HSC Season 7 Week 5: Cosmic Ark

[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This weeks competition is over and no further scores will be acepted.

 

The Cosmic Ark has travelled thousands of light years in order to preserve the many exotic species peculiar to the Alpha Ro solar system. When that sun novas, life on planets there will wither and die.

 

Nothing about this mission is easy. Heavy meteor activity throughout the system makes travel hazardous. And each planet has an automatic defense system that cannot be knocked out. Can the Ark succeed in saving the many helpless creatures of Alpha Ro? Can the Cosmic Ark survive? How many planets can you reach?

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Cosmic Ark
• Released By: Imagic, 1982
• Left Difficulty: B / Novice - Left joystick controls ark
• Right Difficulty: B / Novice - Narrow Ark
• Game Mode: Game 1
• Chosen By: Ze_ro

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 Wednesday September 23rd at 1:00 AM (CST).

 

Current High Scores 23,930 (Captain Beard) [+11] 22,980 (toymailman) [+10] 21,070 (Atardi) [+9] 19,790 (kote) [+8] 18,370 (shadow460) [+7] 16,090 (keilbaca) [+6] 16,040 (Hornpipe2) [+5] 15,330 (SpiceWare) [+4] 14,880 (vjames) [+3] 14,150 (Vectorman0) [+2] 13,800 (godzillajoe) [+1] 13,010 (jjd) [+1] 12,980 (Deteacher) [+1] 12,660 (Zoyx) [+1] 12,230 (jeremysart) [+1] 11,730 (LoneWolfSeth) [+1] 11,260 (chuckwalla) [+1] 11,120 (darthkur) [+1] 9890 (Nathan Strum) [+1] 4980 (roadrunner) [+1] Best Tips shadow460 [+2] Challenges None yet TwinGalaxies Top 3 1,264,850 (Todd Rogers) 83,700 (Christian L Keilback) 60,560 (Troy Whelan) (Game 1, Difficulty B)

Current Standings godzillajoe [37] toymailman [32] Captain Beard [26] Zoyx [21] Vectorman0 [18] darthkur [17] devwebcl [13] homerwannabee [11] Nathan Strum [10] vjames [9] shadow460 [9] SpiceWare [7] keilbaca [6] Mister VCS [6] aftermac [5] roadrunner [4] 4Ks [4] LarcenTyler [3] chuckwalla [2] Shannon [2] vintagegamecrazy [2] Hornpipe2 [2] sloth713 [2] Wickeycolumbus [2] ChrisKoopa [1] jeremysart [1] Impaler_26 [1] Nati [1]

 

Scoring Points in Cosmic Ark

• Destroy a meteor: 10 points.
• Destroy a special wavering meteor: 30 points.
• Reach planet, capture both beasties and return to Cosmic Ark: 1000 points.

 

Hints and Tips

The Manual

 

As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a scanned copy and a typed copy available online. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any specific hints.

 

It's also worth pointing out that we played this game a few years back. You might want to check it out for further hints.

 

shadow460

 

My advice about racing to the bottom of the planet doesn't work when the defenses get really fast. There are no safe spots, either, you must duck between the beams.

 

Try just grabbing beasties from the very top op the shuttle's travel, then duck back into the ark when the lasers get too close.

If you are trapped near the planet, grab the second beastie and let the lasers shoot you. This will put one beastie back on the planet, but it'll return you instantly to the ark and you will still leave the planet with 11 units of fuel.

You might also try grabbing only one beastie, going back to the meteor shower, then getting shot by the lasers and re grabbing the beastie to get another 10 units of fuel.

If you leave the planet without getting hit by a meteor, you gain 1 additional unit of fuel. Essentially you gain 1 unit of fuel for each planet you visit. It isn't much, but it does add up.

To avoid being hit, wait for the eight beep of the alarm, then push the joystick left and roll it left left/up, up, right/up, right. You'll let three shots loose in rapid succession, one left, one up, and one right. No mess, no meteor hits on the planet, ever.

 

Also, you can shoot just as fast as the joystick moves. If you shoot twice in rapid succession, the first shot will disappear from the screen when the second is fired.

 

Experiment with your different controllers on this one. If your controller takes even a split second less time to make contact, that's a split second more time you have to react during the meteor showers.

 

Also, you can get to the planet's surface before the defense mechanism fires even once on the earlier levels. Do this to get a jump on the defense system.

 

Never stay in line with the defense system's lasers. Try to move between them in the opposite direction they are traveling.

 

Always fire a single shot upwards when the shuttleship returns to the ark. This ensures the shuttleship is docked firmly so you can fire when the meteor appears. Firing from the ark doesn't use fuel while you're on a planet, so it's not a concern.

 

You don't have to have perfect aim in the meteor shower, just as long as you don't miss more than a third to half your shots.

 

You also don't need to be perfect on every single planet, either. If you can get both beasties in one landing before the warning sounds on every third or fourth planet, you will be OK.

 

You do not lose any energy at all when the shuttleship is hit by a laser. Obviously, if you were carrying a beastie, you won't get extra energy for rescuing it, though.

 

The warning siren has eight beeps.

 

If the ark gets hit on the planet, both beasties return to the surface, even if there was only one left when you landed.

 

You can juggle the beasties with your tractor beam. If you have one halfway up and you need to move quick, release the beam and bump the stick to the right a hair, then re engage the beam. The beastie will be drawn into it instantly when he hits the ground.

 

Also, don't be afraid to "roll" the stick during meteor showers like you would if you were doing special moves in Mortal Kombat. You'll miss some shots, yes, but you will be able to recover the energy by rescuing beasties.

 

Your maximum fuel capacity is 45 units. I think sometimes when you get both beasties it resets to only 40, but I am not sure. It starts you with 40.

 

Even in the default game, there are no sweet spots by the time you're picking up Pac Man. If you get to the second Pac Man planet, the lasers go just crazy like they do on the second planet of Game 4.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about meteors getting by your shots. You can generally make up for it on the next planet. The meteor hit costs you 10 fuel units, plus one for the missed shot, and you're probably going to take off with at least 11 units of bonus fuel if not half or even a full tank, so it evens out.

 

Captain Beard

 

There are two ways to beat those red meteors:

1) Shoot twice. This requires you to have split-second timing, of course, as there isn't time to get off two shots unless you fire immediately when the meteor first appears.

2) Shoot late. The closer the meteors are to your ship, the greater the chance of connecting with your shot.

 

Other advice:

The defense lasers follow a set pattern for each particular planet. This means there are sweet spots where you can sit indefinitely and never get hit. So watch as the lasers come towards the surface for the 1st time. If they don't shoot on the bottommost level, they never will, so you can shuttle around down there safely until the alarm sounds. On the later, faster levels, it's sometimes possible to position yourself very high up in a sweet spot and at least get one critter without having to navigate through the defenses. (Edit - Only works on the earlier planets?)

 

--Zero

[kote]

hi, my first try

 

12 780

Edited September 16, 2009 by kote

[shadow460]

17480.

 

Up a bit to 17910. I can't catch Pac-Man.

 

Up again to 18370. I am trying to hit the 20K mark at least. My advice about racing to the bottom of the planet doesn't work when the defenses get really fast. There are no safe spots, either, you must duck between the beams.

 

Try just grabbing beasties from the very top op the shuttle's travel, then duck back into the ark when the lasers get too close.

If you are trapped near the planet, grab the second beastie and let the lasers shoot you. This will put one beastie back on the planet, but it'll return you instantly to the ark and you will still leave the planet with 11 units of fuel.

You might also try grabbing only one beastie, going back to the meteor shower, then getting shot by the lasers and re grabbing the beastie to get another 10 units of fuel.

If you leave the planet without getting hit by a meteor, you gain 1 additional unit of fuel. Essentially you gain 1 unit of fuel for each planet you visit. It isn't much, but it does add up.

To avoid being hit, wait for the eight beep of the alarm, then push the joystick left and roll it left left/up, up, right/up, right. You'll let three shots loose in rapid succession, one left, one up, and one right. No mess, no meteor hits on the planet, ever.

 

Also, you can shoot just as fast as the joystick moves. If you shoot twice in rapid succession, the first shot will disappear from the screen when the second is fired.

 

Experiment with your different controllers on this one. If your controller takes even a split second less time to make contact, that's a split second more time you have to react during the meteor showers.

 

Also, you can get to the planet's surface before the defense mechanism fires even once on the earlier levels. Do this to get a jump on the defense system.

 

Never stay in line with the defense system's lasers. Try to move between them in the opposite direction they are traveling.

 

Always fire a single shot upwards when the shuttleship returns to the ark. This ensures the shuttleship is docked firmly so you can fire when the meteor appears. Firing from the ark doesn't use fuel while you're on a planet, so it's not a concern.

 

You don't have to have perfect aim in the meteor shower, just as long as you don't miss more than a third to half your shots.

 

You also don't need to be perfect on every single planet, either. If you can get both beasties in one landing before the warning sounds on every third or fourth planet, you will be OK.

 

You do not lose any energy at all when the shuttleship is hit by a laser. Obviously, if you were carrying a beastie, you won't get extra energy for rescuing it, though.

 

The warning siren has eight beeps.

 

If the ark gets hit on the planet, both beasties return to the surface, even if there was only one left when you landed.

Edited September 19, 2009 by shadow460

[Zoyx]

10850

[Captain Beard]

16,040

 

And that's a new all-time high for me. Which is weird.

I haven't played this game in a year, probably, but there was a time when I was playing it regularly, and back then my high score was 14,000-something. So now, playing cold after all this time, I handily beat my previous score. Does this ever happen to anyone else?

[Zoyx]

16,040

 

And that's a new all-time high for me. Which is weird.

I haven't played this game in a year, probably, but there was a time when I was playing it regularly, and back then my high score was 14,000-something. So now, playing cold after all this time, I handily beat my previous score. Does this ever happen to anyone else?

Happened to me with Turmoil. A year or two ago, I played it for the first time in 25 years. After the 3rd game I checked it against my teenager hi-score, and I had beaten it.

[Zoyx]

12660

 

I tried a small display for this game. The goal was to get more of the screen in my direct vision, and not rely so much on my peripheral vision. Seemed to help a little bit. Standing further away from a larger screen would have the same effect. Help anyone else?

 

I'm not going to do well in this game... it is good at highlighting my slowing reflexes.

 

Edited September 16, 2009 by Zoyx

[Captain Beard]

17,070

[Deteacher]

12,980.

 

I think I can do better but it gets me on the board.

 

[Zoyx]

Bestest tutorial evar!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHGJiNs8WUU

[shadow460]

Figured something else out:

 

You can juggle the beasties with your tractor beam. If you have one halfway up and you need to move quick, release the beam and bump the stick to the right a hair, then re engage the beam. The beastie will be drawn into it instantly when he hits the ground.

 

Also, don't be afraid to "roll" the stick during meteor showers like you would if you were doing special moves in Mortal Kombat. You'll miss some shots, yes, but you will be able to recover the energy by rescuing beasties.

 

Your maximum fuel capacity is 45 units. I think sometimes when you get both beasties it resets to only 40, but I am not sure. It starts you with 40.

Edited September 17, 2009 by shadow460

[toymailman]

A new best score for me.

 

15,190

[kote]

12660

 

I tried a small display for this game. The goal was to get more of the screen in my direct vision, and not rely so much on my peripheral vision. Seemed to help a little bit. Standing further away from a larger screen would have the same effect. Help anyone else?

 

I'm not going to do well in this game... it is good at highlighting my slowing reflexes.

 

 

I use Stella and I play this game in window (no fullscreen) with small resolution. I think it helps a bit. It is hard to keep attention in meteor shower

Edited September 17, 2009 by kote

[godzillajoe]

12,790 to put me on the board.

[LoneWolfSeth]

9280 little better personal best 10310

Edited September 19, 2009 by LoneWolfSeth

[vjames]

14,880

 

I'm done for this week. The red meteor keeps getting me when it comes off from the sides. I shoot and miss. Could do without this little wrinkle.

[kote]

a little progress 13120

Edited September 19, 2009 by kote

[Hornpipe2]

16040

[jjd]

13010

[Captain Beard]

I'm done for this week. The red meteor keeps getting me when it comes off from the sides. I shoot and miss. Could do without this little wrinkle.

There are two ways to beat those red meteors:

1) Shoot twice. This requires you to have split-second timing, of course, as there isn't time to get off two shots unless you fire immediately when the meteor first appears.

2) Shoot late. The closer the meteors are to your ship, the greater the chance of connecting with your shot.

 

Other advice:

The defense lasers follow a set pattern for each particular planet. This means there are sweet spots where you can sit indefinitely and never get hit. So watch as the lasers come towards the surface for the 1st time. If they don't shoot on the bottommost level, they never will, so you can shuttle around down there safely until the alarm sounds. On the later, faster levels, it's sometimes possible to position yourself very high up in a sweet spot and at least get one critter without having to navigate through the defenses.

[darthkur]

11,120

 

 

[jeremysart]

12230

 

I am definitely going to give it another round later, I can do way better than that

 

I love this game, it has such a fun factor. I had some friends over, it was entertaining when the sirens go off, "Oooh! Get outta there!" lol. A unique title amongst the 2600.

[godzillajoe]

13,800, a slight improvement

 

Is the collision detection a bit dodgy?

 

A have been hit my the "normal" meteors and I can still see my missile flying off screen.

 

But, got up to the Daleks. Last time was the bats.

 

Baby steps.

[godzillajoe]

I'm done for this week. The red meteor keeps getting me when it comes off from the sides. I shoot and miss. Could do without this little wrinkle.

 

Other advice:

The defense lasers follow a set pattern for each particular planet. This means there are sweet spots where you can sit indefinitely and never get hit. So watch as the lasers come towards the surface for the 1st time. If they don't shoot on the bottommost level, they never will, so you can shuttle around down there safely until the alarm sounds. On the later, faster levels, it's sometimes possible to position yourself very high up in a sweet spot and at least get one critter without having to navigate through the defenses.

 

See I tried this by sitting where they didn't shoot on the first pass up and they got me on the way down, I may have been a pixel off, who knows.

[Captain Beard]

Other advice:

The defense lasers follow a set pattern for each particular planet. This means there are sweet spots where you can sit indefinitely and never get hit. So watch as the lasers come towards the surface for the 1st time. If they don't shoot on the bottommost level, they never will, so you can shuttle around down there safely until the alarm sounds. On the later, faster levels, it's sometimes possible to position yourself very high up in a sweet spot and at least get one critter without having to navigate through the defenses.

 

See I tried this by sitting where they didn't shoot on the first pass up and they got me on the way down, I may have been a pixel off, who knows.

 

Hmmmm. Well, Shadow's earlier post claims there are no sweet spots, so maybe I just imagined them. I swear I've used this strategy before with great success, but I'll do some experimenting this weekend and see if maybe I was mistaken.

I won't get 2 points deducted for giving the worst advice, will I?