High Score Club Week 8: Yar's Revenge!

[Ze_ro]

Important note: This weeks competition is over. If you still wish to discuss Yar's Revenge, then feel free to do so, but no further scores will be accepted. Thanks to everyone for all their contributions! Please join in on the latest High Score Club competition!

 

Load up your Zorlon cannon, because the Qotile's are invading, and Yar needs your help to stop them! Of course, this means that this week's game is Yar's Revenge!

 

Game Information
Game	Yar's Revenge
Left Difficulty	A / Expert (Fast Swirl, Strong Destroyer Missile)
Right Difficulty	Not Applicable
Game Mode	Game 4: Shield Reflects Zorlon Cannon
Chosen By	maximebeauvais

 

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 will be approximately Sunday, May 30th at midnight (CST). In case you haven't already done so, please read the High Score Club rules. There is other useful information contained in that previous link, including a list of previous High Score Club games!

 

If you don't have a copy of this game, you can find a copy of the ROM at AtariAge's Profile Page for this game. You can find such things as a typed copy of the manual, reviews, screenshots, and other information there.

 

If you are not a member of the High Score Club, but would like to be, then all you have to do is post a reply saying so, and I'll add you to the list!

 

Next week's game will be chosen by bjk7382 Please send me a Private Message letting me know which game (and difficulty settings) you've chosen as soon as possible bjk7382! (Done)

 

Scores for This Game	Current Rankings
High Score Club:

• 
  999,999 (sku_u)

[+12]
999,999 (Stingray) [+12]
999,999 (The 8th Passenger) [+12]
999,999 (the 5th ghost) [+12]
[*]749,056 (Chris++) [+10]
[*]423,366 (Jeffy Arensmeyer) [+8]
[*]357,820 (dykesr) [+7]
[*]266,243 (Saldo) [+6]
[*]254,128 (Shannon) [+5]
[*]251,962 (Ze_ro) [+4]
[*]238,798 (crsdawg) [+3]
[*]232,483 (jedijeff) [+2]
[*]196,549 (Numan) [+1]
[*]176,158 (stayrunner)
[*]165,261 (chrisbid)
[*]160,409 (shining slade)
[*]148,340 (Robert M)
[*]135,401 (InanimateCarbonRod)
[*]114,251 (128bytes)
[*]107,069 (Scooterb23)
[*]100,466 (gospeedde)
[*]96,790 (bjk7382)
[*]91,053 (Goochman)
[*]83,750 (DeV0)
[*]72,513 (Tsukasa)
[*]59,545 (iguana)
[*]57,866 (davepesc)
[*]55,985 (Kurushimi)
[*]48,209 (LarcenTyler)
[*]25,456 (Dan Iacovelli)
[*]HSWWSH (homerwannabee)

• 
  

Statistics:

• Average Score: 311,901
  [*]Std. Deviation: 60,493
  [*]Total Score: 9,668,922
  • 
    

Best Tips:

• 
  

TwinGalaxies Top 3:

• 
  [*]the 5th ghost

[66]
[*]Todd Rogers [60]
[*]jedijeff [50]
[*]sku_u [41]
[*]Jeffy Arensmeyer [32]
[*]Ze_ro [28]
[*]stayrunner [24]
[*]Stingray [21]
[*]taxman [19]
[*]bobafett07728 [19]
[*]Saldo [17]
[*]bjk7382 [15]
[*]HermChase [13]
[*]homerwannabee [12]
[*]NovaXpress [12]
[*]Christophero Sly [12]
[*]Chris++ [11]
[*]Thomas Jentzsh [9]
[*]NintendoDieScreaming [7]
[*]Shannon [7]
[*]Keir [7]
[*]Numan [7]
[*]mikeftrevino [7]
[*]Kurushimi [6]
[*]Paul Slocum [6]
[*]Goochman [5]
[*]StanJr [5]
[*]The 8th Passenger [5]
[*]DeV0 [4]
[*]maibock [2]
[*]chrisbid [1]
[*]InanimateCarbonRod [0]
[*]Kepone [0]
[*]shining slade [0]
[*]Robert M [0]
[*]Saikyo [0]
[*]LarcenTyler [0]
[*]moycon [0]
[*]gamerz [0]
[*]video game addict [0]
[*]LU8 [0]
[*]gospeedde [0]
[*]fsuinnc [0]
[*]Albert [0]
[*]pmpddytim [0]
[*]pitfallaimee [0]
[*]Happy_Dude [0]
[*]Gamemaster_ca_2003 [0]
[*]Kialan [0]
[*]Scooterb23 [0]
[*]xmetalhedx [0]
[*]Dan Iacovelli [0]
[*]Adrian M [0]
[*]intvgene [0]
[*]ScottHuggins [0]
[*]128bytes [0]
[*]jeepnut24 [0]
[*]iguana [0]
[*]figgler [0]
[*]Tsukasa [0]
[*]Old_Atarian [0]
[*]hobbles [0]
[*]dykesr [0]
[*]johnnywc [0]
[*]PaulEMoz [0]
[*]atari_wizard [0]
[*]lost child [0]
[*]Nateo [0]
[*]NE146 [0]
[*]Bunsen [0]
[*]chadtower [0]
[*]Big Player [0]

Member List

bjk7382, HermChase, Goochman, NE146, Cootster, 128bytes, Kurushimi, liquid_sky, intvgene, ScottHuggins, InanimateCarbonRod, pmpddytim, Xot, Scooterb23, Dan Iacovelli, LarcenTyler, sku_u, Luigi301, Max-T, adams_ale, gamerz, Christophero Sly, Trooper, Nateo, homerwannabee, lost child, Happy_Dude, video game addict, Spirantho, bobafett07728, mikefrevino, Paul Slocum, fsuinnc, Gamemaster_ca_2003, Robert M, DeV0, Gateway, Mendon, Fretwobbler, PaulEMoz, killersquirel, shining slade, chadtower, gospeedde, stayrunner, Big Player, Swingtown, Chris++, hotpants, hobbles, Ze_ro, maibock, moycon, somePUNK, Saldo, Stingray, Kepone, xmetalhedx, chrisbid, Kialan, Jeffy Arensmeyer, Keir, ToddRogers, Numan, iguana, LU8, jeepnut24, Albert, Tsukasa, Adrian M, dykesr, EricDeLee, Thomas Jentzsch, The 8th Passenger, the 5th ghost, Bunsen, atari_wizard, jedijeff, davepesc, maximebeauvais, buzzguy

 

Scoring Points in Yar's Revenge
Action	Points
Each Shield Cell Destroyed by Missile	69
Each Shield Cell Destroyed by Zorlon Cannon	69
Each Shield Cell Eaten by Yar	169
Hitting the Destroyer Missile with Zorlon Cannon	None!
Destroying the Qotile	1,000
Destroying the Swirl Before it Charges	2,000
Destroying the Swirls in Mid-Aid	6,000 + Extra Life
Difficulty Progression: Unlike most games, the difficulty of Yar's Revenge (in general) is proportional to your score, NOT the number of levels you clear. The Destroyer Missile does get faster based on how many levels you clear, and later levels occaisionally have no neutral zone. However, the following changes occur at specific score milestones: 70,000 - Swirl triples in frequency and sometimes fires instantly. Shield turns blue. [*]150,000 - Swirl returns to normal frequency but will change direction in mid-air to hit you. Shield turns grey. [*]230,000 - Swirl again triples in frequency and sometimes fires instantly. Shield turns pink (This is where the game's difficulty level maxes out). - Yes, after 999,999.   Hints and Tips As always, you really should read the manual. What's that? You don't have the manual? Well no problem, because AtariAge has a scanned copy of the manual available online right over here. What's that? You're too damn lazy to click that link? Well fine, here's the hints that that the manual gives: When you destroy the Qotile, or a Swirl, there will be an explosion, during which the Yar stays on the screen. Use this opportunity to make up your own victory dance. And watch out for the Ghost of Yars! You'll see his mean streak, so stay off it! [*]The Qotile continually changes colors. The color sequence is your cue to the appearance of a Swirl, and gives you warning to plan your attack and defense. [*]If you fly over the Qotile as it changes to a Swirl, it will destroy you, so be careful. [*]When you think you are a tough avenger, switch the difficulty to A, and then try Ultimate Yars!   Good luck everyone!   --Zero (the manual) If you shoot every block on the first wave you'll have 5,520 in points but if you eat away at every block you'll get 13,520 in points. If you have no more blocks left and you dont have your shot to kill him with you can always run over your enemy before it turns into a swirly and get a reserve shot to shoot him. On the first wave you gain 6,000 pts for shooting your enemy so its a good idea to play it safe when ever you are in a bind. As the levels progress so does the reactions and speed of your enemy and his weapons its safe to hide out sometimes in the middle so you wont be killed by your enemies shots but if it becomes a swirly go near to the top or bottom baiting the swirly and once it follows you go the opposite direction. On the harder levels once your enemy is past you it cannot go in reverse. (ToddRogers) Hit a swirl in mid-air with the cannon. Then find the "Ghost of YAR" (a dark, vertical line that appears behind the explosion graphics) and position yourself on the lower third of it. If done right, when the explosion ends, the game will stop and the letters HSWWSH (for Howard Scott Warshaw) will appear. (Thomas Jentzsch) Keep in mind that the difficulty level of the game is related to your score, NOT to how many Qotile's you've killed! What this means is that there really isn't much advantage to going for "big ticket" scores like hitting the swirl in mid-air and eating the shield rather than shooting it... it'll just speed up the difficulty changes. Instead, you're probably better off playing it safe by shooting out a good chunk of the shield as soon as possible, and shooting Qotile before it tries to charge you. You'll have to kill more of them, and it'll take a bit longer, but it's not as risky. (Ze_ro) If you're having trouble avoiding the Destroyer Missile, try staying near the very top or very bottom of the screen. If the missile gets close, just wrap around to the other side. The missile isn't smart enough to follow you, so it'll take "the long way". Also keep in mind that the missile can't kill you while you're in the neutral zone, so you can use this to your advantage when you're trying to evade it. It can be tough to see the missile while it's in the neutral zone though, so make sure you don't accidentally hit it while you're leaving! (Ze_ro) Try to hit the swirl in mid-air on the first levels to bring up your lives to the max. Yes your score will ramp quicker, thus ramping up the difficulty faster, but you have more time to line up your shots with the slower moving destroyer missle. (Saldo) Despite what the manual says. The swirl does not appear or fire randomly. Here is how it works: The swirl activates based on the color of the shield and the number of cycles it goes thru. A cycle is that vroom sound you here. As long as you can count you are set. The book says to watch the colors. I say phooeee to that. At the beginning of the game the qotile cycles 4 times before turning into a swirl. The swirl always fires when it has a bead on you (a good angle). It is never random. After the first swirl all other swirls appear every 15 cycles. If you kill the qotile when it is a swirl, or close to becoming a swirl (example 13-14 cycles) it will always fire on the 12th cycle at the beginning of a new level when the shield is orange or grey. If you kill it in the middle of a cycle I would suggest waiting around till it fires (In other words I'm not sure when it will fire). When the shield is blue or pink the swirl forms every 5 cycles (3 times as often as the manual states). It's first shot is obviously less than that, so wait till it fires first before timing your cycles. The idea here is to attack the shield between swirl cycles and then try to time it so you get the qotile when it is a swirl. (Shannon) Despite other opinions. I think it is best to eat away at the shield as much as possible and gain as many points as you can (this is after all a high score contest). Sure the difficulty ramps up quicker, but then then the difficulty (shield color and cycle frequency) is score based anyways. BUT. The destroyer missile (pain in the neck thing that follows you around) speeds up according to what level you are on. So you want to take advantage of that as long as you can. This means scoring as many points each round as you can. A good way to get to the shield is to hang around in the neutral zone until the destroyer missile is close. Then move up/down to line yourself up with where you want to eat and have at it. The destroyer missile takes a little to catch up so this is especially useful for eating the middile part of the shield. I usually hang around the top/bottom and munch away until the destroyer missile gets close then I wrap to the other side and munch over there until it becomes difficult, then use the strategy mentioned above. When the qotile is swirling every 5 cycles your gonna just have to get in, get a couple bites and retreat to the neutral zone to dodge it. This game takes alot of patience. Keep in mind though, using this method it takes about the same amount of time to eat most of the shield anyways. I usually reserve firing at the shield for those harder levels like when there is no neutral zone (unless the shield is grey). (Shannon) I have a great trick to hit the Swirl mid-air when it's the Swirl that changes directions to follow you (gray and pink shield stages). Remember, you gain an extra life for hitting the Swirl mid-air. First, gain the Zorlon Cannon by eating a piece of the shield or touching the Qotile. Wait in the center area of the screen staying close to the top and wraparound from the top to the bottom of the screen continuously, thus drawing the Destroyer Missile up and down in the center of the screen where it can't hit you. When the Swirl forms, go directly to the upper left corner close to the Zorlon cannon. Wait for the Swirl to shoot towards you, (the Swirl should be shooting towards the upper left corner where you are waiting.) Just as the Swirl is about the hit you, push up on the joystick to wraparound to the bottom of the screen to draw the Swirl back down the left side of the screen towards you. Shift Yar slightly to the right so that the Swirl won't hit you as it comes down the screen. Wait there and quickly blast the Swirl with the Zorlon Cannon at the bottom of the screen! This takes a few tries but once you master the timing, you will be able to quickly gain extra lives and continue your game. I just played a game and was able to do this several times successfully (the 5th ghost)

[Shannon]

Someone must be reading my mind. This is the 2nd week in a row a game I've been thinking about made the HSC.

 

Either that or I'm subconsciously using my mind powers to alter decisions.

[chrisbid]

58,213

 

those are pretty brutal settings, though i imagine well still see scores that stomp this into the ground

[ToddRogers]

My submission for week 8 on Yars Revenge Diff A game 4 is 1,774,807 i have a picture of 999,999 with 9 men in reserve to show what max men looks like.

 

Tips:

If you shoot every block on the first wave you'll have 5,520 in points but if you eat away at every block you'll get 13,520 in points. If you have no more blocks left and you dont have your shot to kill him with you can always run over your enemy before it turns into a swirly and get a reserve shot to shoot him. On the first wave you gain 6,000 pts for shooting your enemy so its a good idea to play it safe when ever you are in a bind. As the levels progress so does the reactions and speed of your enemy and his weapons its safe to hide out sometimes in the middle so you wont be killed by your enemies shots but if it becomes a swirly go near to the top or bottom baiting the swirly and once it follows you go the opposite direction. On the harder levels once your enemy is past you it cannot go in reverse.

 

 

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

 

My submission for week 8 on Yars Revenge Diff A game 4 is 1,774,807

 

Pretty quick considering that the contest is running for less than 2 hours now.

 

Greetings,

Manuel

[sku_u]

My submission for week 8 on Yars Revenge Diff A game 4 is 1,774,807 i have a picture of 999,999 with 9 men in reserve to show what max men looks like.  

 

If it isn't from this week, it doesn't count.

 

I've archived quite a few high scores myself, but I don't count them unless I achieved that score within that particular week as per the rules.

[Kuddy]

54,136.

[homerwannabee]

Ok I do not know if guys are going to believe me but me high score for this game is HSWWSH

thats right I received letters for my high score, I had four men left but could not start the game again. Did I just find an easter egg?

I think it happend in the fourth game. I decided to stand in the middle of the screen and I killed that swirly thing at the last possible moment. To tell you the truth I do not know if I want to post another score because it kinda of cool to have letters as a high score. This happend on my first game. I wonder if this is going to happen to someone else as well?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I wonder if this is going to happen to someone else as well?

Yup, this is a known easter egg:

 

Hit a swirl in mid-air with the cannon. Then find the "Ghost of YAR" (a dark, vertical line that appears behind the explosion graphics) and position yourself on the lower third of it. If done right, when the explosion ends, the game will stop and the letters HSWWSH (for Howard Scott Warshaw) will appear.

[Dan Iacovelli]

back to the emulator agian(I don't have this game)

[buzzguy]

Hey all! I was just wondering how one can get put on the member list. It seems like hella-fun to get your high scores posted here. I'm also assuming no pictures are required, since some of the score didn't have any posted. Later!!!

[ToddRogers]

Nope no archiving of pictures here SKU_U im playing by the HSC's rules and i just wanted to get my submission in since i had time now. This whole week is going to be very busy for me with prepairation for the FunSpot Tournament that i will be attending next week in NewHampshire from June 2-6th. Is anyone from here going to that event i will be bringing some Atari 2600 games with a console to have contests on.

 

 

Todd Mr. Activision Rogers

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Pretty quick considering that the contest is running for less than 2 hours now.

Todd rulez!

[Chris++]

NOW we're talkin'! Finally a game at which I have a shot at second or third place. Prepare to die, fellow fly-swatters...

[Goochman]

Dont much like this game - could prob marathon it if I wanted but this will have to do:

 

85298

[Shannon]

My submission for week 8 on Yars Revenge Diff A game 4 is 1,774,807 i have a picture of 999,999 with 9 men in reserve to show what max men looks like.  

 

Tips:

If you shoot every block on the first wave you'll have 5,520 in points but if you eat away at every block you'll get 13,520 in points. If you have no more blocks left and you dont have your shot to kill him with you can always run over your enemy before it turns into a swirly and get a reserve shot to shoot him. On the first wave you gain 6,000 pts for shooting your enemy so its a good idea to play it safe when ever you are in a bind. As the levels progress so does the reactions and speed of your enemy and his weapons its safe to hide out sometimes in the middle so you wont be killed by your enemies shots but if it becomes a swirly go near to the top or bottom baiting the swirly and once it follows you go the opposite direction. On the harder levels once your enemy is past you it cannot go in reverse.  

 

 

Todd  Mr Activision Rogers

 

Boy you sure didn't waste no time in demolishing us! :wink:

[Tsukasa]

65,249

 

My hands are starting to hurt...

I need to get one of those gamepads....

[Brad2600]

On a 7800, which setting is the Expert setting? All I see are numbers when I hit Select.

[The 8th Passenger]

166,575 I know I can do better than that.

 

John

[Ze_ro]

Ah, after the last two weeks, it's good to play a game that I'm actually somewhat skilled at! I usually play this on difficulty 6 (Ultimate Yar), so this is a bit different. Anyways, I managed to get 120,347.

 

Some hints:

• Keep in mind that the difficulty level of the game is related to your score, NOT to how many Qotile's you've killed! What this means is that there really isn't much advantage to going for "big ticket" scores like hitting the swirl in mid-air and eating the shield rather than shooting it... it'll just speed up the difficulty changes. Instead, you're probably better off playing it safe by shooting out a good chunk of the shield as soon as possible, and shooting Qotile before it tries to charge you. You'll have to kill more of them, and it'll take a bit longer, but it's not as risky.

[*]If you're having trouble avoiding the Destroyer Missile, try staying near the very top or very bottom of the screen. If the missile gets close, just wrap around to the other side. The missile isn't smart enough to follow you, so it'll take "the long way". Also keep in mind that the missile can't kill you while you're in the neutral zone, so you can use this to your advantage when you're trying to evade it. It can be tough to see the missile while it's in the neutral zone though, so make sure you don't accidentally hit it while you're leaving!

[*]Sticking around the top and bottom of the screen can be helpful for avoiding a charging Swirl as well. In fact, the safest way to avoid it is probably to stay near the edge of the screen within the neutral zone (so the missile can't hit you). While at the edge of the screen, you can just wrap to the other side when the Swirl comes at you.

--Zero

[InanimateCarbonRod]

88,929

[sku_u]

214,743 man this version of the game is tough!

[bjk7382]

On a 7800, which setting is the Expert setting? All I see are numbers when I hit Select.

 

The difficulty switch should be to the RIGHT.

[chrisbid]

117,180

 

i managed to get to the point where there was no force field, and the qotile's shield was blue instead of red. but if the difficulty ramp is based on score instead of stages, then i guess i wont be getting much better

 

though i do find that eating the shield does make the game a bit easier in the early stages

[stayrunner]

172,744

 

Remember to eat the whole shield away in the early stages. Each piece ate gives a 100 point bonus. Also, try to kill the swirley in mid air. This is worth 6000 points and is the only way to get an extra man.