HSC Season 5 Week 27: Squish 'Em

[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This week's competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

It seems ridiculous - and too good to be true. Are there really suitcases full of money at the top of those unfinished buildings downtown? The ones still under construction? And those suitcases, they're just there for the taking? You would never have believed it except that the guy who told you about it, a regular union guy like you, just bought a brand new Corvette. You know that two weeks ago he didn't have that kind of money, so you guess he's telling the truth. When you asked him how come he didn't get the rest of the suitcases, he got an odd look on his face and wouldn't say another word. Strange...

 

Note: This is a homebrew game, available from the AtariAge Store. Please buy a copy and support the Atari 2600 homebrew scene!

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Squish 'Em
• Released By: Bob Montgomery, 2007 (2600 port) - Sirius, 1983 (Original)
• Left Difficulty: N/A
• Right Difficulty: N/A
• Game Mode: Game 1
• Chosen By: Kurt_Woloch

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, Mar 20th at 1:00 AM (CST).

 

Current High Scores 86,050 (toymailman) [+11] 63,340 (aftermac) [+10] 57,080 (atariwarrior) [+9] 46,170 (Captain Beard) [+8] 40,410 (Nathan Strum) [+7] 34,170 (SpiceWare) [+6] 33,150 (Deteacher) [+5] 31,790 (Kurt_Woloch) [+4] 30,190 (phaxda) [+3] 25,270 (Impaler_26) [+2] 21,980 (Gemini) [+1] 17,680 (Bentley Bear!) [+1] 17,480 (theking21083) [+1] 9540 (rheffera) [+1] 7060 (jboypacman) [+1] 4140 (LarcenTyler) [+1] Best Tips Nathan Strum [+2] Challenges None TwinGalaxies Top 3 Not Listed. Game 1, Difficulty B)

Current Standings Deteacher [257] toymailman [237] keilbaca [164] Captain Beard [116] theking21083 [108] homerwannabee [90] Impaler_26 [89] PressureCooker2600 [86] Kurt_Woloch [85] aftermac [76] Nathan Strum [75] rheffera [57] SpiceWare [51] Gemini [50] Recycled [44] Mister VCS [44] Bentley Bear! [41] phaxda [40] DarthCalvin [36] Blackjack [35] LarcenTyler [35] Christophero Sly [35] midnight magicman [26] shadow460 [25] Rom Hunter [23] ed1475 [19] Butterwasp [18] the 5th ghost [17] theKLT [12] doctorclu [11] lucifershalo [11] godzillajoe [11] Artlover [9] Dauber [9] keitaro [7] Goochman [6] atari2600land [6] Omegamatrix [6] vintagegamecrazy [5] chuckwalla [5] Nognir [5] MrBeefy [5] cosmosiss [3] Shannon [3] Crazy Climber [3] SeaGtGruff [3] lonewolfette9847 [2] gospeedde [2] Phantom [2] Snider-man [2] EricDeLee [1] RJ [1] [d2f]Iggy*SJB [1] HatNJ [1] KaeruYojimbo [1]

 

Scoring Points in Squish 'Em

• Climb one floor - 10 points
• Squishing a creature while not moving - 100 points
• Jumping over a creature - 200 points
• Squishing a creature while moving - 300 points
• Picking up a suitcase - 1000 points

 

Hints and Tips

• Bricks fall at regular intervals and you can hear them just before you can see them. Know when they are coming and be ready to dodge.
• If you need a breather, you can safely rest on the same floor as the suitcase - no bricks will fall when you are that high up on the building.

• The game is "Squish 'Em". Not "Climb Past 'Em". So - squish 'em to earn points - don't just climb.
• You can only squish a creature once. After that, it will revive and turn white, and be fatal to the touch.
• Some creatures (notably - the first two in the game) have to be squished in their middles. There outlying legs are too short to actually be "squished" and if you touch them, you'll die.
• Between groups of creatures are bonuses you can pick up for extra lives (they don't move, in case you're wondering which ones they are).
• When a suitcase (at the top of a building) is in view, bricks won't fall. So you can use that as a place to take a break.
• The sound of the falling brick will precede it actually appearing on screen. So listen, and get ready to move.
• A brick will always fall right above where you are. So get the timing of the bricks down, and when one is about to fall, simply move over out of its way.
• If you hit the fire button when you're moving left or right, and do so at a girder junction, you will always come down on the next girder junction. You can use this to time your jumps so that you can easily kill creatures - just make sure they'll be over a junction when you come down. This gives you visual and timing references for your squishing. You can get through the first two creatures quite easily this way. Incidentally, this strategy tends to work a lot better when they're heading towards you.

The Manual
As always, you really should read the manual. Unfortunately, I'm not currently aware of any online copies of the manual, but here are the hints it provides anyways:
Nathan Strum
Tips:
Deteacher
Here's an important tip: Pushing up in the middle of a jump CANCELS the jump, so if you're trying to squish a monster, don't push up too early, or the jump will be cancelled and you'll die. I've lost more than a few lives by making this mistake. Make sure the critter is squished before you push up to continue your climb.
Captain Beard
Make a bee-line for the free guy object as soon as it comes onscreen as it will disappear if you die before reaching it.
aftermac
When you squish-hop a critter make sure there is a way to climb up to the next level on the other side. This way you can avoid hopping the enemy when it's invincible. The faster moving ones that track you are difficult, if not impossible to hop.
Kurt_Woloch
The timing of the bricks runs roughly as follows: if a brick disappears from the screen, or you start a new life, about 8 time units pass before a new brick appears. In one time unit: - you can hear the enemies go "Wee dew" once - you can hear yourself go "Tic Toc Tic Toc" - you can get from one point to the next (up or sideways) At that time, it's better to move horizontally than to climb upwards, because then the brick will surely miss you. Before you go up a level, especially if the enemy above you is a fast-moving one, always make sure it's at least 2 units to the left or right of you. If it's right above you and doesn't seem to want to go away, it's probably better for you to climb to the other side of the screen (squishing the monster on your level) and go up there.

 

--Zero

[+Nathan Strum]

Just FYI - there's a scoring exploit in the game (which is also in the original 8-bit version) where you can endlessly hop back and forth over a creature to rack up points. So that probably shouldn't be used here.

Edited March 13, 2008 by Nathan Strum

[Deteacher]

When I was deciding what game to buy the other week, I couldn't decide between Squish'em and Toyshop Trouble. I went with TT, but I'll be sure to pick up Squish'em next time. I'll use the ROM on my Kroko this week, though.

[vdub_bobby]

Hmmmm. I haven't played in a 2600 HSC game for a while, but I might have to participate this time.

 

My best (so far) is 50,000+, I'm curious to know what others will score.

[Kurt_Woloch]

OK, finally the game I selected is coming up... :-)

 

Here's my first attempt for this week... 11360.

 

[aftermac]

10,670

 

I'm starting to get the hang of it, which is good because I'm sure my score will be squished shortly.

 

BTW: Nice game vdub! Might have to add another game to the list of homebrews I want to buy when I get some disposable cash.

 

Edited March 13, 2008 by aftermac

[phaxda]

This game is hard. I can't get used to handing from the beams instead of walking on them; it's like everything is reversed. Definitely in my next AA store order, though. So happy to get over 20k!

 

 

 

 

 

10,670

 

I'm starting to get the hang of it, which is good because I'm sure my score will be squished shortly.

 

BTW: Nice game vdub! Might have to add another game to the list of homebrews I want to buy when I get some disposable cash.

 

[+SpiceWare]

Don't know what I'm doing, but I got 11,330 points doing it

[jboypacman]

Ok i have never posted a score on the 2600 HSC but here is my first score for it and its sad really........7060.

 

Am hoping to get a better hang of this great game so i can post a better score soon so wish me luck gang.

[aftermac]

23,420

 

Well, I met my goal for the night. I've been close to breaking 20,000 for a couple hours now, and finally did it.

 

[+Nathan Strum]

Don't know what I'm doing, but I got 11,330 points doing it

 

Tips:

• The game is "Squish 'Em". Not "Climb Past 'Em". So - squish 'em to earn points - don't just climb.
  
• You can only squish a creature once. After that, it will revive and turn white, and be fatal to the touch.
  
• Some creatures (notably - the first two in the game) have to be squished in their middles. There outlying legs are too short to actually be "squished" and if you touch them, you'll die.
  
• Between groups of creatures are bonuses you can pick up for extra lives (they don't move, in case you're wondering which ones they are).
  
• When a suitcase (at the top of a building) is in view, bricks won't fall. So you can use that as a place to take a break.
  
• The sound of the falling brick will precede it actually appearing on screen. So listen, and get ready to move.
  
• A brick will always fall right above where you are. So get the timing of the bricks down, and when one is about to fall, simply move over out of its way.
  

[+SpiceWare]

Ah, that explains it! I'd figured out that Squishing equaled lots of points, but didn't know why I sometimes died and sometimes didn't when I attempted to squish the creatures.

 

Thanks!

Edited March 14, 2008 by SpiceWare

[toymailman]

Just FYI - there's a scoring exploit in the game (which is also in the original 8-bit version) where you can endlessly hop back and forth over a creature to rack up points. So that probably shouldn't be used here.

 

Yup, so for the HSC are we not to jump unless our life depends on it, and can we squish every creature on every level?

 

Great game and graphics. It feels satisfying to squish them!

 

If a Squish'Em 2 was ever made I would suggest the following to remedy the scoring glitch.

 

1) A timer so that players are forced to try and get to the suitcase and not endlessly hop.

2) Bonus Points based on time left so players are encouraged to get to the top ASAP. It should be high enough to encourage speed and discourage trying to maximize the hops before time runs out. When I sprinted up the first building it took ~1 minute. Maybe a 2 minute timer then award maybe 50 pts/second remaining?

 

I'll post a score soon for this fun game.

[+Nathan Strum]

I'd say squish 'em on every level if you can, since that's the name of the game.

 

If I need to hop over them to avoid them, I do it. But I don't just don't sit there and hop back and forth to rack up points. If I've killed the creature and can safely move up to the next row, I do so.

[aftermac]

The scoring system on this game definitely makes it tough for the HSC. Personally, if I can get to the next platform without squishing or hopping a critter, I do so... but, I don't go out of my way to avoid hopping or squishing.

 

EDIT: I decided it was better to be hopping a critter than hoping a critter...

Edited March 14, 2008 by aftermac

[Deteacher]

Here's an important tip: Pushing up in the middle of a jump CANCELS the jump, so if you're trying to squish a monster, don't push up too early, or the jump will be cancelled and you'll die. I've lost more than a few lives by making this mistake. Make sure the critter is squished before you push up to continue your climb.

 

I broke 20K last night, but didn't take a pic. I hope to post a good score this weekend, though.

[phaxda]

I am getting much better at this game, but I HATE the earlier levels. Squishing the spiders or whatever they are is just not worth the attempt. I seem to hit their legs and die a lot. I like the slow-moving robots a lot better. Topped 30k then promptly died. Stupid fish or whatever they are.

 

[Captain Beard]

Great game! It's gonna be a fun week.

 

Anyway... my first entry: 19,510

 

I really love the way the brick bounces off you.

[vdub_bobby]

I am getting much better at this game, but I HATE the earlier levels. Squishing the spiders or whatever they are is just not worth the attempt. I seem to hit their legs and die a lot. I like the slow-moving robots a lot better. Topped 30k then promptly died. Stupid fish or whatever they are.

Yeah, I usually just blaze through the first couple of monsters, it's so much more satisfying to squish the tall ones!

[Impaler_26]

Nice! I really like the C64-version of Squish 'Em and the 2600-version seems to be just as good!

 

First entry:

 

16,940.

[toymailman]

I got to the level where all the monters are present. It seemed pretty tough as they also pop up quickly after a squish. I hate the fast moving unpredictable stuff more than the earlier levels.

 

55,420

 

[aftermac]

36,030

 

Nice score Toy... looks like I've got a lot more squishing to do.

 

I agree the faster moving unpredictable ones are a pain. I try to get past them as quickly as possible. I especially hate the ones that look like ghosts and the ones that look like an eyeball with spider legs... they really drive me up the wall! Ok, that's my final pun for the week... unless I come up with a really good one.

 

This game I stopped to squish all of the larger bodied slower moving critters.

 

[Captain Beard]

Improved score: 22,990

 

Tip: Make a bee-line for the free guy object as soon as it comes onscreen as it will disappear if you die before reaching it.

[Gemini]

First score of mine for the week: 21.980

 

It's an Ok game.

 

[Lauren Tyler]

4,140

 

Not your typical Atari 2600 game!