High Score Competition (Dec: Lunar Mission 2)

[+mizapf]

My screenshot should actually be in this thread.

[SteveB]

Yes, I think it is early enough in the competition. 

[onlyinajeep]

V1.1 using Classic99. 49,775

 

 

Edited November 21 by onlyinajeep

[+OLD CS1]

hrmmmm that brings up a point: are we only sticking to the 10 levels on the cartridge, or are we going into the disk levels?

[SteveB]

7 hours ago, onlyinajeep said:

V1.1 using Classic99. 49,775

Bummer ... at the end of level 10 there should have been a "You won!" instead of the "game over" or the crash ... and it did work for me in testing. According to the title scceen without a version number you played V 1.0. Which irritrates me even more, that the end didn't work.

 

But congratulations this great score!

[onlyinajeep]

Yeah, I was a little bummed there was no fanfare, even just a little congrats text, when I completed the game. v1.1 is what is shown on the title screen. I'm curious to see if tactically ignoring some critters, to save time, is going to gain points. 😀

[SteveB]

My fear is that there is a memory overflow with only 2kb left for variables and three bytes per "item" removed from a screen. We were considering moving this from strings in CPU RAM to unused VDP RAM, but this may add another 200-250 bytes of code.

 

Please let us know if the crashes are still happening when killing less critters.

 

[onlyinajeep]

V1.1, using real hardware, 51,650

 

 

[onlyinajeep]

70,975 
V1.1 using MAME

 

[+OLD CS1]

I am not going call that cheating, since it is part of the game mechanics, but I do think your scoring method defeats the spirit of a our high score competition.

[Cheung]

[Cheung]

[+OLD CS1]

31,550.

 

41,025 - note, you do not get your extra man for each 20,000 points until you complete a level.

[+OLD CS1]

Taking a last whack at it for a couple of weeks.  32,425 was my best for the night (not my highest,) and...

 

... my Epyx 500XJ broke!! 😢 I played a couple of rounds with some really worn out CX-40s, then played the last two rounds with a CX-78, without and with the thumbstick.

 

[globeron]

V1.3  level 8. 34,200 

On real TI-99/4A

[globeron]

3 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

Taking a last whack at it for a couple of weeks.  32,425 was my best for the night (not my highest,) and...

 

... my Epyx 500XJ broke!! 😢 I played a couple of rounds with some really worn out CX-40s, then played the last two rounds with a CX-78, without and with the thumbstick.

 

Maybe get the another one like Suzo The Arcade Joysticks are solid till today.

[SteveB]

9 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

... my Epyx 500XJ broke!!

An earth-shaking, joystick-breaking game it is !!!  🤣

[+OLD CS1]

4 minutes ago, SteveB said:

An earth-shaking, joystick-breaking game it is !!!  🤣

What made it funny is the micro-switches clicking reminds me that pushing a joystick harder does not translate into anything practical.  So I am always using far less pressure than I would on a "squishy" stick like a CX-40.  ::sigh:: Thankfully, I have spares.

[onlyinajeep]

This is my first participation with youse all so I don't know the personalities or nuances of the competition or even sub-forum here. Other HS communities which I've been active in have always been celebratory in new techniques in furthering the progression of a high score. Fellow competitors will make use of a discovery and build upon it, share it and have a warm fuzzy feeling if when other competitors adopt their tactics and kick their arses using it.

 

H.E.R.O. has always been one of my favorite games since getting it for my C64 back in the day. T.E.R.O. is a great port, I've really playing this one. I like how it not a straight port and has it's own character. I've probably have forty-ish hours of game time in the last couple weeks and have picked up a few tips and tricks.

Some hints, tips, tricks, tactics I used for T.E.R.O.

 

> I played on real hardware, Classic99 and MAME, all played well. Speedwise, though, MAME seemed slightly faster. That may be good or bad, but I prefered MAME.

 

> Flying and lasering does not use power. It appears the power meter is more of a timer. So this in mind...

    > Fire up you laser when leaving a chamber horizontally, unless you really know what is coming next. Several screens in later levels you may just run into a critter immediately upon entering a room.

    > Fly whenever you can, it is faster than walking. Keep your blades away from the ceiling, shaving the ceiling will slow you down.

 

> Rafts, never used them. The T.E.R.O. controls are quite good, easy to traverse water without issue.

 

> Set your bomb before going after critters. Some chambers you can save a small amount of time if you set the bomb and laser the critters whilst waiting for the fuse to set off the bomb. Marginal gains.

 

> Don't hug the right side of a wall when leaving a chamber, this is where the lanterns hangout. Some chambers this is unavoidable and level 5-7 you will want to stay right to avoid the lava wall below. 

 

> I kill every critter I can, safely. I *think* there may be some that may be better left alive in order to save time but have not investigated this yet.

 

> Don't squander bombs. Some levels you will not complete if you misplace a bomb, this is game over. Also some walls are optional, an unused bomb is worth 150 a blasted wall is only worth 50.

 

Level four. You can take out the wall, a bat and a spider for 150pts, but if you ignore them all you'll save 150pts by not using a bomb and save time.

 

    > Do not joystick down when landing or near an edge when you want to go down you can easily plant a bomb.
    > Level seven, you can run out of bombs if you misplace one early one. You will down to zero at points. But you can finish with two spare once this area has passed.
    > Level Nine, no room for error. You will use all bombs.

 

Techniques allowed by the game due to design and point rewarding mechanisms, I think, probably, are to which OldCS1 is referring.

 

> Bombs appear to be directional, the blast affect is only horizontal. After placing a bomb, you can just fly up, hover above the bomb and not be affected. This can save a little bit of time. 

 

> The game rewards you handsomely for finishing a level quickly via the power bonus, "Earn points 250 for every unit of power left when a miner is rescued." Should you exhaust your power supply, you will lose a life and should you have lives  remaining, a new TEROid will spawn with full power at the point where you died. So, a cunning player can lackadaisically matriculate through the level and on the final chamber wait until power runs out, reincarnate and rescue the miner with full power for a large bonus. Some levels are more advantageous to employ this tactic than others, see below. This tactic is not without peril, however, you need to lose a life to employ.  I'm not a fan of this mechanic, as I said in an earlier post, I would much prefer that upon running out of time, you lose a life and restart at the beginning of the level with items, walls, critters reset. But I understand if it cannot be implemented due to space or maybe it's how the authors wish it to be. I, meself, personally, don't see a problem taking advantage of this for a HS contest as it is how the game was devised, not a bug or glitch, not without risk and can be used by anyone.

 

Level | Time Units Remaining | Potential Pts
    1                    20                         0
    2                    17                         450
    3                    17                         450
    4                    12                         2000
    5                    14                         1500
    6                    16                         1000
    7                    13                         1750
    8                    16                         2000
    9                    18                         500
    10                  13                         1750

 

------

So, here is my "in the spirit of our high score contest" entry, performed minus using the last two tactics. Since there was no worries about saving lives for using for power bonuses or running out of lives using them for power bonuses, I could play a little loose and relaxed, silly deaths didn't bother me.

Do I take HS contest too seriously? Probably, especially when I really like the game, as here. Pushing the score really helps understand the game vs just playing the game. No worries, I'll play by whatever rules are in place, but I'm not the most perceptive fellow and may need help with any unwritten ones.

 

T.E.R.O. v1.1 via MAME: 66,350

 

[+mizapf]

12 minutes ago, onlyinajeep said:

> I played on real hardware, Classic99 and MAME, all played well. Speedwise, though, MAME seemed slightly faster. That may be good or bad, but I prefered MAME.

Is your real hardware European-style (50 Hz) or US (60 Hz), and do you use the corresponding emulations (ti99_4ae vs. ti99_4a)?

[onlyinajeep]

9 minutes ago, mizapf said:

Is your real hardware European-style (50 Hz) or US (60 Hz), and do you use the corresponding emulations (ti99_4ae vs. ti99_4a)?

My real HW is NTSC. For MAME I used TI99_4a and 60hz.

[SteveB]

Last Suday I played also on the real hardware, the very console I bought in 1983: Didn't finish level 10, 45050 points.

 

 

 

[+OLD CS1]

3 hours ago, onlyinajeep said:

Bombs appear to be directional, the blast affect is only horizontal. After placing a bomb, you can just fly up, hover above the bomb and not be affected. This can save a little bit of time.

I was not aware of this.  I will have to give that a try in a couple of weeks.

 

3 hours ago, onlyinajeep said:

So, a cunning player can lackadaisically matriculate through the level and on the final chamber wait until power runs out, reincarnate and rescue the miner with full power for a large bonus.

This was my objection.  Rather than clearing the level when reaching the trapped miner, the deliberate delay to cause a death by running out of power to complete the level with a full power bonus.  While part of the game mechanics, I think -- and I did use this word previously to leave myself open for being incorrect -- this goes against the spirit of both the game design and our high score competition.  While high score is the winning factor, we also tend to try to complete as much of the game as possible to achieve that score.  I generally do not report my level, just my score, but many others report both.

 

3 hours ago, onlyinajeep said:

Do I take HS contest too seriously? Probably, especially when I really like the game, as here. Pushing the score really helps understand the game vs just playing the game.

A fair perspective.  I have seen other high score competitions where scoring is absolutely all that matters, and the ability to maximize your score using the existing game mechanics is perfectly within bounds, notwithstanding my objections above.  I also recognize that, as clarity in brevity is a sign of a good communicator, not exploiting certain mechanics may also prove to be a worthwhile challenge.  (I will spare you the number of arguments and fights had at the Mortal Kombat cabinet over throwing!)

 

3 hours ago, onlyinajeep said:

No worries, I'll play by whatever rules are in place, but I'm not the most perceptive fellow and may need help with any unwritten ones.

This is just my objection.  Ultimately, my voice is just one of many, and I am not reserved in using it.  Nothing more.

[globeron]

@onlyinajeep  RE: This is my first participation.

 

                   >> Welcome to the competition, the more players the better!

 

Personally I am totally okay with your high score as it is part of the game tactics and how the software works in the end.

(I had the same in 2021 with the game Blackhole, managed to get into a position not getting hit and kept shooting)

Also I have been playing H.E.R.O. on the Commodore64 and MSX1 emulations this period, it is quite difficult

 

 

T.E.R.O.  (V1, V1.1, V1.2, V1.3) results:

70,975 Level 10  onlyinajeep
45,050 Level  7  Steve B
41,025 Level  9  OLD CS1
34,200 Level  8  Globeron
27,175 Level  4  Smoker Ace
25,850 Level  7  Cheung
14,050 Level  4  Mizapf

 

 

Now @onlyinajeep  it is your turn to chose the next game, it is okay to select a game for the second time:

 

* Here is the list (2015 - 2024) I maintain with all the games played until now: 

TI99ATARIAGECOM-HIGHSCORECOMPETITION-FINALGROM.docx

 

If you want to find a new game for the TI-99, see Column 3 in yellow:

2024-12-01-Retrobat-TII99-Games.xlsx

 

 

* 358+ TI-99 games  (all work in Retrobat, which is based on MAME using .rpk or .zip format)

* ftp.whtech has the files (under Batocera/Retrobat directory)

 

 

[onlyinajeep]

Is St. Nick the only Christmassy game for the TI?