High Score Club 8.15 - Secret Quest

[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This weeks competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

First there was one alien space station, then there were three. Now there are eight. If left unchecked, laser gates, dragons, and other evil creatures will wipe out the human race.

 

To destroy each station, you'll have to confront the aliens in face-to-face combat and discover the secret destruct code. Once you have the code, use it to activate the station's self-destruction mechanism. Then the race begins. Can you get to the teleport room before the station explodes into the vacuum of space?

 

Are you ready? Remember, you'll need precision battle skills, a keen sense of direction, speed, and pure guts to save the human race.

 

Note: This game has a password feature, but using a password more than once will be considered cheating for this week (ie, you can use it as a pause feature, but please don't use it to retry a difficult part of the game over and over again).

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Secret Quest
• Released By: Atari, 1989
• Left Difficulty: N/A
• Right Difficulty: N/A
• Game Mode: Default

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 Wednesday December 1st at 1:00 AM (Central Time, UTC-6).

 

Challenges

• Photoshop Phun - Give Nolan Bushnell credit for other things he didn't do by pasting his name and face on the cover and you'll get 2 bonus points. The more outlandish the better!
  • Deteacher [+2]
  • roadrunner [+2]
  • Miss 2600 [+2]
  • Zoyx [+2]
  • toymailman [+2]
  • dooglehead [+2]
  • Scrabbler15 [+2]
  • JacobZu7zu7 [+2]

 

Current High Scores 128,350 (toymailman) [+11] 110,855 (oyamafamily) [+10] 44,503 (JacobZu7zu7) [+9] 31,800 (Miss 2600) [+8] 29,153 (rmaerz) [+7] 26,303 (Scrabbler15) [+6] 19,450 (LarcenTyler) [+5] 19,053 (dooglehead) [+4] 12,552 (Deteacher) [+3] 7952 (lastkill3r) [+2] 6701 (4Ks) [+1] 6301 (roadrunner) [+1] 1600 (MIKE5200) [+1] Best Tips oyamafamily [+2] TwinGalaxies Top 3 3901 (David B Yancey) (Game 1, Difficulty B)

Current Standings toymailman [201] JacobZu7zu7 [178] Deteacher [167] Scrabber15 [167] oyamafamily [151] roadrunner [79] Miss 2600 [70] zylon [61] Jifremok [54] Zoyx [53] Chuck D. Head [52] LarcenTyler [39] SeaGtGruff [33] Mingy Jongo [31] keilbaca [30] ClassicGMR [29] pis [21] HatefulGravey [17] doctorclu [13] Pioneer4x4 [12] lastkill3r [12] Mangia-Boy [11] MrJimbo [8] Mister VCS [7] satan165 [7] rmaerz [5] madbutscher [4] 4Ks [4] dooglehead [3] ed1475 [2] littleman jack [2] pacmanplayer [2] Austin [1] MIKE5200 [1] SpaceDice2010 [1]

 

Scoring Points in Secret Quest

• Dragon - 750 points
• Snake - 700 points
• Firecracker {short, sparks from antenna} - 650 points
• Ghost - 600 points
• Stomper {smiling stick-figure} - 550 points
• Squid - 500 points
• Medusa - 400 points
• Spinner {two rotating balls} - 350 points
• Floater {diamond, eye in center} - 250 points
• Machine {on treads} - 200 points
• Chopper {prop on top} - 150 points
• Potato Man {brown with legs} - 100 points
• Bear Trap {snapping jaws} - 50 points

 

Hints and Tips

The Manual

 

As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a typed copy available online. Here are the hints it provides:

• Learn your way around the stations by drawing a map as you go.
  
• If you are in a multi-level station, write down the code you find on each level so you will be able to remember the entire code when you enter the room containing the self-destruction mechanism.
  
• Avoid losing all of your energy. If you lose all of your energy, you can't use a weapon. If you can't use a weapon to destroy aliens, you will not be able to get oxygen. If you can't get oxygen, you will not live long. Neither will the human race.

 

Scrabbler15

 

1. Attack the enemies by trying to line up exactly with the sides, top, or bottom of the enemy. The sword does not attack diagonally, but the enemies will attack diagonally.

 

2. In the earlier rounds, a hit on the enemy will make them de-rez and rematerialize somewhere else on the screen. Try to stay clear of the de-rezzing area until the enemy has returned.

 

3. Try attacking the enemies in a 'tag, you're it' fashion. If you lunge with the sword and miss, at least you will still be moving away, and maybe won't take a hit. This becomes more important in the later rounds, because some enemies (e.g. spinners) take two hits to cause the de-rezzing.

 

4. Here's a 'master of the obvious' tip. Don't let the enemies touch you when you attack them. It's really important for getting deep into this game. Each touch by an enemy sucks away energy or oxygen, so too many enemy touches ends the game before you can get that big score.

 

4. Know where you are. Map it out. Play a lot.

 

5. Get all the enemies in a round before triggering the auto-destruct. You can leave a round without getting all the enemies, but the missing points are hard to get back and there is no bonus for clearing a round.

 

6. In round two, if you get to the auto-destruct machine and forget one of the codes to put in, put the one in you know and try each of the codes for the second one. You'll know that you hit the code when the countdown starts. This tip also works for round three, if you only remember two of the codes. If you're more diligent than I am and you write down the codes, this tip is irrelevant.

 

oyamafamily

 

Check out oyamafamily's walkthrough here.

 

--Zero

[Lauren Tyler]

19,450

 

Ran out of time on the third level.

[Deteacher]

I like getting the bonus out of the way first. Enjoy!

 

[roadrunner]

Bonus

[Miss 2600]

I like getting the bonus out of the way first. Enjoy!

 

 

That is funny!!!

[Miss 2600]

Here's my bonus:

 

[Zoyx]

[toymailman]

I'm pretty sure he didn't do this, but could have easily.

 

[oyamafamily]

PARTICIPATION POINTS - 11,202 :D

 

 

I beat Twin Galaxy Top Score - 3,901 by David Yancey!

[toymailman]

Fun Game! Gonna have to break out some graph paper. Telengard and the SSI Gold Box games made me use lots of it as a kid.

 

29,503

[4Ks]

6,701

 

Great game, I should buy it sometime.

[Scrabbler15]

11,902

 

I don't know where anything is.

[Miss 2600]

OK, that TwinGalaxies Record score is either a misprint or only one guy competed in the contest and played it once without bothering to read the manual.

 

This was my second try. My fighter loses oxygen and energy way too fast to give it a good go.

 

4,651

 

Edited November 26, 2010 by Miss 2600

[Miss 2600]

I was able to improve a little.

 

7,301

 

Edited November 26, 2010 by Miss 2600

[VectorGamer]

9,551

 

I ran out of O2 trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do to get to the next level. I killed everything off, went to every room and nada.

[oyamafamily]

22,103 - Level 4

[dooglehead]

19053

[VectorGamer]

29,153

 

Finally figured out how to play this darn game...got lost on level 4 though...

[roadrunner]

6,301

[oyamafamily]

25,203 - Level 4

[Scrabbler15]

19,303

[Scrabbler15]

22,153

 

Every time my little guy pulls out his sword, it seems to me that he just shuts his eyes, let's out a Braveheart yell, and runs across the room with reckless abandon.

[oyamafamily]

37,353 - Level 4 Edited November 27, 2010 by oyamafamily

[Scrabbler15]

23,153

 

I'll put up some of my tips, since we don't have any, yet.

 

1. Attack the enemies by trying to line up exactly with the sides, top, or bottom of the enemy. The sword does not attack diagonally, but the enemies will attack diagonally.

 

2. In the earlier rounds, a hit on the enemy will make them de-rez and rematerialize somewhere else on the screen. Try to stay clear of the de-rezzing area until the enemy has returned.

 

3. Try attacking the enemies in a 'tag, you're it' fashion. If you lunge with the sword and miss, at least you will still be moving away, and maybe won't take a hit. This becomes more important in the later rounds, because some enemies (e.g. spinners) take two hits to cause the de-rezzing.

 

4. Here's a 'master of the obvious' tip. Don't let the enemies touch you when you attack them. It's really important for getting deep into this game. Each touch by an enemy sucks away energy or oxygen, so too many enemy touches ends the game before you can get that big score.

 

4. Know where you are. Map it out. Play a lot.

 

5. Get all the enemies in a round before triggering the auto-destruct. You can leave a round without getting all the enemies, but the missing points are hard to get back and there is no bonus for clearing a round.

 

6. In round two, if you get to the auto-destruct machine and forget one of the codes to put in, put the one in you know and try each of the codes for the second one. You'll know that you hit the code when the countdown starts. This tip also works for round three, if you only remember two of the codes. If you're more diligent than I am and you write down the codes, this tip is irrelevant.

[Miss 2600]

16,850

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2010 by Miss 2600