HSC Season 2 Week 3: Spider Fighter

[Ze_ro]

Important note: This weeks competition is over. If you still wish to discuss this game, 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!

 

Oh no! Your garden is being overrun with insects! Your prize-winning harvest is about to be stolen unless you act quickly, so ready your insect blaster and prepare to fire at will, because this week's game is Spider Fighter!

 

Game Information
Game	Spider Fighter
Left Difficulty	B / Novice: Regular Game
Right Difficulty	A / Expert: Straight Pellets
Game Mode	Default
Chosen By	LarcenTyler

 

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 Tuesday, February 8th at 1:30 AM (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!

 

As before, next week's game will be chosen by the next person in the member list, which happens to be Goochman! Please send me a private message with your choice of game for next week!

 

We cannot post the ROM due to Activison owning rights to the game. Sorry.

 

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!

 

High Scores	Other Info
High Score Club:

• 
  [*]622,620 (racer raul)

[+10]
[*]583,100 (sku_u) [+9]
[*]510,990 (Christophero Sly) [+8]
[*]442,610 (StanJr) [+7]
[*]407,120 (KaeruYojimbo) [+6]
[*]393,180 (Blackjack) [+5]
[*]343,200 (candiru) [+4]
[*]223,630 (gospeedde) [+3]
[*]140,150 (BydoEmpire) [+2]
[*]161,580 (yuppicide) [+1]
[*]104,000 (video game addict) [+1]
[*]101,870 (chubsta) [+1]
[*]85,310 (kemsted) [+1]
[*]70,680 (LarcenTyler) [+1]
[*]67,790 (adams_ale) [+1]
[*]61,010 (vdub_bobby) [+1]
[*]48,460 (Keir) [+1]
[*]32,070 (Malc74) [+1]
[*]27,660 (Goochman) [+1]
[*]24,510 (pitfallaimee) [+1]
[*]20,300 (Philflound) [+1]
[*]19,270 (128bytes) [+1]
[*]8080 (Dan Iacovelli) [+1]
Score Statistics

• Average Score: 224,966
  [*]Std. Deviation: 49,660
  [*]Total Score: 5,399,190
  • :
    (Default Settings)
    
    • 900,000 (Mark Feldt)
      [*]900,000 (Todd Rogers)
      [*]900,000 (David B Yancey)
      [*]900,000 (Douglas Korekach)
      [*]900,000 (Keith C Post)
      • 
        

Best Tips:

• 
  

Beat the Champ (Get Double Points!)

• 
  
  • 
    

Bounties and Challenges

• Patch Challenge! - Score 40,000
  or more and get one extra point!
  

 

Current Standings

Member List Goochman, StanJr, vdub_bobby, Gamemaster_ca_2003, Stingray, video game addict, pitfallaimee, Blackjack, racer raul, Robert M, Dan Iacovelli, iguana, Gateway, gospeedde, KaeruYojimbo, bjk7382, Christophero Sly, yuppicide, madbutscher, the 5th ghost, Scooterb23, khryssun, Malc74, chubsta, Keir, Philflound, candiru, kemsted, keilbaca, Cybergoth, sku_u, Chris++, cvga, LarcenTyler   Scoring Points in Spider Fighter Insect Point Values (Regular Game) Master Nest 100 Stinger 50 Spy Pod 50 Green Widow 30 In the expert game, point values for insects are multiplied when you are protecting certain fruit: insects are worth twice as much when protecting grapes, four times as much for strawberries, and eight times as the regular game point values when bananas are present. Bonus points: If you manage to save all three fruit in a wave, and you also have four bug blasters in reserve, then you will receive 500 bonus points. Score Rolls? - Score maxes at 900,000 but lets you continue playing   Hints and Tips As always, you really should read the manual. What's that? You don't have the manual? Well, then you can always check out this scanned copy of the manual hosted right here at AtariAge. What's that? You're too lazy to click that link? Well, here's some hints from the manual: "As you can see, keeping a fruit orchard isn't exactly easy. Those bugs can really become a nuisance. You can never get rid of them entirely, but you can control them. "There are various strategies you can experiment with, but one of the most effective that I have found is to first gun down the lone Spy Pod. If you can exterminate that Pod, you halt the flow of reinforcements. Afterwards, you can pick off the rest of the attackers, leaving the Master Nest for last. "Occasionally, the Master Nest will release a continuous stream of Spy Pods, and each one you hit seems to be replaced. If this happens, you must immediately destroy the Master Nest and take your chances against a squadron full of angry Stingers. Normally, though, it is best to destroy the slower Spy Pods and Green Widows that hover near the bottom of the screen before killing the Master Nest. A low-flying Stinger is your worst enemy. "So maintain a stiff upper lip, and send me a line in between Spider fights. I'd sure like to know how this year's fruit harvest will fare." (Larry Miller) Best strategy I can tell you is to sit on the left side of the screen above your second extra man icon and shoot, a lot. Every fourth round, the nest will run to the bottom before dumping its load (you can ID it by its yellow middle). You'll have to do some dodging, but once he drops, blast away. Other than that, just sit on the left side and shoot. The difficulty maxes with the bananas. And the game gets considerably easier when your shots get faster. (StanJr) Tips: 1) Very often you can put a quick end to a wave, and subsequently the entire level by starting at the left of the screen ( not flush left but maybe 85% there). When the master nest appears begin firing and move left and back out of the way again very quickly. You'll often be able to wipe out the whole bunch in about 1 second. 2) Sometimes the master nest will not drop any bugs right away. You CANNOT kill him until he drops a bug! So don't try. Just move to the right, staying out of the way of his firing, and wait for him to drop a bug. Then take'em out. 3) Always try to kill your targets by moving the same direction that they are, just stay slightly ahead of them and keep firing. If you try to stay in one place or move towards your target, you are inviting death. 4) If the master nest has dropped all his bugs and is heading for some fruit (up the right side of the screen) let him. Don't get under him at this point. Just wait for him to grab a fruit and nail him as he moves towards the left of the screen (again staying slightly ahead of him). You won't lose a fruit as long as you get him before he reaches the end. 5) This is a game of endurance above all else. Be prepared to put aside a large block of time if you want a high score. You can take very small breaks just to rest your thumb by killing everything except a single slow moving green bug. It will allow you some "slow action" time to blink your eyes and shake out your thumb or get a drink if one is handy. 6) Don't get discouraged and reset the game if you get down to only 1 or 2 blasters left. You will easily replace them as you go and be back up to 4 (the max) in no time. (Blackjack)   Good luck everyone!   --Ze_ro [*]video game addict [17] [*]keilbaca [15] [*]racer raul [12] [*]cvga [10] [*]LarcenTyler [9] [*]candiru [9] [*]the 5th ghost [9] [*]Keir [7] [*]KaeruYojimbo [7] [*]Christophero Sly [6] [*]gospeedde [5] [*]adams_ale [4] [*]pitfallaimee [4] [*]Cybergoth [3] [*]Blackjack [3] [*]vdub_bobby [2] [*]Goochman [2] [*]Robert M [2] [*]Philflound [2] [*]yuppicide [2] [*]chubsta [2] [*]Dan Iacovelli [2] [*]Chris++ [1] [*]sku_u [1] [*]madbutscher [1] [*]Scooterb23 [1] [*]bjk7382 [1] [*]Gamemaster_ca_2003 [1] [*]kemsted [1] [*]Stingray [1] [*]iguana [1] [*]khryssun [1] [*]Gateway [1]

Standings are current as of the beginning of this week, and do NOT include points from this week's game. If you think there has been a mistake in any of the scoring, please contact me.

[Ze_ro]

Trying something a little different this week: Challenges! Someone suggested this in a previous thread, and I thought it was a great idea... the only problem is that I have to think up an actual challenge for a game when sometimes I haven't even played it before... so they might not happen every week. This week all you have to do is match the Activision patch score and you get an extra point. Enjoy!

 

(Bounties are still available in case anyone's interested)

 

--Zero

[Blackjack]

First game ever 17810

 

 

Hurry, end this week while I'm still winning.

[StanJr]

Well, here is my first, and probably last score. 377,070.

 

I hate Spider Fighter.

[StanJr]

I started playing Spider Fighter immediately upon seeing Ze_ro post it. It takes about 20 mins to accrue 100K, so that score took me about an hour.

 

Best strategy I can tell you is to sit on the left side of the screen above your second extra man icon and shoot, a lot. Every fourth round, the nest will run to the bottom before dumping its load (you can ID it by its yellow middle). You'll have to do some dodging, but once he drops, blast away. Other than that, just sit on the left side and shoot. The difficulty maxes with the bananas. And the game gets considerably easier when your shots get faster.

[pitfallaimee]

24,510

 

First time I ever played this game. I'll do better when I'm not tired.

 

While Stan was making his 300K run, he single-handedly retrieved and put on his pajamas. He may have lost a couple of lives due to it, but he recovered. He did this maybe in the 70K area. Made things interesting for a little while.

[Philflound]

Ok, I'm not home yet to try and play this game, but I'm going to ask a dumb question. Since I use cyberstella to play my games, I want to know the exact settings of the game. Is it left difficulty B and right difficulty A? And is it game 1? Is there more than one game for this cart? Also, can someone link last year's list of games so I don't pick a dupe when my time comes? Thanks for all the answers.

 

Phil

[keilbaca]

Yay, a game I can play until my thumb falls off

 

I'll try again later but when I do, I'm expecting to max this out. I got bugged by people and had to cut this game short.

 

117100

[sku_u]

I'd like to preface this statement by saying that Spider Fighter is one of my favorite games and that I will likely be posting a score later today.

 

With that said, how about trying to get some games in that weren't made by Imagic, Activision or Atari?

 

There are good games that came out from Commavid, Data Age, US Games, Telesys, Parker Bros., Apollo and many others and it'd be nice to see more of a variety.

 

I say this because I've played most Activision games to death as have many others here and it'd be nice to see some of the overlooked titles like Bermuda Triangle, Frankenstein's Monster, Rescue Terra I, Cakewalk, etc... get some recognition.

[video game addict]

I'd like to preface this statement by saying that Spider Fighter is one of my favorite games and that I will likely be posting a score later today.

 

With that said, how about trying to get some games in that weren't made by Imagic, Activision or Atari?

 

There are good games that came out from Commavid, Data Age, US Games, Telesys, Parker Bros., Apollo and many others and it'd be nice to see more of a variety.

 

I say this because I've played most Activision games to death as have many others here and it'd be nice to see some of the overlooked titles like Bermuda Triangle, Frankenstein's Monster, Rescue Terra I, Cakewalk, etc... get some recognition.

 

The more obscure the game, the fewer people will own. The less that will play. There is emulation, but some people don't like that. I didn't play many Activision games growing up so it doesn't bother me to see them in the HSC, as some are fairly new to me. Having said that, I was actually thinking of going with Frankenstein's Monster for my pick when it comes up. I may pick something else now, but it was going to be a non Act/Atari/Imagic title.

[vdub_bobby]

15300

[sku_u]

There is emulation, but some people don't like that.  I didn't play many Activision games growing up so it doesn't bother me to see them in the HSC, as some are fairly new to me.

 

Unfortunately, emulation is not available to people not in the "know" when an Activision game is picked and they do not already own the title.

 

By obscure, I don't necessarily think a game has to be rare. There are quite a few 20th Century Fox titles that might be considered obscure, but aren't rare (Bank Heist, anyone) It'd just be nice to see some titles everyone isn't 100% familiar with. Many of last season's picks were games I'd never played before or played very little of before and I learned a lot about these titles just be reading through some of the game tips. So far this season we've had an Activision game followed by an Activision game, then this week yet another Activision game. I know Activision is a great company with lots of classics, but just about everyone here has played these titles many times in the past and may not be aware that there are other quality titles out there that weren't made by Activision.

 

Gets off soapbox and inserts quarter

 

GAME ON!

[pitfallaimee]

For what it's worth, I grew up with only about 20 games, and the only two Activision I had were River Raid and Freeway. So everything is new to me!

 

I'm having a TON of fun in the HSC.

[keilbaca]

Hate to bust anyone's bubble... but I wasn't kidding when I said that about I can play until my thumbs fall off.

 

900,000

 

Game does NOT lock up at the end, it just keeps playing and stays at the max of 900.000

[pitfallaimee]

Hate to bust anyone's bubble... but I wasn't kidding when I said that about I can play until my thumbs fall off.

 

900,000

 

Game does NOT lock up at the end, it just keeps playing and stays at the max of 900.000

 

Well, thanks a lot. Stan said "I'm not going to max this game unless someone else does."

 

And here I wanted to have a quiet dinner, maybe watch a movie! Now I gotta time Stan per 100K until he gets to 900,000 again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gospeedde]

74,950 my first patch-worthy score that I'm aware of

 

I'm curious, is it easier to score 40,000 on the A or B setting in this game?

[vdub_bobby]

33750

[keilbaca]

THe manual describes it wrong. A is actually the expert game. A, its faster but gives you more points later on in the game. So yes, its faster but harder to hit 40k on A.

[Lauren Tyler]

I had no idea it was a typo. I guess even the best of the best make mistakes. At any rate, here's my first entry.

[StanJr]

To address some points:

 

Thanks, keilbaca, now I have to max the score! I need those 4 hours of my life for grad school!!! When I max it will we share 1st place? And do we both get the "Beat the champ" bonus?

 

Second, Please pick Frankenstein's Monster! I love that game and it kicks my butt! I've only stopped the monster once!

 

And I will NOT be picking an Activision or Atari game when my turn rolls around, I'm looking at the US Games and Spectravision library right now, Parker Bros. at the most common.

[keilbaca]

Yes we'll share 1st place, and if todd posts a beat the champ score, yes we'll both get it as well.

[homerwannabee]

I think I am definetly going to have jump in the fray this week for this game

[sku_u]

583,100 is my entry for now. If I get a chance, I plan on bringing the score up to 900,000 and will post a pick. I could have done better in my last game, but my wife called me in for dinner.

[Ze_ro]

I had no idea it was a typo.  I guess even the best of the best make mistakes.  At any rate, here's my first entry.

So I guess everyone's playing on Easy difficulty then? I had a feeling there was something weird going on with that, but lots of companies did stupid things with the difficulty switches, so figured I'd just go with it.

 

When I max it will we share 1st place? And do we both get the "Beat the champ" bonus?

Yes. Since it's impossible to really "beat" 900,000, matching Todd's score will get you the double points this time around. (I'm assuming of course that he will easily get 900,000)

 

Also, I should point out that the end date for this week is pushed back a day due to some misunderstandings (read the end of the Week 2 thread for the gory details). So you have until late monday night. Enjoy!

 

--Zero

[gospeedde]

I could be confused, but I though it was late Monday night (early Tuesday morning).