HSC Season 4 Week 28: Phaser Patrol

[Ze_ro]

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

 

Your mission: Fly your interstellar interceptor like you never flew before... because only you stand between the Dracon armada and their cruel objective.

 

The situation: Serious trouble. The Human Federation has been caught napping. While pretending to sign a peace treaty, the devious Dracons have launched a surprise attack. And they've virtually captured the Federation's farm galaxy.

 

Victory seems so close the Dracons can practically smell it with their hideous nostrils. One lone defender stands between them and control of the human food supply. You.

 

About your enemy: You wouldn't want to have lunch with a Dracon. They're not nice to look at, and they're very hostile. They live by raiding peaceful planets, stealing everything they can, and taking no prisoners. To make matters worse, they are absolutely fearless.

 

The Dracon armada: They're tough. Each Dracon fighter is armed with lethal photon torpedoes. You've got shields, but a direct hit can disable them. And a series of direct hits could reduce you to space dust.

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Phaser Patrol
  
• Released By: Starpath, 1982
  
• Left Difficulty: Switches between map and game action
  
• Right Difficulty: B / Novice
  
• Game Mode: Game 1
  
• Chosen By: shadow460
  

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, November 9th 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

1. Hero Level C (shadow460) [+11]
   
2. Ace Level A (Rom Hunter) [+10]
   
3. Ace Level B (SpiceWare) [+9]
   
4. Ace Level D (rheffera) [+8]
   Ace Level D (LarcenTyler) [+8]
   
5. Pilot Level B (Deteacher) [+7]
   

Best Tips

• shadow460 [+2]
  

Bounties and Challenges

• None yet posted
  

TwinGalaxies Top 3

(Game 1, Difficulty B)

1. This game is not in Twin Galaxies's database!
   

Current Standings

1. Rom Hunter [277]
2. SpiceWare [199]
3. keilbaca [172]
4. Deteacher [128]
5. vdub_bobby [117]
6. LarcenTyler [104]
7. the 5th ghost [79]
8. BrianC [78]
9. shawnb [71]
10. Malc74 [63]
11. scogey [63]
12. Cybergoth [42]
13. Christophero Sly [40]
14. atari2600land [38]
15. theKLT [37]
16. 128bytes [34]
17. shadow460 [34]
18. rheffera [31]
19. Goochman [28]
20. Jred [26]

• doctorclu [22]
• SeaGtGruff [21]
• phaxda [21]
• Lord Helmet [19]
• JacobZu7zu7 [19]
• mojofltr [17]
• Random Terrain [15]
• Lord Thag [15]
• Nathan Strum [12]
• rjchamp3 [11]
• ResOGlas [11]
• Thomas Jentzsch [11]
• Gabriel [8]
• Hiryu [7]
• supercat [5]
• Recycled [4]
• Biter [2]
• Omegamatrix [1]
• Dan Iacovelli [1]
• ewing92 [1]

Scoring Points in Phaser Patrol

• Destroy a Dracon fighter, go up 3/8 Level.
  
• Use 100 units of energy, lose 1/8 Level.
  
• Use up a space/hour (one movement of the second-lowest clock indicator), lose 1/8 Level.
  
• Destroy all the Dracons, go up 1 Rank.
  
• Destroy all the Dracons in Difficulty "B," go up 1 Level.
  

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 available online. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any direct hints, but it's still worth reading.

A couple of suggestions:

Learn evasive flying. The shields use too much energy. I played that Hero level C game with nbo shields at all, and I never got hit, either.

I think accuracy with the torpedoes helps out, too. I was firing a little wildly.

 

The Dracons become visible when they're close to the middle of the radar box and the rangefinder reads 40 or less. At about 20 on the rangefinder, your torpedo tracking locks on almost instantly, and you still have room to pull evasive if its needed.

 

Don't waste the warp hops. If you do get damaged, you will have to continue the fight from near the starbase instead of going back to where you left off. Some damage isn't worth worrying about. Any damage to the shields is trivial. Damaged torpedoes are also trivial, but destroyed torpedoes is another matter entirely.

Long range scanners need to be fully functional through the first part of the game. The more sectors you have uncovered, the less important the LR scan is. Remember that you do not have to uncover all the sectors to win, you must simply destroy the enemy.

The tracking computer is your most vital piece of equipment when playing for higher ranks. If it's damaged, you will wander for several seconds in between dogfights instead of going point to point. If it's destroyed, your torpedoes will not home in on their targets. This can be overcome by guiding Dracons into the line the torpedo will fire along.

If the comp gets damaged or destroyed, you can try to finish the current battle, but you need to hit the starbase immediately thereafter.

 

--Ze_ro

[+atari2600land]

I don't know if going to other sites to get ROMS is frowned upon, but romnation.net has a ROM of this game.

Edited November 2, 2006 by atari2600land

[Lauren Tyler]

How are we going to do this, since you don't get a traditional score, but rather a rank and level.

[shadow460]

I gotta get my Supercharger set up...fun stuff!

[shadow460]

The rundown:

The highest rank is Hero, followed by Ace, Pilot, and Greenhorn, in that order. Each rank has four levels, A through D with A being the highest.

There are 16 possible scores if you finish the game. If you get destroyed, there's only one score: Greenhorn level D.

 

By the way, this game is much harder under emulation. If you've got a Supercharger, head over to Schell's Electronics and download the PlayBin for the Cuttle Cart 1. This will play back Starpath bin files for you.

If you've got tapes or the Stella Gets a New Brain CD, dig those out. Make you a copy of the tape and use the copy, or use the CD. The easiest way is probably to load the Supercharger with an ipod.

 

Anyway, I played on my modified 7800. Phaser Patrol uses the TV Type switch, which I added in to my console.

 

My first score is Ace level A, which is the fifth score from the best in the game.

 

Scrub that, I made it to Hero Level C.

Edited November 3, 2006 by shadow460

[Deteacher]

How will ties be handled? First one to post? Equal points? Just curious.

 

I've never played this before. I have to say, I like it a lot! My first score was Pilot Class D, but I won't submit that one. I know I can do better.

 

Great choice! It's gonna be a fun week!

 

First score. Pilot Class B

Edited November 3, 2006 by Deteacher

[shadow460]

A couple of suggestions:

Learn evasive flying. The shields use too much energy. I played that Hero level C game with nbo shields at all, and I never got hit, either.

I think accuracy with the torpedoes helps out, too. I was firing a little wildly.

 

The Dracons become visible when they're close to the middle of the radar box and the rangefinder reads 40 or less. At about 20 on the rangefinder, your torpedo tracking locks on almost instantly, and you still have room to pull evasive if its needed.

 

Don't waste the warp hops. If you do get damaged, you will have to continue the fight from near the starbase instead of going back to where you left off. Some damage isn't worth worrying about. Any damage to the shields is trivial. Damaged torpedoes are also trivial, but destroyed torpedoes is another matter entirely.

Long range scanners need to be fully functional through the first part of the game. The more sectors you have uncovered, the less important the LR scan is. Remember that you do not have to uncover all the sectors to win, you must simply destroy the enemy.

The tracking computer is your most vital piece of equipment when playing for higher ranks. If it's damaged, you will wander for several seconds in between dogfights instead of going point to point. If it's destroyed, your torpedoes will not home in on their targets. This can be overcome by guiding Dracons into the line the torpedo will fire along.

If the comp gets damaged or destroyed, you can try to finish the current battle, but you need to hit the starbase immediately thereafter.

[+SpiceWare]

Ace Level D - make that C

Edited November 4, 2006 by SpiceWare

[+SpiceWare]

Ace Level B

[shadow460]

Are you flying with or without shields, Spice? Seems like you're too close to Hero to not actually make it.

[rheffera]

Ace Level D

[+SpiceWare]

I've only played 4 games - spending most of my time wrapping up Medieval Mayhem. With the 3rd game I started to turn shields on/off before and after a battle. Nicely done shield activiation sequence.

[Ze_ro]

How will ties be handled? First one to post? Equal points? Just curious.

The scoring is a little unusual, but I've always given ties equal points in the past, so that will be the case here too.

 

Sorry for the slow updates, work has been crazy lately... and will likely remain that way until the end of the month

 

--Zero

[shadow460]

I've only played 4 games - spending most of my time wrapping up Medieval Mayhem. With the 3rd game I started to turn shields on/off before and after a battle. Nicely done shield activiation sequence.

Bear in mind that while the shields are activating, any areas not grayed are vulnerable as if the shields weren't even active.

 

Other than that, shields use more energy that they are worth--especially if you pratice evasive flying until you never get hit anymore.

[Rom Hunter]

 

ACE level A

 

Great game.

 

Edited November 8, 2006 by Rom Hunter

[shadow460]

You're gettin' close to the Hero there, Rom Hunter.