48 replies to this topic

[Ze_ro]

Don't forget about the art challenge! No one has posted anything yet, so it could be an easy 5 points for someone!

--Zero

[Scrabbler15]

My uncle is an accomplished artist and my daughter has a talent for it as well. I don't know how that gene could have missed me so completely.

Still, I'm not proud. I'll take the two points.

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[Zoyx]

Ze_ro, on Sun Aug 8, 2010 10:58 AM, said:

Don't forget about the art challenge! No one has posted anything yet, so it could be an easy 5 points for someone!

--Zero

What spawned this idea?

[MIKE5200]

Would Flashback 2 users be apart of this game also?

[HatefulGravey]

Can we just do any zylon? As far as I can tell they are all zylon with different types? I would just hate to be wrong about something that simple and I could surely use the points here. Got an actual copy of the game at a local store and still can't beat what I had before. Hard freaking game.

[Scrabbler15]

Little bump.

110,900

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[Scrabbler15]

satan165, on Thu Aug 5, 2010 5:03 PM, said:

scrabbler - good game. this is two titles in a row we are going head to head on with very similar scores. you have one upped me, keep playing because now i have incentive to drive on through space!

and you can get to the map screen with TAB. (i had to ask on the twingalaxies forums about that one a while back)

possible tip: when encountering a flagship and another enemy (mechanoids specifically it seems to work with), shoot the flagship first. the flagship will not release its distractors until the other enemy is dead first. easy 500 points when you dont have to deal with those distractors aka gnats buzzing in your ear scratch that, seemed to work once but not another. all i know is i had an altercation with the above two enemies and the flagship did not immediately release its distractors

does anyone use the left/right and up/down distance to find enemies? i just look/listen for them and look for the icons on the targeting computers screen

another tip: when you have killed all the enemies in a quadrant you will continue to fly through space for a few seconds (or more) until the galactic map comes up. if you think you are done there (even if unsure) just bring up the map manually. if the quadrant is clear of the icon that was there previously, you are done and you can warp onward.

blockaders aka mine fields are difficult, i found a great tip from WR holder (on many titles) robert macualay in the previous HSC running of this title. first and foremost, make sure you warp perfectly into the quadrant. anything more then a 1 (or a zero i might argue), just go back to the map and warp again. this is probably the most important warp youll take, because it decides how long youll spend in the minefield. once im there, my strategy is 'hands off': dont touch the controls and only shoot or move when necessary. extra movements will likely put you into the path of an oncoming mine rather then avoid it and constant shooting is a vast waste of fuel, dont let them take advantage of you like that. with a 0 warp, youll be done in probably 8 seconds or so.

I have my own way of dealing with the blockade screens. I pull the joystick down/left the whole time, so the ship is moving up and left. Then I shoot at an even pace so that there is always one of my shots on the screen. I usually survive unscathed, which is all I'm trying to do on the blockade screen.

Some other things I've found out (since it was all new to me):

When the scanner screen is scrambled, the arrows/numbers on the left of the scanner are invaluable for finding fuel (or whatever is being scanned for). Go in the direction of the arrow and when the arrow changes to an 'X', you're lined up with the fuel. Number '7' is as far away as it gets, Number 5 means almost there.

The enemies can be defeated by superior firepower. When battling on a planet, I try to get head-on with the enemy while I shoot. My shot can destroy the enemy's shot and my follow-up shot takes out the enemy.

On the corridor levels, I tried slowing down, but the steering is less reliable that way. So what I do now is go full speed and start shooting as soon as I'm in the corridor and then work my way into the middle. If the key at the end of the corridor stays in the middle, it's easy to drive through the key, the barrier goes away, and the blasting of enemies continues. Sometimes the key jumps left or right. Moving in the direction of the key as soon as it moves is the only way to still get the key. It can be done regardless of how wide the key goes, but sometimes it's just barely.

When dogfighting, it's important to stay down far enough to keep from running into the enemies. I have the most dogfighting success by being aggressive, trying to get the enemies quick. When I just concentrate on not getting shot, it happens anyhow.

The direction that you move from sector to sector, and what you do when you get there, is critical. The path I take gets me through the first half of the game without ever dealing with a 'Red Screen of Death'. I'm gonna try to describe this path as best I can, hopefully with enough accuracy and detail to get the idea across.

- From the first screen, go east through the blockade
- Go up to get the extra guy
- Exit west and keep going to the next west exit (ignore the rest of Screen 1, except for the enemy at the west exit)
- Defeat the enemy.
- Exit west
- Attack the enemy above the federation planet
- Land and get fuel. This should be the first fuel stop
- Defeat the rest of the enemies (except for the blockade to the north), including getting through the corridor
- Get fuel
- Exit south
- Defeat the enemy directly south
- Wait for the enemy on the other side of the planet to attack the planet and when it does, defend the planet
- Get fuel
- Attack the cobra ship enemy. These are the hardest enemies to survive, but if you don't beat them here, you will have to beat them with backward 'Red screen of Death" controls later.
- Get fuel if you need it
- Defeat the last enemy on this screen
- Exit west
- Go to the blockade square and survive
- Go back to the last screen and get fuel. You'll have to wait for the wormhole to move, so you might as well fill up.
- Return to screen you were on. The wormhole should have moved, so go to the corridor. Survive.
- Exit north
- Go to the corridor square. Survive.
- Go up to the extra-guy planet and get the guy. You will exit west.
- Go to the extra-guy planet and get the guy.
- Take the wormhole.
- Go down to the extra-guy planet and get the guy.
- Land and get the fuel.
- Leave the federation planet and go back to it.
- Shoot the fuel.
- Exit west.
- Exit north.
- Take the wormhole.
- Defeat the enemy.
- Exit north.
- Go up to the extra-guy planet and get the guy.
- Exit south
- Exit east.

If I told you every step correctly, and you survived, you are now in the first sector of the second half of the game. This screen is as far as I have gotten.

I'll edit this if I find out I messed it up somewhere.

There you have it. A novice's free advice and worth every penny.


Jifremok, I now understand your earlier post, the essence of which was, "How can this ever be explained?". I've also come to the conclusion that you might be my only hope of seeing Solaris, so I'm pulling for ya.

Edited by Scrabbler15, Mon Aug 9, 2010 7:22 PM.

[zylon]

Ze_ro, on Sun Aug 8, 2010 10:58 AM, said:

Don't forget about the art challenge! No one has posted anything yet, so it could be an easy 5 points for someone!

--Zero

That was easy
I can include Zylon's fleet if needed

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[JacobZu7zu7]

My 3rd attempt... 28,920

I should try scrabblers tips , they look good

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[ClassicGMR]

34,880

Not the most auspicious of starts but this isn't an easy game.

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[zylon]

Added a couple planets to my score, then ran out of gas. The Zylon fleet doesn't get very good mileage. 66,440

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[Jifremok]

I finally made it to Solaris. My arms are still quivering, and they started doing that several battles before I got there. 254480
I've moved this into a spoiler box so as not to "ruin" the ending for those who wish to see it first on their own screen. I apologize to any who've seen this before I thought to spoilerbox it.

Spoiler

Also, my highest score was achieved during a previous run that ultimately ended in failure but was the last run I needed to be able to plot a proper course to Solaris. 281740



And now, for completion's sake, here's a drawing---easily my weakest point.

Edited by Jifremok, Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:43 PM.

[HatefulGravey]

There. Being bored at work with markers and 2 points out there makes this thing. Its so angry!

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Edited by HatefulGravey, Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:17 AM.

[Scrabbler15]

Jifremok, on Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:07 AM, said:

I finally made it to Solaris. My arms are still quivering, and they started doing that several battles before I got there. 254480
I've moved this into a spoiler box so as not to "ruin" the ending for those who wish to see it first on their own screen. I apologize to any who've seen this before I thought to spoilerbox it.

Spoiler

Also, my highest score was achieved during a previous run that ultimately ended in failure but was the last run I needed to be able to plot a proper course to Solaris. 281740



And now, for completion's sake, here's a drawing---easily my weakest point.

Jif, You Rock The Planets!!! I thought you had it in ya, but I didn't know if you had it in ya by Tuesday night. You beat the game and the deadline. That's a Terrific Two-fer Well done!

[JacobZu7zu7]

After about 3-4 more tries.. it's a long game. At least I cracked the 50ks.
I felt I did very well, but couldn't go north to SURVIVE scrabbler as I got into some issues
and had to go south with 45ks and shoot as much as I could. Good tips though Scrab. They helped my score climb about 14,000 extra.

50,220

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[JacobZu7zu7]

My ZYLON or Solaris drawing...
(I did the title screen with a few twists like an added the zylon)

What I did was use markers and drew the planet, my ship.. stars, one emeny gettin fired at
and the ZYLON coming up from behind, also the Atari swooshes with the game title and the system the game is for. AND NO, I never draw so this was actually fun...
maybe I should start HAHA.



I got the nice purple and blue from holding the picture to the TV screen,
it's supposed to be like that lol.
I hoped for a better pic, but I dunno if I have enough light it's 9 PM now.


DIFFERENT COLORS for different zones,

RED, GREEN n BLUE...

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Edited by JacobZu7zu7, Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:23 PM.

[zylon]

Made it to 6 figures. 105,400
I've got time for one more good attempt, or a multitude of bad ones.

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[MIKE5200]

10,640 on Flashback

[toymailman]

Jifremok, on Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:07 AM, said:

I finally made it to Solaris. My arms are still quivering, and they started doing that several battles before I got there. 254480

WOW! Great job Jif. This is a fun game that I wish I had more time to play with. I didn't get too far myself.

27,200

[Chuck D. Head]

OK, It seems like I never get anything done until real close to the deadline. For my Zylon masterpiece, I decided to draw the unsung hero of the Zylon forces, the hungry, hunrgy foot soldiers known as the Ecamirg. They dont let these guys anywhere near the high-tech starfighters, they drop them from cargo ships to destroy enemy ground forces. A full grown Ecamirg can ingest, digest and excrete (note the large pile in the pic) an average six-foot tall humanoid in under two minutes, they literally eat their way through the enemy lines. Scary! Morgan

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[zylon]

This game should definitely be ranked among Atari's treasures.

[Jifremok]

I've noticed a large difference in strategy, particularly when it comes to those blockades. I usually like to weave back and forth, trying to sail toward the emptier spots and shooting whatever's in front of me, and of course hoping I don't die. I've tried other strategies such as Scrabbler's suggested sticking to a corner, but I'd still die on the more difficult blockades. Yeah, if you thought the ones early in the game were rough, try going through the ones that are nearer to Solaris!

My preferred style of play involves saving as many Federation planets as possible. However, time spent doing that means less time to save Federation planets in the later part of the game. For reaching Soalris before the deadline, I decided to focus more on just getting there and making fewer risks. In the end, I think only three Federation planets survived in my victorious run. XD

Scrabbler, I admire the spirit that you've shown during the week, it's exemplary of the sheer joy of perseverance in a challenging game. Also, getting as far as you did (from scratch) in only a week is no mean feat.

[JacobZu7zu7]

HatefulGravey, on Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:16 AM, said:

There. Being bored at work with markers and 2 points out there makes this thing. Its so angry!

Congrads on winning the Art challenge. Very good piece...
Nice mean lookin' Zylon with dangerous sharp edges.

I think the talent and effort won you #1st...
over my Warhol-ish LSD-like masterpiece. damn!!! Jokin'

[HatefulGravey]

FREAKING SWEET! If you can't out game em, out draw em.

On a side note this is easily the most productive thing I have done at work in a month or more. I have a sales job, and in this economy that pretty much means I know all the items on the dollar menu well!

Thanks a bunch. Looks like my day is turning around.

My drawing "skills" aside, is anyone going to submit a video for a world record?

Edited by HatefulGravey, Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:19 AM.