Intellivision HSC Season 12 - Game 11 - Space Armada

[dpisacane]

I tried... 12,150

I always find this game very difficult.

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[IntyFanMatt]

40,410

Late addition here...finally made it past the invisible levels.
 

[fakecortex]

Taken out by an invisible armada. I don't know how you guys do it, especially on original hardware. I can only play this with my ps3 controller. It's those side buttons, ouch. Would be a good game to use an atari joystick with. It's a shame the INTV didn't have detachable controllers...just to switch things up.

 

11,800

[Intelligentleman]

19 minutes ago, fakecortex said:

Taken out by an invisible armada. I don't know how you guys do it, especially on original hardware. I can only play this with my ps3 controller. It's those side buttons, ouch. Would be a good game to use an atari joystick with. It's a shame the INTV didn't have detachable controllers...just to switch things up.

 

11,800

Agree, not a game that benefits from the stock controller.

[Ace24]

7 hours ago, IntyFanMatt said:

40,410

Late addition here...finally made it past the invisible levels.
 

Surely hard to do. An invisible green alien just touched down on my final  “last game” and that’s it for me. On to Happy Trails...

[+JasonlikesINTV]

I'm not going to top this.  It's amazing how quickly your score increases after the invisible levels.

[mr_me]

2 hours ago, fakecortex said:

Taken out by an invisible armada. I don't know how you guys do it, especially on original hardware. I can only play this with my ps3 controller. It's those side buttons, ouch. Would be a good game to use an atari joystick with. It's a shame the INTV didn't have detachable controllers...just to switch things up.

 

...

 

Intellivision ii and sears intellivisions have external de9 ports.  You couldn't  just plug in an atari 2600 joystick since the pinout is difference.  But with a very simple adapter that anyone can make, an atari 2600 joystick would work with games like space armada.

[Player One]

4360

Edited May 18, 2020 by Player One

[JacobZu7zu7]

Darn!! only time for 1 game, in 15 mins I got,

 

 

11,110

Edited May 18, 2020 by JacobZu7zu7

[JacobZu7zu7]

A lot of nice score here, congrads on a new record from ed overtaking eds old one

 

Is it just me, or does this game although bulky and strange... is more fun then the standard Atari Space Invaders? ?

[gezkc]

1 hour ago, JacobZu7zu7 said:

A lot of nice score here, congrads on a new record from ed overtaking eds old one

 

Is it just me, or does this game although bulky and strange... is more fun then the standard Atari Space Invaders? ?

I definitely think it's more fun than Space Invaders. Lots of variety, large colourful aliens (when they're not invisible!) and a challenging but fun difficulty level.

One of the better space titles on the Intellivision without a doubt. 

[BiffMan]

Agreed, definitely my favorite version of the old school Space Invaders variants. The invisible targets and weapons variety (and kamikaze saucers!!) help distinguish this one from the pack. I personally don't find the enemy size to be a problem, just means you must knock off 3-4 columns as quickly as possible, then it's perfectly manageable. 

 

I do still have a sweet spot for the original Space Invaders arcade sound effects though. Very much burned into my brain along with Asteroids, Pac Man, and Tempest. 

[BiffMan]

Unofficial standings after Space Armada

 

(HIGH SCORES)

 

1. 160,880 ed1475  [+11]

2. 63,050 BiffMan  [+10]

3. 51,930 Ace24  [+9]

4. 51,000 JasonlikesINTV  [+7]

5. 42,910 gezkc  [+6]

6. 40,410 IntyFanMatt  [+5]

7. 19,820 Intelligentleman  [+4]

8. 18,590 cmadruga  [+3]

9. 14,490 wolfy62  [+2]

10. 14,320 Mangia-Boy  [+1]

11. 12,150 dpisacane  [+1]

12. 11,800 fakecortex  [+1]

13. 11,110 JacobZu7zu7  [+1]

14. 7,820 roadrunner  [+1]

15. 4,360 PlayerOne  [+1]

16. 680 DarthCloud  [+1]

17. 280 jblenkle  [+1]

 

 

 

 

 

Rankings (through game 11)

 

1. BiffMan [+89]

2. gezkc [+78]

3. IntyFanMatt [+57]

4. JasonlikesINTV [+55]

5. cmadruga [+52]

6. Ace24 [+48]

7. JacobZu7zu7 [+47]

8. mr_me [+46]

9. wolfy62 [+38]

10. cparsely [+31]

11. dpisicane [+28]

12. Player One [+24]

13. Intelligentleman [+23]

14. jblenkle [+18]

14. fakecortex [+18]

16. ed1475 [+16]

17. m-crew [+13]

18. Intellfan [+10]

19. hoosierdadee78 [+7]

19. roadrunner [+7]

21. S.BAZ [+4]

22. t0spmad [+2]

22. Mister-VCS [+2]

24. Mangia-Boy [+1]

24. DarthCloud [+1]

[Rickster8]

On 5/6/2020 at 1:42 PM, BiffMan said:

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.  ?

 

Hi @BiffMan, great tips, but regarding your 6th bullet point. Isn't this considered 'camping'? Because you are in essence waiting around to 'nail' something instead of advancing to another level. ?

[IntyFanMatt]

1 hour ago, Rickster8 said:

Hi @BiffMan, great tips, but regarding your 6th bullet point. Isn't this considered 'camping'? Because you are in essence waiting around to 'nail' something instead of advancing to another level. ?

If I may chime in on this...I don't think it would be considered camping in this game.  It only happens for a handful of seconds near the end of each screen since the alien is coming down fast to kill you anyway.  I think it's part of the game and smart to hang around for an extra saucer shot.  I would consider it camping if you could do it for any length of time and keep shooting the saucer over and over again.  But in this case, the game doesn't allow that, so it's fine in my book.  ? 

[JacobZu7zu7]

Yep, not camping because of the last aliens will hit the floor before you can camp.... Armada ships is more like pac-man waiting for the ghosts before gobbling the power pellet to eat 'em.

[IntyFanMatt]

10 minutes ago, JacobZu7zu7 said:

Yep, not camping because of the last aliens will hit the floor before you can camp.... Armada ships is more like pac-man waiting for the ghosts before gobbling the power pellet to eat 'em.

Perfect analogy.  It's part of the game.

[Rickster8]

17 minutes ago, JacobZu7zu7 said:

Yep, not camping because of the last aliens will hit the floor before you can camp.... Armada ships is more like pac-man waiting for the ghosts before gobbling the power pellet to eat 'em.

Cool thanks Jacob. I sent you a PM. ?

[BiffMan]

1 hour ago, JacobZu7zu7 said:

Yep, not camping because of the last aliens will hit the floor before you can camp.... Armada ships is more like pac-man waiting for the ghosts before gobbling the power pellet to eat 'em.

What Jacob said ?

 

I would consider camping something you could do for an extended period of time with no risk. In Armada, they're constantly marching down on you and if you miss after waiting, you lose. 

[Rickster8]

1 hour ago, BiffMan said:

What Jacob said ?

 

I would consider camping something you could do for an extended period of time with no risk. In Armada, they're constantly marching down on you and if you miss after waiting, you lose. 

Gotcha, where you been man? Haven't seen an entry from you yet (in Season 13)? You aren't going soft on us after kicking all our asses are you? ?

[BiffMan]

7 hours ago, Rickster8 said:

Gotcha, where you been man? Haven't seen an entry from you yet (in Season 13)? You aren't going soft on us after kicking all our asses are you? ?

No, just embarrassed by my score thus far. Haven't had much time yet this week, but will try to play obsessively in the near future. No chance I can catch you though! ?