Ze_ro Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Important Note: This week's competition is over and no further scores will be accepted. In the year 4014, the planet Earth and the planet Mars are locked in a century-long war. The Martians have devised a plan to destroy Earth using the power from their latest weapon: the Destructo-Bomb!! The Martian forces have managed to construct five bombs and have placed them deep inside the Martian Caverns, awaiting the final command from their leader to attack!!! Do you have the skill to navigate to the depths of the Martian caverns, active the Destructo-Bombs, and escape before they explode? Good Luck! Hey! This game is available in the AtariAge Store, so go buy it if you haven't already, it's awesome! Game Information Game Name: Conquest of Mars Released By: John W. Champeau, 2006 Left Difficulty: A / Expert - Cannons Will Fire at You Right Difficulty: N/A in 1-player Game Mode: Novice Chosen By: SpiceWare Post your scores right here in this thread, and I will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone elses. The deadline for posting scores is Thursday, July 19th at 1:30 AM (CST). If you want to suggest a game for future weeks, please send me a private message and let me know! I will add your game to the list. One one game per person will be kept on the list, so you will not be able to suggest a game until your first game is played! (Please note that due to time constraints, I very rarely reply to private messages... but I do read them all!) Anyone can play! Just post a score and I'll add you to the list! Please read the Rules & Information if you haven't already done so! Current High Scores 73,580 (johnnywc) [+11] 43,840 (toymailman) [+10] 43,770 (SpiceWare) [+9] 43,280 (keitaro) [+8] 42,630 (Impaler_26) [+7] 42,380 (Captain Beard) [+6] 41,460 (rheffera) [+5] 40,950 (Malc74) [+4] 36,730 (Deteacher) [+3] 36,640 (Nathan Strum) [+2] 32,330 (JimboGames) [+1] 31,870 (godzillajoe) [+1] 24,940 (Goochman) [+1] 18,660 (gospeedde) [+1] 11,260 (LarcenTyler) [+1] Best Tips Nathan Strum [+2] Bounties and Challenges None yet posted TwinGalaxies Top 3 (Standard, Difficulty B)TwinGalaxies has no scores for this game. Current Standings (Note: These scores reflect the standing as of the beginning of this week, and do not include points scored from this game.) Rom Hunter [548] Deteacher [437] SpiceWare [414] Nathan Strum [234] LarcenTyler [219] rheffera [193] vdub_bobby [185] keilbaca [175] Goochman [164] johnnywc [156] scogey [122] The MindMaster [115] the 5th ghost [111] Captain Beard [97] Cybergoth [94] shadow460 [92] atari2600land [85] JacobZu7zu7 [80] BrianC [78] Recycled [76] shawnb [71] Christophero Sly [70] toymailman [70] Zoyx [66] Malc74 [63] theKLT [59] godzillajoe [37] SeaGtGruff [36] Crazy Climber [36] 128bytes [34] ewing92 [32] Jred [26] RJ [24] doctorclu [22] phaxda [21] Lord Helmet [19] RaRoss [18] Thomas Jentzsch [17] Krytol [17] mojofltr [17] Mindcircus [16] Random Terrain [15] Lord Thag [15] LS_Dracon [13] rjchamp3 [11] ResOGlas [11] Nognir [11] Shannon [11] midnight magicman [11] accousticguitar [10] jonfin826 [10] Omegamatrix [9] MickG [9] Gabriel [8] Hiryu [7] Zeptari1 [7] Shroo-man [6] gospeedde [6] supercat [5] GamerInThailand [5] codyr783 [5] fire!fire! [5] JimboGames [4] madbutscher [4] oldric [3] Biter [2] mightymage [2] aofl [2] D. Yancey [2] Dan Iacovelli [1] Scoring Points in Conquest of Mars Travel one parsec - 10 points Destroy a fuel bunker - 150 points Destroy a generator - 250 points Destroy a cannon - 250 points Destroy a rocket - 250 points Destroy a space mine - 300 points If you can travel through an entire cavern without losing a ship, you are awarded a survival bonus depending on the number of stages you cleared to reach the base stage: 2 stages - 2000 points 3 stages - 4000 points 4 stages - 8000 points 5 stages - 15000 points [*]If you can successfully reach the surface of the cavern when escaping, you will be awarded 500 points for each second remaining on the timer. Hints and Tips As always, you really should read the manual. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any online versions of the manual. Here are the hints it provides: - On the tunnel stage, be sure to shoot all of the enemy objects and collect as much fuel as possible. - On the rocket stage, try to line up your missiles to take out two enemy objects with one shot. - Studying the patterns in which the laser gates are activated is the key to getting past them. - Approach the gates aggressively to give your ship plenty of time to fall back and wait for an opening. - Get a feeling for the timing of the mines; there are certain delays when they will remain stationary, giving you a chance to avoid them. - Remember that your ship cannot fire if any of its previous missiles are still on the screen. There is also the small delay needed to recharge your cannons during shots. - You must be very aggressive when navigating the maze, especially on the higher levels. - On the expert difficulty (A), the enemy cannons will fire disruptor bolts. Try to destroy them before they have a chance to lock on to your ship. My only tip is to not shoot during the second stage (rocket attack) and just try and dodge things and only fire when necessary. Those shots take an awful long time to get down screen if you miss. SPOILER TIP:TIP: If you are finding some of the stages too difficult, you can practice any level/stage by pressing and holding down SELECT and pressing the fire button from the title screen. (Regarding the triple force field in the second cavern: ) Study the layout of the cavern. You need to shoot fast and move as close to the force field as soon as possible. This gives you an opportunity to wait for the force fields to turn off and move down through them. Also, note that you can safely stop between forcefields (there is enough room). This is the key to making it past the triple force fields. With good timing, you can get past 2 force fields, stop between the 2nd and 3rd, and then move past the 3rd once the force fields blink again. It's tricky, but certainly possible. Of course, having the game on difficulty 'A' certainly adds another challenge... A couple of tips: * On the first cavern, in the missile section, stay all the way to the right, and keep firing. You should only have to move to the left a few times in order to dodge the missiles. * On the second cavern, in the missile section, stay mostly to the left, and keep firing. You'll have to dodge to the right a few times to avoid the missiles, but it's easier than going down the right side. * In either case, stay near the top of the screen, so you have as much time to dodge as possible. * When avoiding enemy lasers, get below their cannons as quickly as possible. If you're lower than they are, they won't shoot at you. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I'll set the first bar: 36,730. A nice easy hurdle to clear, I'm sure. All I can say about this game is...WOW! It honestly felt like I was playing on an Atari home computer. This doesn't look or feel like a VCS game. Kudos to the creator! This game rocks! I'm going to love playing this week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rheffera Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Yay! A new homebrew to play! luckily i own it so ill be playing it on the real deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Tyler Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 11,260 Not bad actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 (edited) Left Difficulty: A / Expert - Cannons Will Fire at You Just had to pick "A"... didn't you. 36,260 Edited July 13, 2007 by Nathan Strum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 24940 - Amazing conversion. very close to the 8bit original and fun to play. The firing lasers take away a bit from it IMHO - a bit too challenging but a new twist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Week 63? How many weeks are in a season for this contest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboGames Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 32,330 Never played before! Pretty good game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rheffera Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 41,460 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 What the heck is the key to escaping after you detonate the mine? I always blow up before I get out of the tunnel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Beard Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 What the heck is the key to escaping after you detonate the mine? Push the fire button to accelerate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 What the heck is the key to escaping after you detonate the mine? Push the fire button to accelerate. Ha! That makes it much easier. I should have RTFM! Been a while since I played it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 40,310 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Well I still suck at this game but I did manage 29,410 My only tip is to not shoot during the second stage (rocket attack) and just try and dodge things and only fire when necessary. Those shots take an awful long time to get down screen if you miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 43,770 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc74 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 It's been a long time, but I'm feeling the HSC itch this week. First score 27540. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 (edited) Glad people are enjoying CoM. SPOILER TIP: TIP: If you are finding some of the stages too difficult, you can practice any level/stage by pressing and holding down SELECT and pressing the fire button from the title screen. Have fun! Edited July 17, 2007 by johnnywc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc74 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 New score - 40950. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Marginally better. 36,640 A couple of tips: On the first cavern, in the missile section, stay all the way to the right, and keep firing. You should only have to move to the left a few times in order to dodge the missiles. On the second cavern, in the missile section, stay mostly to the left, and keep firing. You'll have to dodge to the right a few times to avoid the missiles, but it's easier than going down the right side. In either case, stay near the top of the screen, so you have as much time to dodge as possible. When avoiding enemy lasers, get below their cannons as quickly as possible. If you're lower than they are, they won't shoot at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Well I don't think I'll ever get past that first triple force field in the second cavern. Any hints on that one? I guess I'll just have to play a million times until I get the timing down. 31,870 is my best so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 (edited) Well I don't think I'll ever get past that first triple force field in the second cavern. Any hints on that one? I guess I'll just have to play a million times until I get the timing down. It is all about the timing. In retrospect, I probably made that level too difficult (at least for the first level). Case in point: I submitted a copy of this to the Video Game Critic and he could not get by this level and therefore could not give the game a good review. Anyway, here are some tips: Study the layout of the cavern. You need to shoot fast and move as close to the force field as soon as possible. This gives you an opportunity to wait for the force fields to turn off and move down through them. Also, note that you can safely stop between forcefields (there is enough room). This is the key to making it past the triple force fields. With good timing, you can get past 2 force fields, stop between the 2nd and 3rd, and then move past the 3rd once the force fields blink again. It's tricky, but certainly possible. Of course, having the game on difficulty 'A' certainly adds another challenge... I recommend the "tip" in my above post if you need additional practice. Have fun! Edited July 17, 2007 by johnnywc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Yeah it's pretty tough but I would rather a game be too hard than too easy. Adds to the replay value. I'll give it a few more tries tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Got another set of Cuttle Cart discs so I'll see you guys next week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 What are Cuttle Cart discs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 It is all about the timing. In retrospect, I probably made that level too difficult (at least for the first level). It took me a lot of tries to get past the first few force fields. I agree that for the first level, it's a bit hard. Having a few visual cues in the playfield as to where the gates were probably would have helped the player get the hang of the timing. But it is doable - it just requires practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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