the wrong one.

[Kollision]

On the bonus stages, it's a good idea to get your crosshairs back into the middle of the screen as quickly as you can after each hit, because the next enemy will usually sweep right across the centre before it pulls any dick moves like going out of sight.

In some of my runs I tried to do this. It worked a few times, but then ... you know... the game screwed me by making one single alien fly away for like 10 seconds. Bonus stage gone, I wanted to throw my controller to the wall.

[BIL]

As far as an guide is concerned it doesn't seem too necessary, not for survival anyway. It's a strict memorizer so once a certain area is conquered it's pretty much just gravy from there on. Strategies for destruction and milking, however, are another story.

I've thought so for years, but MB still gets mentioned in the chat forum as some kind of Image Fight memoriser colossus, now and then. From what I've seen it's not the memorising that trips people up, it's not knowing how to use the ship's basic properties. A guide outlining why it's better to shoot than bomb can't hurt.

What do you mean by "strategies for destruction?" There's always plenty of strategic destruction when I play MB.

[Klatrymadon]

A guide will also be helpful for new players in that it's not always easy to see how you should deal with certain sections. The end of level 3 is a fair example - two rows of those wee green enemies roll in at the top and bottom of the screen and pepper it rather randomly with 3-bullet spreads before swirling into the melee themselves. It looks intimidating until you realise you just have to be very proactive and make sure half of them don't get a shot in.

[IDA]

Congratulations for the score!. WRT milking the last boss, I have found that it is very effective to release a fully-charged laser when the doll backgorund (the next-to-last) appears. If you time it properly, the boss begins to spawn a large number of stalks from its center (30 or so) and they get wasted by the bomb as they appear. As a nice bonus, you also can finish the boss afterwards if you point the depleted laser to its core.

On another topic, I don't think that going all the time for the no-bomb is good score- or survival-wise. There are points when you can destroy multiple enemies more easily (e.g. the wall of enemies before stage 2 midboss, the swarms from the boss of stage 4). Having the laser at level 3 also helps, since it is way stronger that max level (even if it does not cover so much area), and you can do things like destroying the balls of the boss of stage 3 in midair or before they are thrown consistenly.

[BIL]

I enjoyed the replay. Keep it up!

Thanks man. :] Feels good to finally participate in the HS forum a little! Gonna put up a Delta score at some point too.

If you time it properly, the boss begins to spawn a large number of stalks from its center (30 or so) and they get wasted by the bomb as they appear. As a nice bonus, you also can finish the boss afterwards if you point the depleted laser to its core.

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a go - never thought of the relation between firing a beam and the boss' tendrils.

On another topic, I don't think that going all the time for the no-bomb is good score- or survival-wise. There are points when you can destroy multiple enemies more easily (e.g. the wall of enemies before stage 2 midboss, the swarms from the boss of stage 4). Having the laser at level 3 also helps, since it is way stronger that max level (even if it does not cover so much area), and you can do things like destroying the balls of the boss of stage 3 in midair or before they are thrown consistenly.

Absolutely, regarding bombing for scoring purposes - it's when it's strictly for survival that it gets counterproductive. The end of stages 2 and 3 are two places I aways hit - you can kill more enemies at no risk to yourself, and power back up right afterwards. I'm thinking of using a bomb slightly earlier in st2 at the floating mines, to avoid letting any go.

Regarding the bonus stages, has anyone noticed there's a specific hit area for the enemy sprites? It seems to be near the center, but drifts when the target is viewed in profile. I'm going to screencap them next week, but just offhand, it seems to be:

Front view: right on the nose; center of sprite.
Profile: towards the nose; off-center.
Rear: on the "spine;" roughly center.

When they're turning it's a bit muddier to me... the other thing I've been working on is compensating for the camera's swing to avoid overshooting a target, which is absolutely lethal. I wish the bonus stages weren't here to begin with, but there is a certain technique to them underneath the randomness.

[Klatrymadon]

Aye, just watched the replay myself. Top stuff! Maybe the game forces players into certain strategies, but our playing styles looked eerily similar. I'm mostly playing on the Saturn, but it might be fun to make an .inp file at some point.

What I can't tell for certain is whether it's the centre circle of your reticule that counts in the bonus stages, or the pointer in the top left-hand corner. Most of the time I seem to get away with just the corner, but I dunno.

Currently trying to decide whether or not it's worth restarting the game if the first bonus round goes badly. Obviously the second is more important, but it's easier to tell if you're doing well in the first one, and taking all of the enemies down with your timer still in the 20s makes a big difference.

[BIL]

I think if the second one goes badly, or is failed, it's worth restarting. Better to get back there quickly than tank along for the rest of the game. Unless the first is outright failed, though, I don't worry about it too much. Of course if you're going for 700k up, it'd be different. I'd hate to play MB for those scores... talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with those bonus stages, regarding scoring!

Minus them this really does play like an early Border Down, with the relaxed attitude towards death and encouragement to bomb for score (a Raizing-esque hori, much like BD).

edit: well, "different" attitude towards death in BD's case.

I wonder if it's possible to really piss off the rank as well ala BD, for more points. Not sure if MB even has rank to any real degree... I've no-missed to stage 5 and not seen any difference.

[Klatrymadon]

I don't think it does. As someone complained elsewhere, the game seems to use a touch of randomness to keep you on your toes. The wall of enemies that IDA mentioned will sometimes shoot twice before they leave the screen, for example. No big deal if you're bombing them, though.

[3DOMan]

I absolutely love this game, the visuals, and the soundtrack(I own all 3 soundtrack releases) but I could never quite get the hang of it. I couldn't believe my eyes when I see people talking about one credit completions on this game. I've done one credit completions on some games(Darius Force) but that is a walk in the park compared to this game.

Really, I always thought this game was impossible without dropping like $25 worth of credits. Levels overflowing with enemies. Extremely cheap and relentless bosses. Your arsenal is basically crippled from the start. No missiles, no shield, no power-ups. The one exception is the break laser, which seems wasteful to use at any point in the game other than on the boss, even then it is only somewhat useful, until it runs out.

Level 4. Good lord. No comment.

Now I feel compelled to break out Taito Memories 2 just to give it another go and try to see if I can compete with these scores! Probably not. I don't think I've ever made it farther than the second level without dying.

[BIL]

Don't worry, MB doesn't care how many times you die where score is concerned. (I'll print out and eat this post if it turns out there's some obscene no-miss jackpot...)

Give it a go; it's honestly not too bad once you adjust to the constant close-quarters action. Enemies are generally quicker than you and *will* get right up in your face... fending them off with the wide firing radius is key, I find. Very unique "brawling" type of hori. Has none of Gradius or R-Type's trademark mechanics, and feels more distinctive than the earlier Darius games.

Another thing about the enemies I've noticed, since picking MB back up... they virtually all have some critical weakness, usually a blind spot where they simply can't hit you, or having to pause a split-second before firing... the blue turtle-shell looking things first seen in Stage 3's intro, and the "V" laser firing blue guys debuted in Stage 4 are good examples. Don't approach them diagonally, and they can't hit you. Get into their blind spots and destroy them from there. Every variety of sniping walker has to stop before firing; fake them out, then rush past the whiffed shot and boom, they're dead. Surviving the hectic parts (like most of Stages 5 and 6) is just a matter of applying these techniques in rapid succession.

[3DOMan]

Well Of course I can beat the game...about 10 or 12 credits later

Now I feel compelled to try for that one credit completion. It just doesn't sit well that somebody is better at one of my favorite games than I am. Now this thread has got my competitive juices flowing.

I think the levels are probably harder than the bosses. Did I also mention that the ship moves slow as hell in this game, and you have a huge hit box? As far as the bonus stages, it's really hard to come up with a strategy, I usually do well on the first one, just not the second. Since aiming is based on a "sway" system it is basically total randomness and difficult to come up with a consistent strategy.

Time to get cracking...I'll see what I can come up with.

[BIL]

MB's levels are definitely tougher than its bosses. I find them a pretty wimpy bunch to be honest, even when milked. It's no Darius Gaiden, that's for damn sure.

Ship speed isn't an issue for me; bullets aren't too quick, and the more aggressive enemies can be held at bay with the main gun's radius and exploiting of their aforementioned weaknesses. One thing you *don't* want to do is try outrunning or outright evading danger - impossible, with the slow ship and quick+plentiful enemies. Either attack enemies directly, or let them come to you and maneuver appropriately while the gun wears down and destroys them.

I like to stay roughly in the middle of the screen, and take an "offensive defense" approach. It's only in the busier parts of stage 5 and 6 that I use the right side of the screen to take out threats pre-emptively.

[3DOMan]

I played it. My Level 2 score is too embarassing to display right now. I'm going to try again

I couldn't find a complete 1cc video, but I did find one video on youtube of the levels 1-4 on one credit. Do you have a 1cc video you could upload? It seems as though you get a stronger rapid fire by rapidly jamming on the fire button than you do by simply just holding it. That could be part of my problem.

It really is annoying how when you fire your break laser it empties the entire thing down to zero. I wish you could toggle it on and off like you can in Border Down, that way you can save your remaining energy.

The roughest parts of the game are Stage 4 in the beginning, where those bubble things encapsulate you and you can't shoot the 27 different enemies on screen, not to mention the breakaway walls and antennae things you can't kill, and then in stage 5 where there's those 500 annoying little things that cling to you and slow you down.

I don't see many differences between the version in Taito Memories 2 and the Arcade version. The introduction music is missing the first part, and for some reason the name of the powerup molecules have been changed from "NEWALONE" TO "NEURON" - possibly a translation error.

[Klatrymadon]

A player called K-Hex has a good set of 1CC videos up on YouTube, chap:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCgDkJ0v ... re=related

Though some of the comments literally make me want to cleave the planet in half.

Don't worry about depleting the laser, by the way. You can always top it up again before or during a boss battle, and you can sort of tell where you might be expected to use it in some of the levels, as unusually high amounts of Newalone will be kicking around. It's never absolutely necessary for surviving a certain section, either.

[BIL]

It seems as though you get a stronger rapid fire by rapidly jamming on the fire button than you do by simply just holding it. That could be part of my problem.

MB uses a kind of Burst Fire - holding the button initially shoots rapidly, then slows to a crawl. I find it best to tap "on...off-on...off-on..." etc. Slow and steady. Hammering the fire button never gets good results for me.

I can't record videos, unfortunately, but the .inp I posted covers all the areas you mention without bombing once. Bubbles, just run right into them and destroy them from the inside out. Ignore or try to evade them, and they'll latch on while you're trying to destroy something capable of firing back = you're dead. For the magnets, just don't be too near anything that can fire at you when they latch on. As soon as you've got a breather, wipe out any shooting enemies.

The roughest parts of the game are Stage 4 in the beginning, where those bubble things encapsulate you and you can't shoot the 27 different enemies on screen, not to mention the breakaway walls and antennae things you can't kill

Which antennae things? I don't recall any invincible enemies in MB, offhand.

[3DOMan]

During level 4, one of the parts where you have a low floor and high ceiling. There's a couple antennae things on the floor and a couple on the ceiling. They protrude either straight up or down and can kill you with one hit, and as far as I can tell, you can't kill them. They're avoidable but still extremely annoying.

[BIL]

Took me a second to figure out the thread had been split! Was worried the site was having problems for a sec.

During level 4, one of the parts where you have a low floor and high ceiling. There's a couple antennae things on the floor and a couple on the ceiling. They protrude either straight up or down and can kill you with one hit, and as far as I can tell, you can't kill them. They're avoidable but still extremely annoying.

If you mean those silver enemies which attach to floors / ceilings and extend a vertical rod, they are entirely killable (every enemy is). You can straight-up blow them away as they fly in, or approach carefully and let the main gun's radius scrape them away. They're not in stage 4 though; only stages 3 and 6.

Also, everything in MB kills you in one hit. ("What do you mean everything?" "EVERYTHIIIING!!!")

As for the .inp, I've just checked and the Megaupload link is still fine. How's the link broken for you? I'd be happy to send it some other way.