HSC13 Round 5: Drelbs

[+orpheuswaking]

34380, no idea what level I was on.. I'll take pictures when I play next.

[+therealbountybob]

Collapse - totally unplayable for me this day ;P

 

It's 1pt for playing so you have 1pt! Looks like a good idea rushed out

Bleeding Drelbs, Drelbs and more Drelbs but I can't control my guy enough to beat Novice!

 

Anyone who hasn't figured out Drelbs checkout this video; always interesting watching someone else play. He is way too reckless, especially at the end of level 3 when clearing the Drelbs. He misses opportunities to box in the trolls after collecting the heats, which makes things a lot easier. You should all now be able to beat level 1

 

 

34380, no idea what level I was on.. I'll take pictures when I play next.

If you had two trolls chasing you I'll put you down for level 2

Space is pause - other key to resume.

 

Round 5 Poll OPEN

[spookt]

First attempt Level 1 - 7,880

[+therealbountybob]

Latest Tables

Drelbs(playing for highest level reached - tell me!)

TOUGH

play if you complete Novice!

 

NOVICE

Completed

1st Dope (n) 112,640 13pts#

Level 8

---

Level 7 (purple & red)

2nd therealbountybob (p) 61,800 11pts

Level 6 (green II)

---

Level 5 (brown & grey)

---

Level 4 (brown)

3rd McKong (p) 34,010 10pts

Level 3 (green)

4th orpheuswaking (n) 34,380 9pts

Level 2 (purple/red on NTSC? - has 2 heads chasing you)

---
Level 1 (blue tiles)

5th roadrunner (n) 21,830 8pts

6th sikor (p) 8,040 7pts

7th spookt (p) 7,880 6pts

8th slx (p) 5,360 5pts

9th jblenkle (n) 4,050 4pts

#includes new HSC record bonus point

 

Bonus game Collapse - 1pt for playing only
1st therealbountybob (p) 41,440 ret.
2nd Dope (n) 11,379

3rd Sikor (p) 7,709

 

Anyone who hasn't figured out Drelbs checkout this video; always interesting watching someone else play. He is way too reckless, especially at the end of level 3 when clearing the Drelbs. He misses opportunities to box in the trolls after collecting the heats, which makes things a lot easier. You should all now be able to beat level 1
...

Round 5 Poll OPEN

[Dope]

Drelbs - Tough: 32790 (level 4)

[spookt]

13,780 round 2

[Sikor]

Hmm, level 2? I think...

[spookt]

Collapse 5125 - Interesting game. I remember it from back in the day.

[roadrunner]

Not doing any better at Drelbs
8,000 for Collapse not even sure what i'm doing in this game

[ballyalley]

I'm not gonna be playing "Collapse." The controls are really awkward. Anytime the manual tells you that the controls are quite hard to get use to, then they probably should have rethought them a bit. After a few games, I finally figured-out how to clear the screen without frustration (and that's after reading the manual), but this game holds no fun for me. I'm glad it's a play-it-and-get-a-point game.

 

Collapse - 2,913 (PAL emulation, 130XE)

 

 

You know, despite that this game held no fun for me, I'm glad it was picked. Without giving unknown games a chance, then you'll never know how good they are.

 

 

[ballyalley]

I decided not to post a score for "Drelbs" until I reached the second level. I finally managed a game where I did that:

 

Drelbs - 17,730 (Round 2) (Real Hardware, NTSC 130XE)

 

Clearing the "Drelbs" isn't easy-- and then once you reach the second screen you've got everything moving faster plus there are two baddies chasing you! I'll put some more time into this game, as I like it, but I have a feeling that this may be one of those games that I'm just not any good at despite that I like it.

 

Adam

[ballyalley]

Drelbs has a rather fun, if a bit weird, backstory. Here is the complete manual for the game:

 

Drelbs

Once upon a time there was a kingdom that was very small. It was so small in fact that no one larger than a flea ever gave it much thought.

In this tiniest of places there lived a race of peaceful hippety, hoppity creatures called DRELBS.

One day a shadow fell over this happy land. It was invaded by trollaboars, evil looking gnomes of squarish stature who, because they also were not very large, coveted this miniature land for their own. They came with screwhead tanks to destroy the drelbs. and hunted drelbs just for fun.

Although the drelbs were tiny they weren't short on smarts. They led the trollaboars to the atomic flip grid in the center of the city and there decided to make their stand.

Your task, if you've the courage of a friendly drelb, is to defeat the trollaboars on the atomic flip grid. You must be fast and cunning to avoid the hunters and save the drelbs from extinction. And above all you must have heart! Happy blinking, drelb lover!


Introduction

In the many ages since the beginning of all things, in the time of sorcerers and unicorns, magic rules all kingdoms. Drelbs happily came and went as they pleased and hardly a cloud passed through their unhurried lives.

Then the trollaboars came. They brought with them evil schemes and sought to enslave all men and Drelbs, and to rule the worlds of love and light.

One by one they caught the hapless Drelbs and trapped them in worlds where the light never came. It is into these dark places that you, as the last of the Drelbs, must venture in order to save your comrades and restore love to its rightful place.


How to Play

You first appear on the atomic flip grid in the center of the Drelbish kingdom. You will notice that as you hop around the grid your movement causes gates to shift position 90 degrees.

Your object is to close off as many of the squares as possible by flipping shut gates of 3/4 completed squares (this may sound far more complicated than it really is). When a 3/4 sealed box is closed by a gate flip, it will turn into a pulsing square. In each round you must secure all of the squares possible on the grid.

The Trollaboars also can flip gates, however they cannot complete squares of their own (the Trollaboars are not builders - they are mean and nasty destroyers).

You can also trap the evil Trollaboars inside of the squares that you complete. This immobilizes them only for a short time, whereupon they break free and escape. When you have completed all squares possible on the grid, the squares will begin to fill up with grogolytes and drelbish windows (see below). Wait patiently and jump through the drelbish window into the dark corridor.

There are eight rounds to complete the game. They are as follows: Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Topaz, Peridot, Agate, Amethyst.


Drelbish Windows to the Dark Corridor

When this window opens you must hurry as quickly as your drelbish legs can hop you there, and leap through the window into the land of the Gorgolytes, cousins of the Trollaboars, and slavemasters to the Drelbs.

Then quickly, ever so quickly, you can free every Drelb that you touch. But go carefully into that dark place for the Gorgolytes will perceive your presence and hunt you relentlessly until you are tossed back onto the grid.

If, however, you are successful in freeing all of the enslaved Drelbs then you will be transported to the bonus screen, and there your bonus points will be entered towards the goal of freeing all Drelbs from their awful fate.


Hearts

After a certain time, hearts will appear along the corridors of the flip grid. You must pursue these for they are magical indeed.

When you run over a heart it will freeze the Trollaboars for five seconds during which you can hop quickly and trap them in a square.


Bonus Screen

You will enter the bonus screen either by kissing the lady that appears in the Gargolyte boxes or by completing a round of the dark corridor. You will be awarded a bonus equivalent of 250 times the number of completed squares on the atomic flip grid. Then, automatically, you will be transported back to the flip grid to begin the next round.


The Gorgolytes

The Gorgolytes will try to pop into the flip grid. You will see their ugly faces haunting you. Don't let them intimidate you. While they are deadly in the dark corridor they cannot harm you on the grid. However, they will destroy the boxes in which they appear, and be a general nuisance.


The Mystery Lady

Whenever this beautiful face appears in one of the Gargolyte squares, hop quickly to the square and steal a kiss from this fair damsel for she is sad and confused in a Gorgolyte prison. If you are successful in stealing a kiss, you will jump to the bonus screen. After all the enslaved drelbs are freed, you will discover the secret of the mystery lady!

Diamonds

Occasionally, a magical diamond will appear somewhere on the flip grid. Hurry, hop quickly to the diamond, (for it will quickly disappear) and pass over it. This will open a drelbish window into the dark corridor.

The Screwhead Tanks

The screwhead tanks control the perimeter of the atomic flip grid. They fire dreadful bullets that ricochet off the gates of the grid. Be careful to avoid both the tanks and their bullets, otherwise it's goodbye Drelb.

Trollaboars

These ugly square heads hunt Drelbs just for fun. Stay far away from them if you know what is good for you.

Lives

You have five (5) drelbish lives to complete your mission.

The Options

The [sTART] button begins the game. To restart, press [R].

The [OPTION] button will put you into the option select mode. You can then press the [sELECT] button to choose either NOVICE, TOUGH, or SUPER drelb level of difficulty.

The [sELECT] button allows you to start from a greater difficulty level.

The [sPACE BAR] pauses the game. Moving the joystick restarts play.

There really isn't any more to say, only drelbish valor can save the day.

All Drelbs, everywhere, are counting on you.

[McKong]

The instructions to the old games are great! Along with the art work for the front covers of course. Although sadly as kids I don't remember reading the backstories to many of the games and the first thing we looked at when we picked them up in the shops was the screenshots on the back, and if the graphics looked crap then we didn't buy them.

 

I still remember my Dad reading the instructions for Pac-Man to us at Christmas, when we got our Atari 800. Just the fact that the ghosts had names was enough to amuse us, the fact that they behaved differently was amazing to us at the time!

Edited March 24, 2016 by McKong

[ballyalley]

If you or BallyAlley want to checkout Protector / Protector II and report back - they look like a Choplifter type game but I could not figure out where to take the guys and nothing seemed to happen

 

I played both "Protector" and "Protector II" on my Atari 130XE using my Atarimax 8Mb flashcart I thought that "Protector II" was a sequel to "Protector," but after playing both games this morning, I can see that the "Protector II" is really a remake, or a refinement, of the original "Protector." If you have both games available to play, then I'd say that there is no reason to visit the first game.

 

Both "Protector" games seem kind of like a cross between "Defender" and (as TRBB suggest) "Choplifter." While you can fire in the game, there isn't much to shoot. For instance, the main baddie (a saucer) steels your people from a city and drops them into a volcano. Who's idea was that?!? In the first game you can't even shoot this saucer, although in the second game it can be shot, but it only stuns it (freezes it) for a short while. In "Protector" you're mostly just shuffling people from the first city to the second city, which is on the other side of the volcano. Once that second city has all the remaining people (you'll lose a few of them to an enemy saucer), then you move the people to the end of the level. I've only managed to rescue one person of the eighteen I started with. Now that I've got the hang of it, I could certainly rescue more of them.

 

"Protector II" isn't part of this round's HSC, but since I played it for awhile, I figured that I should post my first proper score. That is a score earned after finally getting at least one guy to the end of the level.

 

Protector II - 14,800 (NTSC, Real Hardware)

 

 

While looking for information on "Protector," I see that ANTIC interview podcast #147 is with Mike Potter, the programmer of both versions of "Protector." This was posted just a few days ago (March 18, 2016). I listen to these interviews in the order they are posted, and I'm only up into the mid-80s now. So, it will be quite awhile before I make it to this interview:

 

http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-147-mike-potter-protector-ii-shadow-world-nautilus-chicken

 

I think that TRBB wanted me to look this game over for possible inclusion in a future round of the HSC. If so, then I do recommend "Protector II," as it has a lot of potential as a HSC game. I would not recommend the first "Protector," as it has quite a few drawbacks which I found annoying. In fact, the first game feels almost like a prototype version of the second game.

[+therealbountybob]

So I had a few goes and then waltzed through to the 2nd green screen with 10 men left (around 35k) then I was out by 47K losing them all on that screen I totally lost it and was not even able to steer properly

The instructions to the old games are great! Along with the art work for the front covers of course. Although sadly as kids I don't remember reading the backstories to many of the games and the first thing we looked at when we picked them up in the shops was the screenshots on the back, and if the graphics looked crap then we didn't buy them.

 

I still remember my Dad reading the instructions for Pac-Man to us at Christmas, when we got our Atari 800. Just the fact that the ghosts had names was enough to amuse us, the fact that they behaved differently was amazing to us at the time!

This is so true - the game write up is a masterpiece and the Synapse atwork is so good:

 

...

I think that TRBB wanted me to look this game over for possible inclusion in a future round of the HSC. If so, then I do recommend "Protector II," as it has a lot of potential as a HSC game. I would not recommend the first "Protector," as it has quite a few drawbacks which I found annoying. In fact, the first game feels almost like a prototype version of the second game.

Yes!

I thought I took them all across but nothing happened? Does the door thing then open? In Protector you seemed to be able to fly right round to the beginning? There must be a video of this somewhere?

The pod cast(s) are all fascinating - try one guys

 

What about other homework:

McKong - Gravity no saves - did it work?

Dope - Ramp Rage did you play it yet?

 

Drelbs Level 1 Hint: If people are getting to the 2nd screen of level 1, where you have to clear the Drelbs, try getting to the middle lower screen as soon as it starts, then stay away from them and do as much of the lower ones as you can, going to the top corners if you need to. I usually leave bottom right to last, then lure them up to the top left (wait and go right past up shots, then wait and go down past the right shots) - you might have to lure them more than once but it gets quicker. Look at their firing pattern.

Reminder this round and the POLL close Sunday 10PM UK time

[ballyalley]

the Synapse atwork is so good:

I agree; I love their art. I have a poster of Synapse art that someone made in the AtariAge forums. It's great! Only a thumbnail picture of the "Drelbs" box was attached. That doesn't due the artwork any justice. Here is better picture (from AtariMania):

 

 

I thought I took [all the guys from the first city in "Protector"] all across [the volcano] but nothing happened? Does the door thing then open? In Protector you seemed to be able to fly right round to the beginning? There must be a video of this somewhere?

 

I can only speak for "Protector II," but when you move the last guy from the first city to the second city ("New Hope"), then the volcano erupts, which spreads lava underground. I saw this happen in "Protector II," and I think it's supposed to happen in the first game too. The lava starts to make it's way from the volcano toward "New Hope," which will destroy the city (and the people on the buildings). You must now move the guys to the end of the level. I never managed to make it past the first level... but that's because I only devoted a little bit of time to the game.

 

[spookt]

Drelbs 11,300 round 2 12,660 round 2

Edited March 25, 2016 by spookt

[+therealbountybob]

Turns out there are EIGHT levels - instructions say 8 but only 7 jewel colours listed?

 

So I was disappointed after 1 drelbzillion goes (really) to not reach the end but reaching level 8 (also purple) was a serious achievement

82,710 wibble

 

Reminder this round and the POLL close Sunday 10PM UK time

[jdh]

9160 - not sure what level I got to and didn't get a screen cap in time.

Quite simply just an insane game

[Gury]

My score: 22240

 

But I forgot which level I was in...

 

 

Edited March 27, 2016 by Gury

[+therealbountybob]

9160 - not sure what level I got to and didn't get a screen cap in time.

Quite simply just an insane game

 

My score: 22240

 

But I forgot which level I was in...

EVERYONE - If you can remember if you had two troll heads chasing you around then I know you reached level 2! If you remember the colour of the tiles blue/purple/green tell me. If you had a full screen of Drelbs to clear I know you reached level 4

 

DOPE (& anyone with both setups) if you can try Drelbs on PAL and tell me what you notice!

[McKong]

Collapse retired at 10900 didn't really know what I was doing!

[+therealbountybob]

THIS ROUND AND THE POLL EXTENDED UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING 10AM UK time

[jdh]

13060 - Level 2 (almost squeezed through to level 3)

 

Edited March 28, 2016 by jdh

[bluecat]

2400