Intellivision HSC Season 12 - Game 11 - Space Armada

[IntyFanMatt]

43 minutes ago, BiffMan said:

It's definitely a rhythm game as much as anything. Since those aliens are so big, you really can't afford to miss, so it becomes a matter of stick-and-move with the fire button held down on a good run. 

 

Dawdling at the end of a level for saucers to repair bunkers is helpful, but the real choke point are those 2 full invis levels. Real easy to lose track of what's left. 

 

Definitely interesting in as much as its a game you rarely lose due to running out of lives. 

Holding down the fire button seems to take its toll. Hard to do for a long period of time for me. But I still like this game even though it’s a bit frustrating. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by IntyFanMatt

[cparsley]

22 hours ago, Ace24 said:

Wait how did this happen??? I never remember the spaceship being anywhere other than the top

[BiffMan]

42 minutes ago, cparsley said:

Wait how did this happen??? I never remember the spaceship being anywhere other than the top

Yep, it's a thing! That's what I was referring to about forgetting how the saucers behave on higher rounds. 

 

If you can survive the two full invis levels, the game still has some fun curves to throw at you...  I love how often Intellivision game designers put in content that 90% of people probably never saw.  Need more of that these days.  ?

[cparsley]

Then I know what I got to look forward to

[Intelligentleman]

Still waiting for my breakthrough, but best score yet.

[gezkc]

A little bit better, but those invisible levels are killing me at the moment.

 

I'm sure I used to be able to get past them, but I really don't know how! 

 

17,190

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by gezkc

[BiffMan]

A few tips:

 

• Get the into the rhythm of the game.  Time that first shot before a new wave of enemies appears and start off with an immediate hit.  Perfection is holding down the fire button and never missing.  That's not terribly sustainable, but that's what you're striving for.
• You'll lose from enemy touchdown 95% of the time, so feel free to take chances with your extra ships.  Stare down that bullet bullet so you can get that extra shot in before you move.
• Holding the disc right or left when spawning will place you under that side's shield.  Careful, you'll also likely be in motion.  Real time saver getting back to work on the lead column
• Formation width is the real enemy here.  Work in columns and don't kill off the bottom row guys too quickly.  The fewer enemies, the faster they go and that can make the difference between clearing another column before they hit the edge.
• *Shooting into a shield can kill an enemy on the row right above the shield.  When you need to clean up the bottom row, do so from the comfort of your shields when possible.  The shield damage you do with a shot or two is negligible.
• If your shields are getting munchy, dawdle at the end of the level and try to get a saucer or three to regen your shields.  Saucers are also a significant source of points (from 1-32 times levelx10)
• Practice mode!!!  If you weren't aware, if you hit enter at the end of a game, then select practice mode (2), you'll get to replay that last level again.  That can be a great way to dial-in your strategy and timing for the more difficult levels.
• Invisible enemies are the real killer in this game.  Visualize where they are and don't lose track.  Know where the edges are and visualize the movement even when there's nothing to see.  If you see your shields getting munched on by nothing, you are about to lose, kill it quickly!
• Something really cool happens with saucers later on in the game.  Try to get there.  ?

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by BiffMan
*added shield shot usefulness

[BiffMan]

43 minutes ago, gezkc said:

A littke bit better, but those invisible levels are killing me at the moment.

 

I'm sure I used to be able to get past them, but I really don't know how! 

 

17,190

 

Nicely done!  This screen brings up an interesting question:  What the hell are you doing??  ?

Seriously, this might be key to helping you.  I see all 8 columns still intact and almost none of the bottom row.  You *must* kill off columns first and foremost to slow down how rapidly the enemies march down on you.  It's totally fine to leave that bottom row along until they're 1 layer above your shields.  Pick a side (I prefer right) and then take out one column at a time.  Even at that level, you should be able to get 2-3 columns before they march down a 3rd time.

[gezkc]

1 hour ago, BiffMan said:

Nicely done!  This screen brings up an interesting question:  What the hell are you doing??  ?

Seriously, this might be key to helping you.  I see all 8 columns still intact and almost none of the bottom row.  You *must* kill off columns first and foremost to slow down how rapidly the enemies march down on you.  It's totally fine to leave that bottom row along until they're 1 layer above your shields.  Pick a side (I prefer right) and then take out one column at a time.  Even at that level, you should be able to get 2-3 columns before they march down a 3rd time.

I know! ?

 

I do normally pick off the end columns (I prefer right as well) but as soon as I got to the invisible level, I had to resort to just shooting the bottom row as it was hard to keep track of what I'd killed and what I hadn't! 

 

I'll try a more measured approach next time!

[BiffMan]

1 minute ago, gezkc said:

I know! ?

 

I do normally pick off the end columns (I prefer right as well) but as soon as I got to the invisible level, I had to resort to just shooting the bottom row as it was hard to keep track of what I'd killed and what I hadn't! 

 

I'll try a more measured approach next time!

Easiest way to track if there's an invis enemy in a given column is to try to shoot the top 2 enemies.  If there are invis bottom 2 enemies in the way, you'll know when you kill them.  ? 

 

Strategy shouldn't change with invis, just extra burden to keep track whether you've hit them or not.  It'll be way less chaotic if you stay methodical in your approach just like any other level.  It sounds so easy, right?  Just kill all the enemies on each level before they touch down, and you'll be fine.  ? 

[Intelligentleman]

Just got to the invisible level for the first time. Yikes.

[gezkc]

2 hours ago, Intelligentleman said:

Just got to the invisible level for the first time. Yikes.

Good luck! ?

[Intelligentleman]

6 minutes ago, gezkc said:

Good luck! ?

Thanks, I had encountered some invisenemies in earlier stages, but this one had way more.

[BiffMan]

4 minutes ago, Intelligentleman said:

Thanks, I had encountered some invisenemies in earlier stages, but this one had way more.

There are 2 of those "full invis" levels back-to-back and then it gets "easier" in as much as the following levels don't have invis enemies for a while.  They do have other exciting treats to offer though.  ?

 

Those 2 full invis levels are a real choke point to getting a decent game.  Hang in there and don't forget the practice feature to replay your last level if you want to work on those levels a little bit.

[ed1475]

160,880

 

This beats my personal best from HSC Season 3 Game 2 of 131,330 on January 15, 2012.

 

I had a lot of close calls with the Armada almost landing in each of the last 4 or 5 waves.

 

This was my third game tonight. The first two games I got 41K and 36K.

 

Played on an Intellivision 1.

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by ed1475

[Ace24]

Superb!

[cparsley]

The spaceship killed ya near the end!!! OMG I loved this game before, but thought it was only a quick pick up and quick game.... God damn, this old boy has new tricks for me, the changing spaceship and the green superball of hatred... Any OTHER new tricks it can throw, or is that the cap of it's fight???

 

[ed1475]

49 minutes ago, cparsley said:

The spaceship killed ya near the end!!!
 

Yeah, that caught me by surprise and broke my concentration. Then I moved left before shooting the lead orange ship and it was game over.

[IntyFanMatt]

2 hours ago, ed1475 said:

160,880

 

This beats my personal best from HSC Season 3 Game 2 of 131,330 on January 15, 2012.

 

I had a lot of close calls with the Armada almost landing in each of the last 4 or 5 waves.

 

This was my third game tonight. The first two games I got 41K and 36K.

 

Played on an Intellivision 1.

 

 

 

Absolutely incredible. Was so cool to see the new attacks and how the saucer reacts. I’ve never gotten there. 

[IntyFanMatt]

21,460

A tad better than my previous score.  I cannot get past the second completely invisible board. I find it ridiculously hard. 

 

[gezkc]

Thanks for posting the video, Ed! Amazing! 

 

I thought I must have got past the invisi levels back in the day, but I don't remember those awful speedy green things or the moving spaceship, so clearly I couldn't have! 

 

I'll keep plugging away but those invisible levels look very hard to get past. Well done for showing us how it should be done. ?

 

[wolfy62]

On 5/6/2020 at 5:59 PM, ed1475 said:

160,880

 

This beats my personal best from HSC Season 3 Game 2 of 131,330 on January 15, 2012.

 

I had a lot of close calls with the Armada almost landing in each of the last 4 or 5 waves.

 

This was my third game tonight. The first two games I got 41K and 36K.

 

Played on an Intellivision 1.

 

 

 

Hey,where the hell did this guy come from?

Totally joking,Ed. Incredible  score.

Congrats!?

I came back and added to this because I just watched the video of your high score. Thanks for posting that,it was so much fun to watch and I recommend anyone who has the chance should check it out!

Outstanding game!?

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by wolfy62
Adding info.

[Intelligentleman]

[fakecortex]

I played some this morning on original hardware and got a new high of 6,290 much to the pain of my fingers and thumbs. Had to keep switching up how I held the controller. Even if those side buttons are hard, at least they all shoot, haha. Then I gave it a shot on the emulator with my ps3 controller and this is definitely my preferred way to play. Immediately got a new high.

 

7,910

[roadrunner]

7,820