rdrunner Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 3 hours ago, therealbountybob said: Not played it yet... LAST TIME WE PLAYED IT ON LEVEL 2 SO SHALL WE DO THAT AGAIN FOLKS? Round 11 POLL OPEN: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/369305-hsc21-round-11-poll/ I love Rear Guard (my pick!). What's interesting about the 5 skill levels is how the gameplay changes. The most obvious thing is the scoring. 10 points per hit times the skill level. However, raising the skill also introduces things that never happen otherwise, such as reduced shot size, toxic clouds or revenge bullets from downed enemies. On the highest levels, escaped enemies shoot from offscreen. I think my best score on skill 1 is higher than on 5. Been a long time though. 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5500644 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 COV (NOVICE): 55,760 COV (PILOT): 61,800 COV (WARRIOR): 47,670 COV (COMMANDER): 32,630 COV (BONUS): 16,070 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5501718 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Rear Guard (skill 1): 1670, 167 hit Rear Guard (skill 2): 1400, 70 hit Loved this game. Amazing sound 4 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5501740 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikor Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 CoM, Novice, 47810: 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5502034 Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 15 hours ago, AtariSphinx said: Loved this game. Amazing sound Indeed! I have never before heard the A8 make sounds like that, and I've been here now for about 10 years playing games all year around. Congratulations to the high score. Perhaps it wasn't played very much in the previous HSC round, but as I mentioned the old score seemed quite beatable (and two of us did now). 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5502064 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 5 hours ago, carlsson said: Indeed! I have never before heard the A8 make sounds like that, and I've been here now for about 10 years playing games all year around. Congratulations to the high score. Perhaps it wasn't played very much in the previous HSC round, but as I mentioned the old score seemed quite beatable (and two of us did now). Thanks great score too. The only other game that I know that has hints of this great sound is Defender in between waves. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5502189 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 COM II: 47,800 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5502224 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 On 7/14/2024 at 10:03 PM, rdrunner said: I love Rear Guard (my pick!). What's interesting about the 5 skill levels is how the gameplay changes. The most obvious thing is the scoring. 10 points per hit times the skill level. However, raising the skill also introduces things that never happen otherwise, such as reduced shot size, toxic clouds or revenge bullets from downed enemies. On the highest levels, escaped enemies shoot from offscreen. I think my best score on skill 1 is higher than on 5. Been a long time though. On 7/14/2024 at 6:53 PM, carlsson said: Oh, the joys of the A8 HSC with rules and terms changing in the middle of rounds... But yeah, perhaps difficulty level 2 is even more of a challenge. Great idea carlsson... shall we take a look at each of the 5 skill levels on Rear Guard Round Extended Until Weds 24th July 2pm UK time VOTES PLEASE: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/369305-hsc21-round-11-poll/ 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5502370 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikor Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 (edited) Small progress: CoM, Novice, 54340: CoM II 1st life 15450: Rear Guard Level 1 320: Edited July 18 by Sikor 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5502476 Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 There's a very annoying bug on the version of COM II I'm playing. The game sometimes crashes if finishing the level coincides with you running out of fuel 😡 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5503206 Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 On 7/18/2024 at 5:28 PM, therealbountybob said: shall we take a look at each of the 5 skill levels on Rear Guard Challenge accepted. Level 1: 670 pts, 67 hits, phase 2. (Repeated score from before) Once you kill the enemies, they're gone. Simple as that. It gradually speeds up though, so on second phase it starts getting difficult. Level 2: 940 pts, 45 hits, phase 1. Now the enemies leave debree that you should avoid or shoot, in order to not lose shields. Decent challenge. Level 3: 870 pts, 29 hits, phase 1. Same as level 2, but your shots are thinner so you have to aim better to hit the enemies. Level 4: 1480 pts, 35 hits, phase 1. Enemies that escape send back shots from off-screen, at the exact same position they escaped. Not too hard to avoid. Level 5: 1050 pts, 19 hits, phase 1. Instead of debree (like in levels 2-4), enemies now will fire from their rear once you hit them. If you are close to the enemy, that almost always cause shield loss. With some distance you will be able to steer away. Enemies which escaped still shoot back from off-screen. I think levels 2 and 5 are the most interesting ones, and the top level clearly is the hardest. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5503845 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Rear Guard (skill 3): 1140, 38 hit Rear Guard (skill 4): 1040, 24 hit Rear Guard (skill 5): 1150, 23 hit 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5504186 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 11 hours ago, carlsson said: I think levels 2 and 5 are the most interesting ones, and the top level clearly is the hardest. Agree. Never even thought to try the other skill levels as a kid. Definitely adds some extra challenge with the level 2 challenge of the debris probably the most challenging addition 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5504187 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Had a fun session on RearGuard - can dodge most explosions by moving upwards - can also shoot the explosion clouds (no points) like the speed up after the first batch are cleared 1 89/11 890 2 47/10 980 3 66/2 2,040 4 50/8 2,080 5 37/11 1,850 Shame COM scoring is not tuned better, you can limp through it to survive or play it aggressively for points but it doesn't account for score gained when you lose a man and replay sectors etc. Will figure some scoring out at the end of the round Reminder: Round Extended Until Weds 24th July 2pm UK time VOTES PLEASE: https://forums.atariage.com/topic/369305-hsc21-round-11-poll/ 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5504433 Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariSphinx Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 Rear Guard (skill 3): 1920, 64 hit Rear Guard (skill 4): 1640, 41 hit Rear Guard (skill 5): 1400, 28 hit 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5504751 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 4 hours ago, AtariSphinx said: Rear Guard (skill 3): 1920, 64 hit Rear Guard (skill 4): 1640, 41 hit Rear Guard (skill 5): 1400, 28 hit Really is quite playable... 1 1,670 (165) 2 1,420 (71) 3 2,190 (73) 4 [2,080 (50) didn't improve] 5 2,250 (43) COM got to the third cavern on Warrior 150,750 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5504798 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdrunner Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Caverns of Mars 1: --Novice: 106790 (complete game) --Pilot: 169400 (complete game) --Warrior: 271090 (complete game) --Commander: 313520 (complete game) --Bonus: 18670 Fun game, though I found it most curious that each "difficulty level" just adds a stage, without any other apparent changes. If you've beaten Novice, you already know 2/3 of Pilot, etc. Oh, and the diamonds in Sector 4 can take a long teleport off a short black hole. Edited July 24 by rdrunner 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505241 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdrunner Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Caverns of Mars 2: --Main Game: 227150 --Bonus: 18450 Can definitely tell that this game still needed time to "cook". It starts out too easy and then becomes nearly impossible due to unfavorable respawn points and fuel tanks that cannot be hit. It's still Scramble though, for what it's worth. Edited July 24 by rdrunner 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505243 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdrunner Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Ran out of time and haven't been able to play Rear Guard. Will probably play for fun sometime when that changes. Glad to see the game get some love! 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505244 Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Rear Guard Skill 1 - 950 (95) Skill 2 - 1280 (62) Skill 3 - 750 (25) Skill 4 - 840 (21) Skill - 1050 (19) 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505303 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaG Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 COM 34930 (novice) COM 26870 (pilot) COM II 25500 Had not much time to play this round (and lost the overview which versions/levels to play). 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505402 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 Working on the final tables now - time for any late scores if you are quick Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505410 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 11 hours ago, rdrunner said: Caverns of Mars 1: ... Oh, and the diamonds in Sector 4 can take a long teleport off a short black hole. Seconded Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505416 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 OK final tables (!) Should have read up on the games more from previous times before starting the round but it was still fun exploring them all again! Congratulations to ... Fiddled the scoring just enough to stop McKong and rdrunner from winning but they pick up a bonus point each for completing COM all 5 skill levels Probably loads of mistakes but hopefully nothing to major ?! Thank you all for playing, another fun round Rearguards to Caverns of Marses HSC Player Score Bonus Points Total 1st therealbountybob 69 12 12 2nd McKong 64 1 11 12 3rd rdrunner 51 1 10 11 4th AtariSphinx 41 9 9 5th carlsson 30 8 8 6th tompateus 30 8 8 7th graywest 22 6 6 8th oyamafamily 20 5 5 9th Zeptari 8 4 4 10th devwebcl 8 4 4 11th MichaG 7 2 2 12th Sikor 6 2 2 sorry about the fornatting but it'll do Cavern of Mars - Novice Player Score Pts 1st rdrunner 106,790 12 2nd therealbountybob 100,930 12 3rd graywest 97,920 10 4th tompateus 95,980 9 5th devwebcl 93,820 8 6th McKong 88,710 12 7th oyamafamily 76,250 6 8th AtariSphinx 55,760 5 9th Sikor 54,340 4 10th carlsson 43,700 3 11th Zeptari 40,300 2 12th MichaG 34,930 1 Cavern of Mars - Pilot Player Score Pts 1st rdrunner 169,400 9 2nd therealbountybob 153,650 9 3rd McKong 149,930 9 4th AtariSphinx 61,800 6 5th tompateus 59,370 5 6th graywest 59,190 4 7th carlsson 39,450 3 8th MichaG 26,870 2 9th Zeptari 23,060 1 Cavern of Mars - Warrior Player Score Pts 1st rdrunner 271,090 6 2nd McKong 239,010 6 3rd therealbountybob 54,910 4 4th AtariSphinx 47,670 3 5th carlsson 25,000 2 6th Zeptari 21,660 1 Cavern of Mars - Commander Player Score Pts 1st McKong 321,160 6 2nd rdrunner 313,520 6 3rd therealbountybob 101,990 4 4th AtariSphinx 32,630 3 5th carlsson 22,430 2 6th Zeptari 22,400 1 Cavern of Mars - Bonus Player Score Pts 1st rdrtunner 18670 1 2nd therealbountybob 18150 3rd tompateus 16300 4th AtariSphinx 16070 Rearguard 1 Player Score Pts 1st AtariSphinx 1670 7 2nd therealbountybob 1670 6 3rd McKong 950 5 4th tompateus 750 4 5th carlsson 670 3 6th Sikor 320 2 7th Zeptari 250 1 Rearguard 2 Player Score Pts 1st therealbountybob 1420 4 2nd AtariSphinx 1,400 3 3rd McKong 1280 2 4th carlsson 940 1 Rearguard 3 Player Score Pts 1st therealbountybob 2190 4 2nd AtariSphinx 1140 3 3rd carlsson 870 2 4th McKong 750 1 Rearguard 4 Player Score Pts 1st therealbountybob 2080 4 2nd carlsson 1480 3 3rd AtariSphinx 1040 2 4th McKong 840 1 Rearguard 5 Player Score Pts 1st therealbountybob 2250 4 2nd AtariSphinx 1,150 3 3rd McKong 1050 2 4th carlsson 1050 1 Cavern of Mars II Player Score Pts 1st McKong 300600 20 2nd therealbountybob 233500 18 3rd rdrunner 227150 16 4th oyamafamily 147750 14 5th tompateus 129650 12 6th carlsson 75250 10 7th graywest 51450 8 8th AtariSphinx 47800 6 9th MichaG 25500 4 10th Zeptari 21,350 2 Cavern of Mars II Bonus Player Score Pts 1st rdrunner 18450 1 2nd Sikor 15450 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/368865-hsc21-round-10-caverns-of-mars-i-ii-rearguard/page/2/#findComment-5505438 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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