HSC 6 Contest 14: Millipede

[SeaGtGruff]

327,428

Ahhh, me competition!

 

By the way, I like your avatar.

 

Michael

[atariksi]

...

I have a few general tips, although I'm not sure how useful they are.

 

1. Don't focus too much on what you're doing or what's going on-- instead, just sort of let go of your focus a bit, so you can be more aware of all the stuff going on peripherally.

...

 

Now that's good advice for people taking SAT tests.

 

As long as you have someone smart sitting next to you and don't get caught, you just concentrate on stuff going on peripherally.

 

>PS -- 7. Get the inch worms as often as you can, to slow the bugs down so you can go after them before they speed back up again.

 

I seem to get killed without any bugs touching me-- is there a bug in the program or can bugs pop up from the bottom?

[SeaGtGruff]

...

I have a few general tips, although I'm not sure how useful they are.

 

1. Don't focus too much on what you're doing or what's going on-- instead, just sort of let go of your focus a bit, so you can be more aware of all the stuff going on peripherally.

...

 

Now that's good advice for people taking SAT tests.

 

As long as you have someone smart sitting next to you and don't get caught, you just concentrate on stuff going on peripherally.

I don't think there are any other awesome players battling bugs next to you that you can cheat off of in the game.

 

What I mean is, you can't get tunnel vision, focusing in on the bugs that you're firing at, and not paying attention to the bugs everywhere else. If you sort of "zen out" and broaden your field of attention to include the entire screen at once, then you'll be less likely to get smacked by a bug that seems to appear "out of nowhere." I think most people who play video games-- especially shooters where there's a lot of action all over the screen-- already do this, and shouldn't need to be told. But I'm very near-sighted, and sometimes I do better by taking off my glasses-- in which case the screen becomes a big blur with colorful fuzzy objects bouncing around all over. Whenever I start to narrow my vision and focus too closely on the area immediately around or above me, that's when I start getting clobbered.

 

>PS -- 7. Get the inch worms as often as you can, to slow the bugs down so you can go after them before they speed back up again.

 

I seem to get killed without any bugs touching me-- is there a bug in the program or can bugs pop up from the bottom?

It's because you aren't paying attention to the peripheral stuff!

 

One thing I've noticed is that the spider's legs are thin and usually dark, so sometimes you can barely see them. I'll get clobbered by a spider's leg when it *looks* like I'm still safely several pixels away from it. Also, new millipede pieces don't come out at the bottom, but new pieces do pop up unexpectedly along the sides in the bottom area if you don't clear the screen of millipede pieces quickly enough. And the millipede pieces change direction if they hit *anything*, not just mushrooms-- at least, I'm pretty sure they do-- so sometimes you'll think a millipede piece is going to safely pass by on the row above or below you, but then it runs into another bug and suddenly changes rows and direction, causing it to unexpectedly collide with you.

 

Other than that, I find that the mouse is iffy at best as a controller, because the slightest nudge can cause you to move in a direction you hadn't intended to, and collide with a bug. For example, if I'm trying to hop over a bug, I'll end up hopping over it and then running back into it, when I had meant to go *away* from it. I got my Kensington Trak Ball (or "Mouse," as they call it) to work with the emulator, but it isn't much better than the mouse-- at least to me, because I've never gotten very good at using trak balls. And my PC joystick sucks-- it's way too big and bulky, and the stick doesn't seem to move easily. I didn't try my game pad controller, because it didn't work so well with the arcade version of Millipede. So I finally managed to find my Stelladaptor, and plugged in an Atari joystick, which helped to improve my scores.

 

Michael

[+therealbountybob]

Great Fun. Today's go 224,467 still sticking with the Trak-Ball Has anyone found an 1984 file/ATR version yet Has anyone spotted the differences between the versions

You probably have a few deadly bugs living in that layer of screen dust Atariksi

327K What's going on with RoadRunner :!:

[Edit] I've found a 1984 file version on Fandal's site here will test this out (if it works on a mydos disk) tomorrow night. I notice that this version starts on 30K so am hoping were all setting the start to 00 points by moving left

Edited July 8, 2009 by therealbountybob

[SeaGtGruff]

327K What's going on with RoadRunner :!:

Yes, that's a righteous score-- but all the more reason for somebody to best it!

 

Seriously, though, congrats to RoadRunner.

 

I'm playing more against my own high score than anyone else's. I just love this game! But at the end of the week I may have to go play the 2600 version on my FlashBack 2.

 

Michael

[chuckwalla]

Great computer game!

128,785

[roadrunner]

Thank you for the complements on my high score.

I really like this game. On monday i played some Millipede, i had a nice high score of 297,968 but i played the 1983 version.

I had to switch to the 1984 version and start all over again. I started these games with the score 00

I always play by the rules.

 

A pic of my 297,968 high score

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2009 by roadrunner

[JellE]

So, are these super high scores because everyone is starting on the default 30K?

[roadrunner]

So, are these super high scores because everyone is starting on the default 30K?

I started all my games at 00

I might be able to do better if i start at 30K. I'll have to play some Millipede later today and see how i do.

[JellE]

I would prefer everyone to start at the same level... start with a score of 00 please.

[SeaGtGruff]

I would prefer everyone to start at the same level... start with a score of 00 please.

I always start at 0. I regularly get scores over 200,000 or 300,000 on the 2600 version, and I think my highest score ever was over 700,000 or 800,000. The 8-bit version starts out really s-s-s-l-l-l-o-o-o-w-w-w, but eventually picks up speed. I love it when the action gets frantic!

 

Michael

[Shannon]

So, are these super high scores because everyone is starting on the default 30K?

Well my assumption has always been to play a game (unless otherwise specified) on the default settings and the game does start at 30k.

 

The big catch is it resets itself to the next closest number (rounded down). So if my ending score is 45,000 it defaults to 40,000. Or something like that..

[SeaGtGruff]

So, are these super high scores because everyone is starting on the default 30K?

Well my assumption has always been to play a game (unless otherwise specified) on the default settings and the game does start at 30k.

 

The big catch is it resets itself to the next closest number (rounded down). So if my ending score is 45,000 it defaults to 40,000. Or something like that..

I've never liked the idea of starting at anything other than 0, unless it's strictly for practicing at the higher levels. For one thing, you can't really tell how good you did by your final score, because at the very least you would need to subtract the beginning score from the final score to determine how many points you actually earned. And it's been my experience that whenever I do start at a higher number (for practice), I usually end up getting a lower score in the long run-- I think partly because starting slower lets you get into the game more gradually and get used to the increasing speeds, and partly because starting higher causes you to forego all the extra lives you could have earned getting from a starting score of 0 to whatever starting score you'd selected.

 

Anyway, I have a new high score for me today. As I said, I've switched over to an Atari joystick with a Stelladaptor, which makes all the difference in the world for me.

 

322331

 

Michael

[doctorclu]

84,130.. fun game.

[Shannon]

So, are these super high scores because everyone is starting on the default 30K?

Well my assumption has always been to play a game (unless otherwise specified) on the default settings and the game does start at 30k.

 

The big catch is it resets itself to the next closest number (rounded down). So if my ending score is 45,000 it defaults to 40,000. Or something like that..

I've never liked the idea of starting at anything other than 0, unless it's strictly for practicing at the higher levels. For one thing, you can't really tell how good you did by your final score, because at the very least you would need to subtract the beginning score from the final score to determine how many points you actually earned. And it's been my experience that whenever I do start at a higher number (for practice), I usually end up getting a lower score in the long run-- I think partly because starting slower lets you get into the game more gradually and get used to the increasing speeds, and partly because starting higher causes you to forego all the extra lives you could have earned getting from a starting score of 0 to whatever starting score you'd selected.

Sure... I understand that. But if the default HSC rules are to use the "default settings of a game unless otherwise specified" then I'm a bit confused why anyone would be starting on 0 when that breaks the "default rules"?

 

You just happen to be lucky that your "breaking of the default rules" happened to coincide to what the MOD decided to "otherwise specify"...

 

It's no biggy to me anyways, just thought I'd point that out. Anyways I guess it's back to the drawing board for me, because I used the default settings, and reset the game to the default settings when restarting the game..

Edited July 9, 2009 by Shannon

[Shannon]

217, 832

[MaPa]

109,430

[+therealbountybob]

Thank you for the complements on my high score.

I really like this game. On monday i played some Millipede, i had a nice high score of 297,968 but i played the 1983 version.

I had to switch to the 1984 version and start all over again. I started these games with the score 00

I always play by the rules.

 

A pic of my 297,968 high score

Do you have any thoughts on the differences (gameplay) between the two versions Is the '84 version easier

 

What's great about this forum is the discussions of some of the games and the quirks, history etc... as well as the debates on the HSC rules of course, maybe we should address world politics and replace all governments with a JellE 5 choices vote on each issue and get things sorted

 

p.s. Shannon you can move left to set the starting score on the '84 version.

Edited July 9, 2009 by therealbountybob

[MaPa]

166,213

[+therealbountybob]

Ok, scrubb my scores so far! The '84 version from Fandal's site works just fine on a mydos/mypicodos disk All these years and I was playing the prototype

 

Well despite maybe starting off easier the released version almost certainly is tougher, especially when you hit 200K! (unless i've just lost it overnight ) Scrub my one go a day crazy idea too! Three goes in 206,146. Other differences I've spotted: the proper ver shows the scores when you kill the spiders and the swarming bugs, and the word pause; the earwig thingy and the caterpiller thingy seem harder to kill, plus has the nice little animation on the title screen

 

This game is mental

Edited July 9, 2009 by therealbountybob

[bluecat]

76087. Thank goodness for the trackerball!

[atariksi]

...

You probably have a few deadly bugs living in that layer of screen dust Atariksi

...

 

How do you keep bottom line clear? Only millipede parts create obstacles right? I didn't see anyone touch me before getting killed-- so I thought perhaps there were bugs that were killing telepathically.

[roadrunner]

Thank you for the complements on my high score.

I really like this game. On monday i played some Millipede, i had a nice high score of 297,968 but i played the 1983 version.

I had to switch to the 1984 version and start all over again. I started these games with the score 00

I always play by the rules.

 

A pic of my 297,968 high score

Do you have any thoughts on the differences (gameplay) between the two versions Is the '84 version easier

 

What's great about this forum is the discussions of some of the games and the quirks, history etc... as well as the debates on the HSC rules of course, maybe we should address world politics and replace all governments with a JellE 5 choices vote on each issue and get things sorted

 

The 1983 version does seem easier, it seems to have more mushrooms, the colors of some of the bugs look different, the default starting

score is 000000, and it has one bug that will go across the screen that turns a row of mushrooms white. i don't remember seeing that bug in the 1984 version. The worm looks different in the 2 versions of Millipede.

 

1983 Millipede worm

 

 

 

1984 Millipede worm

 

 

[Shannon]

Did Atari ever release this on cart for the 8-bit? I almost get the impression that the 1984 version is a 5200 conversion..

 

I used to like it back in the day, but now I find the animation too jerky and the sound isn't quite right. Other than that it aint half bad. I much prefer the arcade though. I think the Nintendo version is probably the only one that does a pretty decent job in the graphics department, but then it's sound aint the greatest either!

[SeaGtGruff]

Did Atari ever release this on cart for the 8-bit? I almost get the impression that the 1984 version is a 5200 conversion..

 

I used to like it back in the day, but now I find the animation too jerky and the sound isn't quite right. Other than that it aint half bad. I much prefer the arcade though. I think the Nintendo version is probably the only one that does a pretty decent job in the graphics department, but then it's sound aint the greatest either!

Yes, I have it on cart for the Atari 8-bits... the box has "XE" on it, I think (I'll check when I get home), so it may have been released on cart for the XE Game System, if it hadn't already been released on cart before that?

 

I prefer the 2600 version, mostly just because it's the one I've gotten most used to, and I can score pretty high on it (although I've yet to roll it over).

 

I have the arcade version on CD, which is certainly the best graphically, and is of course the most "genuine" version , but I haven't gotten very good at it yet... although, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever tried it with an Atari joystick and my Stelladaptor.

 

The 8-bit version is okay, but what I particularly dislike about it is that the main bugs seem to use all the same colors-- the centipede pieces, the spiders, and the beetles. No, they're not *exactly* the same, but I presume the game uses multicolored character graphics, except for the sprites, so the main bugs seem to be restricted to using the same three or four colors as each other. This makes it tougher to tell them apart at times, and I find myself getting clobbered by a centipede piece because I thought it was a beetle that would have stopped and moved up the screen before it reached the leftmost or rightmost bottom corner.

 

Michael