RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

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Ghegs
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RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Ghegs »

Happened to take a glimpse at the Hall of Records and spotted this:
Pulstar

World: やだやだやだやだELH-ぱち先生 - 6.694.510 - ALL
West: AST-GEM - 1.308.770 - ALL
The WR is about six times what can be attained during a normal playthrough, so where are all the points coming from? The game doesn't loop and though the game does give out six extra lives, I can't think of any spot where restart-point-milking would net that much points.
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Mero
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Mero »

Yeah I've wondered how the record is so high too. I know that the final boss can be double-KO'ed but there must be more to it than that as he's only worth 50k.

You'd have to double-KO him over 100 times to get that score :?
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Estebang »

There must be a glitch that's never been publicized. Your best bet would be to ask some Japanese message board.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Gemant »

In my replay is possible see the secret. Normal Double K.O is 50.000, but in my score I use a super double K.O. 1 time (150.000). Top japan is about super double K.O. x 34 (about 5 or 6 hours of play).
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Ghegs:
I can't think of any spot where restart-point-milking would net that much points.
I was experimenting with the Stage 5 boss last night with the "purple shield" force; he seems to be the only boss that doesn't have a "quick-kill" manuever of some sort; you know something that turns up and creates a bigger "hazard" to keep you from sticking around too long.

The thing is you really have to know the pattern, and about 6 loops of the boss "routine" yielded about 5,000 points.

Then you have the rest of the game to contend with!

I still don't understand this "Double K.O." thing.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Ghegs »

Gemant wrote:In my replay is possible see the secret. Normal Double K.O is 50.000, but in my score I use a super double K.O. 1 time (150.000). Top japan is about super double K.O. x 34 (about 5 or 6 hours of play).
Where's your replay at?

I'm mostly asking out of curiosity at this point, the thought of having to spend 5-6 hours to get a high score ranks pretty high on my "Oh hell no" -list.

I'm just going to work on a podless clear when I get back to Pulstar instead.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Gemant wrote:
In my replay is possible see the secret. Normal Double K.O is 50.000, but in my score I use a super double K.O. 1 time (150.000). Top japan is about super double K.O. x 34 (about 5 or 6 hours of play).


Where's your replay at?

I'm mostly asking out of curiosity at this point, the thought of having to spend 5-6 hours to get a high score ranks pretty high on my "Oh hell no" -list.

I'm just going to work on a podless clear when I get back to Pulstar instead.
@Gemant: yeah, I'd really like to see that - to witness this "mythical" Super-duper-double K.O. thing or whatever. Sounds very interesting.

@Ghegs: That sounds like more of a bitch than boss-milking, only shorter.
My current modus is the "carry-the-barrier" challenge; try to carry the purple shield weapon all the way to the final molt of the last boss and detonate! It's THE most powerful bomb of the 5 Voyager types; instant boss death.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Gemant »

Video is not avaialbe but mame replay yes: http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~zekzek/new_page/P.html

Last Boss have 3 shapes. Third shape have 3 steps (attack, super attack, self destruction)

DOUBLE K.O. =

Destroy last Boss and you at the same time in third form of the last Boss---> 50.000 pts.

SUPER DOUBLE K.O. =

Destroy last Boss and you at the same time in third form of the last Boss when start the second pattern phase (before the third phase). 150.000 pts.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Gemant:
but mame replay yes
Not gonna open that anytime soon - maybe you could find a way to post a video on YouTube someday?

It would be helpful in understanding this:
Third shape have 3 steps (attack, super attack, self destruction)
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Ghegs »

Nate wrote: It would be helpful in understanding this:
Third shape have 3 steps (attack, super attack, self destruction)
I imagine he's referring to how the final boss has three forms (the face, the spider, and whatever that last shape could be called) and the last form has three attack patterns, the last of which is the boss timing out.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Ghegs:
boss timing out
Ah, so the 2nd and 3rd forms explode on their own? Similar to Boss 7 I suppose.

So, you'd have to get hit while this is happening to the 2nd form (spider) and start over (as many times as you want) and then beat the final form and clear the game in order to get a major score. This is a serious undertaking if indeed it "checks out".
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Ghegs:
the last form has three attack patterns, the last of which is the boss timing out.
@Gemant: Can you confirm this?
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Gemant »

yes, but is not a real self-destruction. In third form the last Boss attack you with his body and is impossible escape.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Gemant:
attack you with his body and is impossible escape.
Yeah, that's what Boss 2 does as well...

Well, that's a hard son-of-a-bitch!

Guess I need to keep at it.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Nate »

Gemant:
Destroy last Boss and you at the same time in third form of the last Boss when start the second pattern phase (before the third phase). 150.000 pts.
Ok, I managed to DKO the last boss; he has a pattern that is near-impossible to learn, but once you "get it" it's not so tough. I calculated 100,000 points not 150,000.

I found myself going back to DKO the other bosses that time-out to see if they yield extra points as well; it's getting arduous.

I'd like to know how the Japanese player scored over 6 mil. on Pulstar, are we sure they're not talking about Blazing Star?

I'm still seeking my first "public" all-clear game, so I'll not likely try for a record - it's just too insane; I'll be happy with just beating the game.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Gemant »

Pulstar, my old replay video made in february 2006.

score: 1.308.770 ALL

Image

part 1: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kc53 ... videogames#

part 2: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kc6f ... videogames#

part 3: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kc6y ... videogames#

here you can see the 150.000 last Boss pattern.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Kiken »

I will discuss my technique for performing the 3x Double KO on the final boss.

To begin with, as level 8 is ending, there are two power-ups about a screen-length before the fade-to-black transition. The upper power up is an F (Flip Laser: the blue reflective beam) and the lower power up is an H (Homing Missile). Grab the Homing Missile as it doesn't interfere with the technique during the final boss battle.

Once into the final boss lair, there are 4 power ups. The first 2 are speed-ups, the second two are an R (Ring Laser) which is the lower power up and an N (Neutron Spread Beam) which is the upper power up. This technique relies on using the Spread Beam so collect the weapon power ups from the bottom up.

I'm not going to discuss the first two boss forms here, as the third is where the technique is employed.

The third form of the boss will die after getting hit by 15 fully charged Spread Beam shots (primarily the large, central yellow salvo).

I've found that sitting back and waiting for the two releases of homing insects during the horizontal pattern are the best times to release the shots. The boss will move forward while firing pink squiggly shots and an initial spread of homing insects. It will then move back conitnueing to fire the light-orange shots and will release a second wave of homing insects before beginning the vertical pattern. Waiting until the insects are close-ish to your ship before releasing each shot means that you'll hit most of them and nab some extra points. Try to stay just above the central plain of light-orange shots being fired by the boss (so you are always firing head-on).

During the vertical pattern, there are two phases. The first features multi-directional blue lasers and the second adds horizontal orange lasers. The are 7 complete loops of the horizontal-then-vertical attack pattern sequences followed by a final horizontal phase. After that the boss goes into kamikaze mode. As this 8th horizontal phase ends, the boss's score value becomes 150,000 pts. This is where you should wait for the final spread of light-orange bullets to appear and release your final charge shot right as a bullet is passing under your craft (remember to keep to the far left) Immediately move down into the bullet. You should die right before the charge shot hits the boss, causing the double KO.

As a result, since there are 16 instances of the homing bugs, I attack the boss with a fully charged shot during the first 14 and then simply let the waves of zako crash into the Voyager unit on the final 2. It should also be noted that the boss repeats the exact same movements and fires at the exact same points during the sequence of phases (as in, the boss's position and firing patterns during the 3rd phase will always be the same from one life to the next). The only random elements are the exact movement of the homing zako and that it's possible to despawn some of the bullet patterns if your movement places your ship on a line where the sprite draw capacity gets exceeded (at worst, this can cost you a double KO attempt by removing the final central bullet or causing the entire final spread not to release).

One additional note, during the first play-through, keep your IO units facing backwards so they don't add any extra damage. The Homing Missiles will almost always target the zako, so what few times they hit the boss doesn't change how this tactic is performed.

I do plan to post a replay showing all of this off, but it's gonna clock in at 3 hours in length... which is kinda crazy.
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Kiken »

Here is video of the stage 8 double KO boss milking strat in all it's lengthy glory:
https://youtu.be/XhhLUr5CnQ4
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Plasmo »

Kiken wrote:Here is video of the stage 8 double KO boss milking strat in all it's lengthy glory:
https://youtu.be/XhhLUr5CnQ4
Many thanks for the upload! That's some impressive endurance and precision you need in order to keep going for that long.

I do not share the potential concerns you express in the video description. If a highscoring run in a game requires longer milks, then this is just as valuable to me as e.g. a no death run is. Moreover, I don't think the double K.O. had been documented at all before your upload, not in this length anyway. Even if most people will definitely not watch this run in one go from start to finish, it's an important replay for archival reasons and incidentally also is the highest scoring replay by far for Pulstar that is available on Youtube.

So, again, thanks a lot for having made the decision to upload this run! :)
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Re: RQ: Pulstar high-scoring

Post by Kiken »

Plasmo wrote:Many thanks for the upload! That's some impressive endurance and precision you need in order to keep going for that long.

I do not share the potential concerns you express in the video description. If a highscoring run in a game requires longer milks, then this is just as valuable to me as e.g. a no death run is. Moreover, I don't think the double K.O. had been documented at all before your upload, not in this length anyway. Even if most people will definitely not watch this run in one go from start to finish, it's an important replay for archival reasons and incidentally also is the highest scoring replay by far for Pulstar that is available on Youtube.

So, again, thanks a lot for having made the decision to upload this run! :)
Out of all the bullet points that I listed, the single most important was the documentation aspect, I totally agree. I believe that we should be doing everything we possibly can to make sure that information regarding our genre is readily available.
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