TheCurlyBard Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) Round 1 - Feb 2024 - Mine Storm Status: This round of the Vectrex HSC is over. Please check the pinned topic for the current round. Final scores and ranking: Welcome! What better way to start the Vectrex High Score Club than with a game we all definitely have*: Mine Storm! Normally scores would have been achieved within the month for the club, but as it's the very first round, the competition for Mine Storm scores is live now and will last till end of February. So get posting those scores! * Well... it's not quite that simple, if you aren't aware there was a kill screen in the original release at level 13, this was later fixed and then the game could be played to level 89, see this article for more information. In this HSC we are welcome to use whichever version you have available, but in this case it may severely limit you. It shouldn't be an issue though, as emulators and flash carts are allowed, so if you feel you can make it past level 13 then it should be accessible. It won't normally appear in the ROM lists as it's part of the BIOS, so to play the UK version switch the emulator to the UK bios Manual/Tips: • http://vectrex.de/_static/2017/Mine_Storm_Manual.pdf • https://vectrex.fandom.com/wiki/Mine_Storm#Strategy_guide DrSnuggles Emulator: https://drsnuggles.github.io/jsvecx/? Settings: N/A Twin Galaxies High Scores: (any version of Mine Storm but capped at lv13): 1st: 299,975 playvectrex 2nd: 291,075 redelf Vectrex.co.uk High Scores: • Mine Storm (US): 993,181 DarrylB • Mine Storm (UK): 2,378,463 Jordi J. Gran • Mine Storm 2: 1,700,121 RetroVicio-JAL Edited April 1 by hcmffm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playvectrex Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Cool! Here's my first score for Mine Storm II - 358480. Played this on VEXTREME flash multicart with an original controller, with a mini ball top joystick knob. I have a 30 minute video of this as well if anybody needs to see it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playvectrex Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Level 62 - Mine Storm II - 952960, this time with the standard controller and standard joystick top. Played this on VEXTREME flash multicart. My hands are mush right now 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Great playing and great scores, Brett (@playvectrex). Again, you're the earlybird when it comes to Vectrex playing and competing. 😎 I'll try to find a bit time for playing Minestorm on the week-end - but my high scores won't be even a tenth of your last high score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 (edited) Level 5 - Minestorm II - 52550 Today I've played Minestorm for about three quarters of an hour. Step by step my results got better but still far away from really good results. I've played on original hardware using my non-buzz Vectrex console with MineStorm II (Rev C) built-in. Until now, I've reached MineField 5. Brett (@playvectrex) set the bar very high - my first scores are pretty much the opposite. Perhaps this encourages other players to post their scores, too. Taking part is everything. Edited January 28 by hcmffm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playvectrex Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I know it doesn't count for this thread, but since it was mentioned in the first post above, I thought I'd mention that I submitted a high score to the Twin Galaxies site for Mine Storm I, capped at level 13 (299,975) https://www.twingalaxies.com/game/minestorm/vectrex 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCurlyBard Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 12 hours ago, playvectrex said: I know it doesn't count for this thread, but since it was mentioned in the first post above, I thought I'd mention that I submitted a high score to the Twin Galaxies site for Mine Storm I, capped at level 13 (299,975) https://www.twingalaxies.com/game/minestorm/vectrex That's incredible dude! Well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCurlyBard Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Finally got past a mental block and doubled my previous personal best 73910, MB on the built in rom, standard controller 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCurlyBard Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Well my ability to edit the first post has expired, this is going to make things challenging. Anybody know who who I ask to get permissions to edit, or do I need to progress my rank or something first? Anyway, here's a running update so far. 1. 952960 - playvectrex, MS2, STD Controller, Vextreme 2. 73910 - TheCurlyBard, MB, STD Controller, bios 3. 52250 - hcmffm, MS2, STD Controller, bios This is a really tough game, I encourage people to watch playvectrex's video to learn how to control the field. You can sit still and blast everything on level 1, but you've got to learn how to move safely to get much further. I'm not there yet, not by a long way 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Level 6 - Minestorm II - 59195 I've played Minestorm a bit more and it's fun to see yourself getting better and better. O.k., my high score has improved just a trifle, but my average score during games is increasing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madwindoman Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 186433 - minestorm - og hardware & controller. This is one of those games I love and hate. I don’t really play for score. I’m just trying to survive 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) That's a high Minestorm score for a start, Madwindoman! ATM, I try to find some minutes to play almost every day. I just played four games of Minestorm and second one was a success (at least for me 😃) : 81.360 - Minestorm II - Original hardware & controller Edited February 2 by hcmffm 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCurlyBard Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Oh wow great scores guys, I guess I need to practice some more. I'm getting used to movement, the chasers+fireballs insist that I learn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Getting closer to 100.000 pts... 90.855 - Minestorm II - Original hardware & controller 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) Last night (Saturday) I played about 20 games but no new highscore. But this morning, in a short session the second game was a breakthrough 😁 : 148.795 - Minestorm II - Original hardware & controller Edited February 4 by hcmffm 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCurlyBard Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Nice going! I find this also, long play sessions with no improvement, and then a casual play next time and suddenly I'm on fire. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) 2 hours ago, TheCurlyBard said: Nice going! I find this also, long play sessions with no improvement, and then a casual play next time and suddenly I'm on fire. That's just the way humans learn: Training, Pause, and then improved results. 😉 For a longer time I found level 4 pretty tough and was stuck. And I had much respect for the fireball mines (Level 3 in MS II). But if you shoot at the fireball mines with high frequency (without rotating!) they shouldn't be much of a problem. My personal feeling is that that level 5 and even some levels above are simple(r) (or at lest not much harder but that's just my impression). BTW, is there something like a list of levels and mine combination (e.g. Level 1: Floating mines, only, Level 2: 1xMagnetic mine, Level 3: 1xFireball mine, Level 4: 1xMagnetic fireball mine, ...)? Edited February 4 by hcmffm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playvectrex Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 4 hours ago, hcmffm said: BTW, is there something like a list of levels and mine combination (e.g. Level 1: Floating mines, only, Level 2: 1xMagnetic mine, Level 3: 1xFireball mine, Level 4: 1xMagnetic fireball mine, ...)? John Hall himself has a nice website with just the table you seek: https://roadsidethoughts.com/vectrex/mine-storm.htm (there's also a bit of history of Mine Storm there) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madwindoman Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 383710. Minestorm. OG hardware and controller. Those invisible mines are tricky 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 5 hours ago, playvectrex said: John Hall himself has a nice website with just the table you seek: https://roadsidethoughts.com/vectrex/mine-storm.htm (there's also a bit of history of Mine Storm there) Thanks for the link, Brett. For some reason I don't know I can't see the webpages (Cloudflare blocks my request/IP). 2 hours ago, Madwindoman said: 383710. Minestorm. OG hardware and controller. Those invisible mines are tricky Wow, that's good playing, Madwindowman, especially considering you play the buggy Minestorm version. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madwindoman Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 It plays fine through level 13. After that the bugs set in 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playvectrex Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 1 hour ago, Madwindoman said: It plays fine through level 13. After that the bugs set in Sometimes it will reset after level 13, sometimes it will proceed to 15, 17, etc.. some odd, some even. Technically speaking, I think it's possible to get more points on Mine Storm I if you can beat a bunch of the invisible mine levels. I've reached level 32 with 1.4M points, vs. my score with MSII level 62 above is only 952k. If you'd like to see the point progression... you can watch my little clip video here, sorry didn't have a tripod setup at that time so I could only record the start of each level. I've never really tried for a high score with MSII before, so that's why I decided to give it a go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaoTtvaV4U0&ab_channel=PlayVectrex 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playvectrex Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 11 hours ago, hcmffm said: Thanks for the link, Brett. For some reason I don't know I can't see the webpages (Cloudflare blocks my request/IP). The Vectrex Game - Mine Storm - John Hall.pdf 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcmffm Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 (edited) 1 hour ago, playvectrex said: The Vectrex Game - Mine Storm - John Hall.pdf 835.02 kB · 0 downloads Thank you, Brett, for posting the contents of John's webpage with Minestorm info. Now that I see the scheme behind the initial mines it's easy to understand and and makes completely sense. Last-not-least it explains why there are duplicate levels (e.g. 2 and 5). I wonder what a score you would have if you reached level 256... Edited February 5 by hcmffm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Innit Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Ok, I thought I would take part here seeing as my Vectrex is sitting idol. 91300 built in ROM on an MB Vectrex using original controller. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.