Ze_ro Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Important Note: This weeks competition is over, and no further scores will be accepted. In ancient times, legend says, there was a bird of great beauty. About the size of an eagle, it had brilliant scarlet and gold feathers, a melodious song, and was the only one of its kind in the entire world. This fabulous creature lived in Arabia and had a life span of over five hundred years. At the end of its life, the phoenix built a nest of frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatic spices. After setting fire to the nest by rapidly beating its wings, the beautiful bird settled down to die amidst the flames. From the ashes of that fire miraculously arose a young, revitalized Phoenix. This new bird then took the remains of its parent to the temple of the sun at Heliopolis in Egypt, and sacrificed them on the high altar. The long life of the Phoenix and the dramatic rebirth from its own ashes has made this legendary bird a symbol of immortality and spiritual rebirth in many cultures. The Egyptians saw the myth as a symbol of the life cycle of the sun, which dies every day at sunset and is reborn every morning at dawn. Most others interpret the legend as a general symbol for the regeneration of life after death. However, something awful has happened to tarnish the long-standing image of the Phoenix. Due to the effects of radioactive fallout on its nest, the Phoenix has unfortunately mutated into a bird of prey. Now, several birds arise from the ashes, but these are not like the beautiful, friendly bird of old. These birds are mean. Their cries are shrill. They have developed a tough, metallic-like skin that makes them almost indestructible. And they have turned their backs on the human race to offer their services to alien beings determined to drain away earth's energy resources. Your mission: Eliminate these seemingly immortal war hawks, destroy the alien spaceship, and safeguard our planet from ravaging energy-thieves. Game Information Game Name: Phoenix Released By: Atari, 1982 Left Difficulty: B / Novice Right Difficulty: B / Novice Game Mode: Game 1 Chosen By: rheffera 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 Thursday, February 1st at 1:30 AM (CST). If you want to suggest a game for future weeks, please send me a private message and let me know! I will add your game to the list. One one game per person will be kept on the list, so you will not be able to suggest a game until your first game is played! Anyone can play! Just post a score and I'll add you to the list! Please read the Rules & Information if you haven't already done so! Current High Scores 237,670 (Recycled) [+11] 107,990 (SpiceWare) [+10] 102,400 (Rom Hunter) [+9] 88,250 (rheffera) [+8] 83,400 (Deteacher) [+7] 70,020 (Nathan Strum) [+6] 54,110 (Cybergoth) [+5] 25,810 (atari2600land) [+4] 18,300 (LarcenTyler) [+3] 15,020 (Goochman) [+2] 13,750 (fire!fire!) [+1] Best Tips Nathan Strum [+2] Bounties and Challenges None yet posted. TwinGalaxies Top 3 (Game 1, Difficulty B)1,516,900 (Todd Rogers) 251,180 (Giovanni Flamand) 171,900 (Robert Macauley) (Emulator) Current Standings Rom Hunter [400] SpiceWare [287] Deteacher [230] keilbaca [175] vdub_bobby [146] LarcenTyler [138] rheffera [103] the 5th ghost [87] BrianC [78] scogey [74] shawnb [71] JacobZu7zu7 [69] Goochman [66] Cybergoth [63] Malc74 [63] shadow460 [63] atari2600land [61] Christophero Sly [60] Nathan Strum [55] theKLT [37] SeaGtGruff [36] 128bytes [34] Recycled [28] Jred [26] Zoyx [26] doctorclu [22] phaxda [21] Lord Helmet [19] RJ [19] mojofltr [17] Captain Beard [16] Random Terrain [15] Lord Thag [15] johnnywc [13] rjchamp3 [11] ResOGlas [11] Thomas Jentzsch [11] Gabriel [8] Hiryu [7] Shroo-man [6] supercat [5] Biter [2] Omegamatrix [1] Dan Iacovelli [1] ewing92 [1] mightymage [1] Scoring Points in Phoenix Point values are identical for the first two waves of attack by the small Phoenix birds. You get 20 points for each small bird you hit while it is moving in a horizontal pattern; you get 80 points for each bird you shoot while it is actually swooping in at you. Point values are also identical for the last two waves of attack by the large Phoenix birds. You get between 100 and 500 points for each large Phoenix you eliminate, depending on its proximity to you when you destroy it. The closer the bird is, the more points you get. If you only wing one of the large birds, you get 20 points. The alien spaceship counts between 1,000 and 4,000 points in the first round - depending on its proximity to you when you vaporize the alien. In this case, the quicker you destroy the ship, the more points you'll score. If you survive long enough to confront the spaceship again, the highest score you can achieve increases by a thousand points in each round to a maximum of 9,000 points. Hints and Tips As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a typed copy and a scanned copy online for your viewing pleasure. Here are the hints it provides: * Overcome the temptation to fire away the first time the small birds appear. Instead, take a few moments to study their patterns. Observe what happens when you are positioned directly beneath the birds, and when you are not. Study the attack patterns of the lower birds. Learn how to move your laser cannon between the bombs without getting blown apart. * In all phases of the game except for the second wave of small birds, you must press the red fire button each time you want to squeeze off a shot. However, in the second wave of small birds, you'll get continuous firing if you hold the button down. * Don't waste lives trying to accumulate a lot of points in the early waves. Play it safe. Save your stamina for the large birds and for the spaceship, where the real big points are scored. * For the first two times you encounter the alien spaceship, you can chip away the blue layer of the spaceship without getting bombed if you fire close to the edges furthest from the cockpit. Starting with the third encounter with the spaceship, however, bombs will fall from those edges and the alien's shots will be faster-paced and more accurate - just to make things more challenging for advanced players! At all times, you need two shots at the same point to create a hole in the blue layer. * Use your force field sparingly and as a strategic device in emergency situations. If a bird brushes up against your force field, it will be disintegrated; but if a bird crashes into your unprotected laser cannon, you're both "dead ducks." The moral: Keep a watchful eye for low flying birds! Enter into the mothership wave while firing. You should be able to get off about 4 or 5 shots before you have to dodge incoming fire. Move over a little to dodge the shots, then back again to finish off clearing out a column all the way up to the blue shield. Then, move all the way to the edge of the mothership and chip away at the the blue shield from there. There's very little of the orange part of the ship to shoot through, plus you only have to move one way to dodge any shots that come down at you (once you're out from underneath the ship, it can't hit you anymore). After you shoot some good-sized holes in the blue shield, move back over to the column you cleared out, activate your shields, and blow the alien away! Say... it really does pay to read the manual! I didn't know you could use your shields more than once per round. You can re-use them every 3 1/2 seconds. So, if you miss the alien with your first attempt, move off to the side until your shields recharge, and go after him again. Remember - you can't move with your shields up, so get ready to move as soon as they turn off, or you can get nailed by bird poo... I mean, enemy shots. Only shoot at birds that are flying towards you. When they drop bombs, they'll be falling behind them, away from you. If you chase after birds to shoot them, you'll be running right into their shots. With the big birds - watch the bombs, not the birds. If you focus on the birds, you won't be able to dodge the shots. Learn to hit the birds with your peripheral vision, and concentrate on where their shots are falling instead. Your shield recharges automatically when you advance to the next round. Wait until the last bird is dive bombing you. Activate the shield and let him crash into you. Not only will you have a newly recharged shield going into the next round, but you get the maximum # of points for the bird crashing into you (500 pts, I think.) The second time through the boards, they start dive bombing you with as many as 4 birds. Use your shields to kill each one. With a little patience, that's an extra 2,000 points! A little variation on Nathan's mothership strategy. Start firing as soon as the level starts. As soon as the mothership starts firing on you, activate your shield. That will allow you to get a few shots in the blue zone. As soon as you can move again, go over to the the far right or far left. If you time it well, the partially damaged blue zone will be lined up with you and you can make a nice sized hole in the blue zone. Then swing back over to the middle hole. Activate your shield again and KABLAMMO! I don't know of a faster way to destroy the mothership, but this way is pretty fast. I'll have to really watch my score to see if I get the max amount this way. I'll let you know! --Ze_ro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 47,580 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rheffera Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Webcam broke . getting a proper camera tommorow 67,280 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 7710 - no time to play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 15020 - I forgot about the 'shield' until after I lost my final life! a little more respectable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 (edited) Tip time! (hey... two points is two points... ) Enter into the mothership wave while firing. You should be able to get off about 4 or 5 shots before you have to dodge incoming fire. Move over a little to dodge the shots, then back again to finish off clearing out a column all the way up to the blue shield. Then, move all the way to the edge of the mothership and chip away at the the blue shield from there. There's very little of the orange part of the ship to shoot through, plus you only have to move one way to dodge any shots that come down at you (once you're out from underneath the ship, it can't hit you anymore). After you shoot some good-sized holes in the blue shield, move back over to the column you cleared out, activate your shields, and blow the alien away! Edit: Say... it really does pay to read the manual! I didn't know you could use your shields more than once per round. You can re-use them every 3 1/2 seconds. So, if you miss the alien with your first attempt, move off to the side until your shields recharge, and go after him again. Remember - you can't move with your shields up, so get ready to move as soon as they turn off, or you can get nailed by bird poo... I mean, enemy shots. I was going to type up some more tips (like holding down the fire button in the second small bird wave, taking out dive-bombing large birds with your shields, and such) but then found out they were already in the first post. Guess I need to read more. Edited January 27, 2007 by Nathan Strum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 (edited) I'll post a score today for sure, but for now, here are my tips: Your shield recharges automatically when you advance to the next round. Wait until the last bird is dive bombing you. Activate the shield and let him crash into you. Not only will you have a newly recharged shield going into the next round, but you get the maximum # of points for the bird crashing into you (500 pts, I think.) The second time through the boards, they start dive bombing you with as many as 4 birds. Use your shields to kill each one. With a little patience, that's an extra 2,000 points! A little variation on Nathan's mothership strategy. Start firing as soon as the level starts. As soon as the mothership starts firing on you, activate your shield. That will allow you to get a few shots in the blue zone. As soon as you can move again, go over to the the far right or far left. If you time it well, the partially damaged blue zone will be lined up with you and you can make a nice sized hole in the blue zone. Then swing back over to the middle hole. Activate your shield again and KABLAMMO! I don't know of a faster way to destroy the mothership, but this way is pretty fast. I'll have to really watch my score to see if I get the max amount this way. I'll let you know! EDIT: First score: 42,500. Edited January 27, 2007 by Deteacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Finally! A decent score. For some reason, I can play this one better on real hardware (of course, having the cart helps, too). 70020 More tips: Only shoot at birds that are flying towards you. When they drop bombs, they'll be falling behind them, away from you. If you chase after birds to shoot them, you'll be running right into their shots. With the big birds - watch the bombs, not the birds. If you focus on the birds, you won't be able to dodge the shots. Learn to hit the birds with your peripheral vision, and concentrate on where their shots are falling instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 62,130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 (edited) 62,130. Edited January 28, 2007 by Deteacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 72670 Demon Attack is STILL better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fire!fire! Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 8740 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariK2 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Is this game in any of the retro collections (i.e. Atari Anthology) for modern systems (PS2, XBox), etc.? Haven't seen it listed there or on the Flashback consoles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 (edited) Is this game in any of the retro collections (i.e. Atari Anthology) for modern systems (PS2, XBox), etc.? Haven't seen it listed there or on the Flashback consoles. I might be wrong, but I thought we are only supposed to use the actual hardware or an emulator. Because of that, I never use my ps2 Activision comp for the HSC. Correct me if I'm wrong. Edited January 28, 2007 by Recycled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariK2 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Is this game in any of the retro collections (i.e. Atari Anthology) for modern systems (PS2, XBox), etc.? Haven't seen it listed there or on the Flashback consoles. I might be wrong, but I thought we are only supposed to use the actual hardware or an emulator. Because of that, I never use my ps2 Activision comp for the HSC. Correct me if I'm wrong. You are correct - just found this in the Rules: Q: Can the games be played on emulators, or only on actual hardware? A: While I would encourage that you play it on actual hardware, emulator play will be allowed. However, please don't cheat by using slow motion, save states, or any other special features of the emulator that aren't available on the actual hardware. Also, please stay away from "questionable" emulation, such as the 10-in-1 joysticks with Atari games, the Atari Flashback, or the Intellivision collection CD's and similar commercial products. -Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fire!fire! Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 12,770 Getting better but I am a long way behind everyone else!!! This game is really hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 12,770 Getting better but I am a long way behind everyone else!!! This game is really hard! That's cuz girlz can't play videogames!! JUST KIDDING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fire!fire! Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 12,770 Getting better but I am a long way behind everyone else!!! This game is really hard! That's cuz girlz can't play videogames!! JUST KIDDING OUCH! 13,750! At this rate if I play 72 hours straight.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 61,710 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 As they used to say back in the days of Atari The kid is hot tonight!! 237,670 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Yoinks! Even back-in-the-day, my best was only half of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rheffera Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 88,250. Good job @ above score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Reached 100K That's enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+atari2600land Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 (edited) 25,810. Reaching 25K is a huge accomplishment (for me, anyway.) Edited January 30, 2007 by atari2600land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 107,990 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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