carlsson Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) How curious! On my PAL 130XE, Tanium randomly freezes making it unplayable. On my likewise PAL XEGS, it doesn't scroll automatically so I have to press fire button in order for the game to move at all. I can't fire, but I can avoid the enemies which turns it into a turn based avoid 'em up game. The attract mode though scrolls. I suppose it is the lack of a keyboard on my XEGS that causes this. Now it remains for me to try my NTSC 800 instead and see if it behaves better. Edit: Yes, finally it plays as it should. Perhaps it is a tad faster on NTSC than PAL too, which is just as expected as NTSC games usually run faster. Tanium - 14092 pts (level 3 or so) Edited January 3, 2019 by carlsson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Never heard of these games.Fandal has a great website Easy to DL, don't have to wait 5-15 seconds or enter code. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 The Extirpator 14,700 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 How curious! On my PAL 130XE, Tanium randomly freezes making it unplayable. On my likewise PAL XEGS, it doesn't scroll automatically so I have to press fire button in order for the game to move at all. I can't fire, but I can avoid the enemies which turns it into a turn based avoid 'em up game. The attract mode though scrolls. I suppose it is the lack of a keyboard on my XEGS that causes this. Now it remains for me to try my NTSC 800 instead and see if it behaves better. Edit: Yes, finally it plays as it should. Perhaps it is a tad faster on NTSC than PAL too, which is just as expected as NTSC games usually run faster. Tanium - 14092 pts (level 3 or so) I'll upload my Tanium disk later on, it's ok on my 130XE (PAL) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 The thing is that some of the HSC games that have been working alright on your machine, have freezed on mine (e.g. Computer War irregardless of how many versions I tried). Yet the vast majority of Atari games play fine on the machine. If it would be a case of hardware fault like bad RAM, I would expect both the built-in self test to fail and more games to crash or freeze than they in reality do. So far it mostly was River Rescue, Computer War and now Tanium that gave me serious headache on my 130XE. But sure, I'll try a different disk image later on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 first tables we'll make all three games full points and have a 2pt bonus for anyone winning all three games, this should keep McKong on his toes and give everyone a chance for a surge up the tables in the final rankings The Extirpator! 1st Mr Trust 41,050 12pts 2nd McKong 25,000 11pts 3rd therealbountybob 24,950 10pts 4th roadrunner 14,700 9pts 5th carlsson 13,700 8pts 6th jblenkle 10,750 7pts 7th RedThunder 8,900 6ptsTransmuter 1st therealbountybob 174,229 12pts 2nd Mr Trust 55,388 11pts 3rd McKong 42,165 10pts 4th carlsson 30,563 9pts 5th jblenkle 10,873 8pts 6th RedThunder 1,271 7ptsTanium 1st McKong 44,108 12pts 2nd therealbountybob 20,199 11pts 3rd Mr Trust 18,317 10pts 4th carlsson 14,092 9pts 5th jblenkle 12,049 8pts 6th RedThunder 7,732 7pts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Transmuter - 73838. Finally got past the 3rd area and to the second boss 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 I'll upload my Tanium disk later on, it's ok on my 130XE (PAL) Hmm I couldn't find my Transdisked Tanium but I've put the version I'm playing along with the other games on a disk image on the first post - not tested the other two - seem to remember something about some versions of The Extirpator having issues Just noticed Tanium has a demo mode showing one of the levels (leave it on a while) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadrunner Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Transmuter 5,072 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 35,952 Tanium has clicked! I sailed through until the bullet formation on the end of level 7 finished me off. Like McKong said, level 3 is probably as difficult as the others so have a practice on that one first to get the hang of it (see comments copied to 1st post). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikor Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Not time to play - i must code NYG Editor, but... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Tanium - 17919 pts (still playing it on my NTSC 800) Transmuter - 32833 pts (also played on the 800) Transmuter seemed even slower on NTSC than on PAL, plus that I got graphic glitches on the title screen. Perhaps 48K is not enough, though the game itself played alright so I'll opt to count this score. The Extirpator though loaded but would never start, just a black screen with short colourful stripes so possibly it needs the full 64K? Actually I've got all three Ataris in front of me now, switching back and forth between 800, 130XE and XEGS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 Tanium - 17919 pts (still playing it on my NTSC 800) Transmuter - 32833 pts (also played on the 800) Transmuter seemed even slower on NTSC than on PAL, plus that I got graphic glitches on the title screen. Perhaps 48K is not enough, though the game itself played alright so I'll opt to count this score. The Extirpator though loaded but would never start, just a black screen with short colourful stripes so possibly it needs the full 64K? Actually I've got all three Ataris in front of me now, switching back and forth between 800, 130XE and XEGS. That's what we call dedication carlsson :thumbsup: Had a good session tonight, my first day off from programming Ski-it which you might have seen has the much improved v1.2 out now The Extirpator! 34,350 more survival got to the double wall and the changed lower graphics, waiting for the re-charge and accuracy is key for this one. Tanium 42,998 reached level 9, worth the patience to figure out, nice game. Transmuter 152,879 not improved on score but got a bit further on, this is a really good game. Found video for Transmuter, didn't want to spoil things but at a quick scan I'm just over half way through, will try and complete this before the round ends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 Strange, just watched the Transmuter video and I've got to about 6:40 but my score was only around 70k each time. When I played there wasn't another bonus level after the 2nd boss. There's not one in the video either but I noticed the score jumps from 70k to 110k after the 2nd boss, presumably as he edited this bit out, as he says that he's edited some mistakes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) Ok so I played again and got to 8:43 on the video, but my score was half of what the guy has in the video at that point, strange Edited January 8, 2019 by McKong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 @McKong I think it was the edits, Transmuter scoring might be give a bit variable as if you crash at the end of a level you get to replay it all (possibly). I'm about the 7m mark. What did you use to create your DK video as I want to do one for SKI-IT? Small improvement on The Extirpator to 36,850, failed on Tanium last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 (edited) @McKong I think it was the edits, Transmuter scoring might be give a bit variable as if you crash at the end of a level you get to replay it all (possibly). I'm about the 7m mark. What did you use to create your DK video as I want to do one for SKI-IT? Small improvement on The Extirpator to 36,850, failed on Tanium last night. So you're at the 7m mark with a score of 174k and I got to 8:40 ish and my score was 60k, doesn't sound like we're playing the same game! I recorded my DK video using Altirra. I used 'runlength' encoding option, as that produced an avi that was playable through windows media player without the requirement for additional codecs Edited January 9, 2019 by McKong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Transmuter - 38871 pts I didn't reach any further in the wireframe level than I did before, but I killed the boss on the first level earlier than before which awarded me extra points, plus a somewhat good bonus level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Transmuter - I kept an eye on the scoring as I played - really could do with a pause key as I got to the 2nd tunnel for the first time and then had to go to the door, got past this on the next go and well into the next stage! Score was lower 150K, so the scoring like in Taniuim is depending on where you die / replay the level. Looks like the shooting blockages stage after the tunnel is where my transdisked copy starts rolling out some points. After the tunnel i'm around 35-55K depending on lives lost, after the 2nd boss I'm 110-130Kish. McKong you can I can play for progress on this and Tanium, I think the Extirpator is ok for score Carlsson - I'm finding it best with the slow movement in the tunnels and the odd twitch left diagonal to adjust, with 1? speed you can move up in 1 on some but f you crash you are back to slow anyway, it's not too long a section and the more you play the more lives you have to throw at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 (edited) Transmuter - 49990 pts I managed to get the perfect score on the bonus level which is awarded with 20000 pts instead of just 10000 pts. I find it a good idea to stay with the laser, don't bother the add-on as it will remove the laser, the shield is though additive to the laser. I also got past the wireframe by staying as far to the right as possible and move left and up/down to follow the frame. However I didn't get very much further on the second level. The Extirpator! - 15400 pts We have a saying in Swedish (perhaps in other languages too), that something is "more boring than watching paint dry". This game may not exactly match that description, but to be honest I don't really care if I shoot or hit the enemies, if I lose a ship or survive a little longer. Visually it is great, but playability with the sluggish moving enemies, the varying difficulty level and those #$% blocks that sometimes are impossible to shoot through actually makes me happy this seems to be an Atari 8-bit exclusive, not ported to e.g. the C64 (which has so many other great horizontal scrolling shooters, both full price and in the budget segment). Edited January 10, 2019 by carlsson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 Transmuter - 49990 pts I managed to get the perfect score on the bonus level which is awarded with 20000 pts instead of just 10000 pts. I find it a good idea to stay with the laser, don't bother the add-on as it will remove the laser, the shield is though additive to the laser. I also got past the wireframe by staying as far to the right as possible and move left and up/down to follow the frame. However I didn't get very much further on the second level. I prefer the double shot, but the bomb is essential for some parts too, I think this is a really good game and suspect each power-up is useful for certain areas. The bit after the tunnel seems hard at first, and at second but after a while you get familiar with the variants of the playfield and can then pass through, the stage is very short, the speed-up is useful here to get past some bits but you might want to not collect it until you are mid way through the stage. The Extirpator! - 15400 pts We have a saying in Swedish (perhaps in other languages too), that something is "more boring than watching paint dry". This game may not exactly match that description, but to be honest I don't really care if I shoot or hit the enemies, if I lose a ship or survive a little longer. Visually it is great, but playability with the sluggish moving enemies, the varying difficulty level and those #$% blocks that sometimes are impossible to shoot through actually makes me happy this seems to be an Atari 8-bit exclusive, not ported to e.g. the C64 (which has so many other great horizontal scrolling shooters, both full price and in the budget segment). I've had a bunch more goes but no improvement, I tried to be more careful / aviod some baddies by going under them but this doesn't help the scoring. Accuracy is key to keep the power charge up, if you miss a few shots then avoid a baddie or two to let it re-charge more. Your ship seems to be destoyed by two hits to the upper fin area but is more resistant on the nose so it's worth trying to shoot them. Avoid going up to the baddies above if they are two far away. Avoid some formations more than others. The walls are a pain - originally I waited for charge then took out 1 section then went for the others below but I've now switched to wait, get about 2" that's 5cm to you from the wall and unleash on the button while moving down and left at the same time. Usually this works. If you are near the end of a stage hold off firing to get charged for the wall (great idea I will try that one tonight) thanks me Tanium 43,883 - Stage 10. The missile formations here got me every time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikor Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 (edited) Little more in trans muter: And extirpator!: and Tanium: Edited January 11, 2019 by Sikor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 With less than 2 days to go here are the... latest tables The Extirpator! 1st Mr Trust 41,050 12pts 2nd therealbountybob 36,850 11 3rd McKong 25,000 10 4th carlsson 15,400 9 5th roadrunner 14,700 8 6th Sikor 11,550 7 7th jblenkle 10,750 6 8th RedThunder 8,900 5Transmuter 1st therealbountybob 174,229 12pts 2nd McKong 73,838 11 3rd Mr Trust 55,388 10 4th carlsson 49,990 9 5th Sikor 40,500 8 6th jblenkle 10,873 7 7th roadrunner 5,072 6 8th RedThunder 1,271 5Tanium 1st McKong 44,108 12pts 2nd therealbountybob 43,883 11 3rd Mr Trust 18,317 10 4th carlsson 17,919 9 5th Sikor 12,888 8 6th jblenkle 12,049 7 7th RedThunder 7,732 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKong Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I realised that I probably didnt get 25k on transmuter, as thats one of the built in scores, so I must have read the wrong line from the table. I'll try to post another score tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 You mean The Extirpator, at least per trbb's summary above. Just so you don't focus on the wrong game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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