Tempest 2000 - Full Live Playthrough

[Major Havoc 2049]

That was cool to watch, Austin.  You got some mad skills!  

[str0m]

6 hours ago, Stephen said:

 

So much subtlety in a Jeff Minter game.  People seem to miss this, or dismiss things as just derivative when it's these small nuances that turn a mediocre game into something super addictive.  To this day, his stuff is like that.

Yer I've played it tons on the Jag but the Saturn version just felt slightly odd, will try it again, also need more skill as can't get beyond about level 40 unlike lots of people on here!

[Austin]

3 hours ago, str0m said:

Yer I've played it tons on the Jag but the Saturn version just felt slightly odd, will try it again, also need more skill as can't get beyond about level 40 unlike lots of people on here!

Just keep at it! Jump a lot. A lot.

[sirlynxalot]

Very impressive. I always wondered how long the game was/how long it would take to complete. I've always liked the game but I don't think I ever got more than 30 or so levels into it.

[+Stephen]

I never came close to finishing Tempest 2000.  I did however, manage to finish all 100 levels in Space Giraffe (2nd time trying, I even got through level 64 without losing a life).  I really should go back and revisit this game.

[Austin]

14 hours ago, Stephen said:

I never came close to finishing Tempest 2000.  I did however, manage to finish all 100 levels in Space Giraffe (2nd time trying, I even got through level 64 without losing a life).  I really should go back and revisit this game.

I need to do that as well. Played it a lot when it came out but it felt so different to T2K that it never really "clicked" with me. Definitely need to go back to it soon.

[+CyranoJ]

18 hours ago, Austin said:

Just keep at it! Jump a lot. A lot.

But you don't score points when jumping!

[Cobra Kai]

I'm not going to watch that video Austin, but you're the king. I've never legit passed level 64 myself, so anyone breaking that barrier has got skills. Nice work.

 

On the same note, I can beat level 64 on Defender 2000, but still haven't beat all 100. I'm up around level 80 there. I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact I'll probably never finish either of these games, I mean after all these years of playing with no major breakthrough, and less time to play. Still fun fun fun anyway so I don't think about that too much.

[+Cafeman]

8 hours ago, CyranoJ said:

But you don't score points when jumping!

Is this true?  If you kill an enemy while jumping, you get no points? News to me but I never paid attention enough. 

[Austin]

8 hours ago, CyranoJ said:

But you don't score points when jumping!

For much of the game, chances of survival when not jumping are nonexistent.  

Edited January 28, 2021 by Austin

[+Stephen]

51 minutes ago, Cafeman said:

Is this true?  If you kill an enemy while jumping, you get no points? News to me but I never paid attention enough. 

Yes - typical "risk vs reward" part of so many Llamasoft games.

[Austin]

14 hours ago, Stephen said:

Yes - typical "risk vs reward" part of so many Llamasoft games.

Just to clarify for some that might be reading, it's not literally "zero" points, but yes, you get less if you destroy enemies while jumping. CJ's comment got me thinking though--I've gotten very consistent at this game now and am wondering what a score will end up like if I intentionally try to stay on the ground (er, "web") as much as I possibly can.

 

On a side note, I just spent the last few hours unlocking Tempest 2000 within Tempest X3, then rolling through the whole thing from start to finish. Lots of interesting differences between it, the Jaguar and Saturn versions. It sort of feels unfinished in a way, but it features none of the negative gameplay inconsistencies and glitches of the Saturn port and thus is far more playable. More to come later when my body isn't telling me to go pass out.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Austin

[PeterG]

1 hour ago, Austin said:

Just to clarify for some that might be reading, it's not literally "zero" points, but yes, you get less if you destroy enemies while jumping. CJ's comment got me thinking though--I've gotten very consistent at this game now and am wondering what a score will end up like if I intentionally try to stay on the ground (er, "web") as much as I possibly can.

 

On a side note, I just spent the last few hours unlocking Tempest 2000 within Tempest X3, then rolling through the whole thing from start to finish. Lots of interesting differences between it, the Jaguar and Saturn versions. It sort of feels unfinished in a way, but it features none of the negative gameplay inconsistencies and glitches of the Saturn port and thus is far more playable. More to come later when my body isn't telling me to go pass out.

I never gave very much on getting points in most games and with Tempest most of the time I'm happy, if I make it through alive on a hard web.  And jumping is such an integral part, I don't even know how or if some situations can be solved without jumping. It is also a lot of fun, when I was playing it a lot I was amazed at how preciesley you can jump in and out of some situations and that was with a standard controller. Always hated that a "hover"-feature that was designed for Tempest 3000 instead of the jump. But this thread made me aware that in all the Tempest games I played T2k, T3K, TxK, T4K and if you want also Space Giraffe I make it through the whole game at some point but I am always really bad at amassing points. ?

[Austin]

All right, I guess this is turning into the, "Tempest 2000 - FOR SCIENCE!!" thread.

 

It's interesting running through these other versions of the game. There hasn't been a lot of talk about them over the years, other than, "Oh yeah, it's just another port of the game that runs better." There are so many more subtle changes that gives each game a different feel overall, for better or for worse.

 

I unlocked and rolled through the version of Tempest 2000 hidden away in Tempest X3 for the PlayStation. I was expecting it to be pretty much the same as the Saturn version, but there were a lot of differences (both good and bad).

 

Things of note in this version:

- Close to a full 60fps like the Saturn version.

- Uses a mix of original T2K sound effects, and ones from TX3.

- It uses the Jaguar CART soundtrack! I was not expecting this, coming off the Saturn version's (and Tempest X3's) use of the official CD soundtrack.

- Sound mix is totally out of whack and the music is unfortunately muffled. It is possible to lower the SFX volume to match it, but the default settings are *not* ideal.

- The blue ring bonus stages are back! I figured they would be since they were nixed from the Saturn port, but since they made their way into X3, it makes sense. Though I had trouble with the first couple--I could not see the rings at all (the stages work fine on the TX3 side of things).

- Level 64 is GONE. Well, sort of. The same web is there, but all the Pulsars have been swapped out for swarms of standard early-game enemies. This is probably the most controversial change I could find.

- Collision works fantastic, unlike the Saturn game. Fuseballs could be shot with relative ease just like in the Jaguar version, even if they're at the top of a web.

- No wacky glitches from the Saturn game (like landing on the web and dying out of nowhere, or being grabbed from multiple lanes away).

- Motion blur effect is in play during some of the bonus stages.

- No transparant effects, unlike the Saturn port.

- Contrast seems to be cranked up very high, especially on the first set of bonus levels.

- Ending screen is different!

- No Beastly Mode as far as I can tell. It's entirely possible it could be locked behind a code, but I doubt it, considering T2K itself is hidden.

- Just like the Saturn version, there is no way to "quick kill" spikes (i.e., rainbow spikes are gone still).

- Green track bonus stage movement is much faster/snappier than the Saturn version.

 

I'm sure there are other subtle differences I'm missing, but overall it was an interesting experience. It feels a little unfinished/unpolished in some areas (like the sound mix), but gameplay-wise it was a lot more enjoyable than the Saturn version. Things just *worked* and I was able to blaze through the game like with the Jaguar version. The cart-based tunes were welcome, too. If I want my 60fps Tempest 2000 fix, for now this is the port for me to play.

 

Now, I'll have to pick up the MS-DOS and Windows '95 versions.

 

 

 

(note, slight cursing at the beginning of this)

Edited January 29, 2021 by Austin

[+Cafeman]

I just flipped through most of that. The sounds are much more interesting than Saturn Tempest 2000.   PSX T2k seems heavier/weightier with its motion, compared to the Saturn version?  

 

That level you had trouble with at the end - was it level 64? Seemed like that same web but level 64 doesn't appear that late of course (did you clip the video to be shorter or are the levels slightly different from the other versions? ) 

 

Thank you for your Tempest 2000 Examinations: For Science!   I could watch Tempest 2000 sessions over and over. 

[Zerosquare]

@Austin: did you record the part where you played the "normal" Tempest X3 mode as well? I find it interesting as well, even if it's not quite Tempest 2000.

[Austin]

16 hours ago, PeterG said:

I never gave very much on getting points in most games and with Tempest most of the time I'm happy, if I make it through alive on a hard web.  And jumping is such an integral part, I don't even know how or if some situations can be solved without jumping. It is also a lot of fun, when I was playing it a lot I was amazed at how preciesley you can jump in and out of some situations and that was with a standard controller. Always hated that a "hover"-feature that was designed for Tempest 3000 instead of the jump. But this thread made me aware that in all the Tempest games I played T2k, T3K, TxK, T4K and if you want also Space Giraffe I make it through the whole game at some point but I am always really bad at amassing points. ?

Tempest 2000 is just ridiculously fun even without playing for score. It's satisfying aesthetically, and the action is intense and addicting. It's also a big challenge even when just playing for survival. For games as tough as this, I always recommend people just start playing for completion rather than score. The scoring strategies just add replay value for people that want to take the game farther.

 

Totally agreed on the hover mechanic in 3000! Wasn't a big fan. Though now that I've binged a lot of 2000, I really want to go back to that. Same with Space Giraffe, I never did finish that.

5 hours ago, Zerosquare said:

@Austin: did you record the part where you played the "normal" Tempest X3 mode as well? I find it interesting as well, even if it's not quite Tempest 2000.

I did stream it beforehand to unlock T2K, but did not archive it on YouTube. I do plan on dedicating time to completing Tempest X3, very soon. I'll post it here when I do that. I've played it a little bit on and off over the decades, but it always felt like a poor man's T2K. Playing about 40 stages of it last night though, I think it's pretty cool in its own way. Because of how different some of your firepower works, how aggressively the game throws enemies at you, and how slow your Super Zapper comes out, you have to think differently about your strategies so it's pretty interesting to me in that regard.

 

6 hours ago, Cafeman said:

I just flipped through most of that. The sounds are much more interesting than Saturn Tempest 2000.   PSX T2k seems heavier/weightier with its motion, compared to the Saturn version?  

 

That level you had trouble with at the end - was it level 64? Seemed like that same web but level 64 doesn't appear that late of course (did you clip the video to be shorter or are the levels slightly different from the other versions? ) 

 

Thank you for your Tempest 2000 Examinations: For Science!   I could watch Tempest 2000 sessions over and over. 

Nah, Level 64 is the end of the rainbow themed webs. Here it is: https://youtu.be/6eHBagJc9UQ?t=4597.

 

[NinjaWarrior]

He did a Great Job on Saturn Tempest 2000

 

I have Tempest on Saturn, But it's on Midway Presents Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1

 

I don't have Tempest 2000 on the Saturn, Not paying the asking price online

[Cobra Kai]

I'm glad Austin presented the problems with Saturn T2K, because that's one that occasionally catches my eye on Ebay. Now, I can pretty much scratch that one from my list of ever buying it, and also the price of the Saturn version really seems ridiculous since the game sounds almost broken.

[Austin]

I managed to work my way through Tempest X3 last night for the first time. The typically stated differences to 2000 aside, I enjoyed it for the most part. However, there are some major downsides in my book. For one, the reflect enemies do not exist and so the enemy variety isn't as great in the late game. I wouldn't have an issue with this, but the game tacks on an extra 29 levels or so making the whole thing drag out. It's also insanely hard in those last few dozen stages. Despite the Pulsars being easier to deal with (they don't quickly rotate around the web when they reach the top), the combination of them, the high Fuseball count, the lightning things that sit above the web and the faster flipping/rolling enemies, makes it very difficult to get to your jump power-up. If you can't get your jump power-up consistently and efficiently, you're dead, no exceptions. Some of the later web designs also have weird shapes that make it difficult to see what you are doing. Not cool. 

 

https://youtu.be/8Ux1qakbC4

 

I was motivated this morning to fire up TxK on the PS TV. Doubt I'll see myself finishing it, but it's good to revisit during this Tempest binge of mine, haha. Will have to fire up 4000 soon as well, along with grabbing those PC ports of 2000.

 

On 1/30/2021 at 8:02 AM, Cobra Kai said:

I'm glad Austin presented the problems with Saturn T2K, because that's one that occasionally catches my eye on Ebay. Now, I can pretty much scratch that one from my list of ever buying it, and also the price of the Saturn version really seems ridiculous since the game sounds almost broken.

Oh yeah, for the price I wouldn't bother with it. Its issues don't make it completely broken, just more frustrating than other versions because of said glitches. It is totally doable. Play via other means if possible, unless you really gotta have it.

[+Cafeman]

I flipped through the Tempest X marathon play session.  I find this version's graphical FX to be too excessive - I kept losing where the claw was at due to all the graphics and transparencies and explosions.  There seemed to be a lot of new webs overall, and the final 28 didn't seem to be very fun to play, to be honest.  But it was interesting to see the entire game beaten.   If the game frustrated an expert gamer so much, I imagine I'd have given up much earlier. 

 

The sound FX of this PSX version remind me of Wipeout XL sound FX, futuristic with a reverb type of effect. Pretty cool sounds.  The Saturn version seems to favor the CD soundtrack and your shooting sound in comparison - I'm not sure all of the enemies actually make sounds in Tempest 2000. 

[Austin]

Yeah, I enjoy the sound effects, but you are right, the visuals can be overkill. There were multiple times in that session where I completely lost track of what was happening. Regarding the audio levels, you can actually adjust those to your liking in this game, so that's a bonus.

[+thanatos]

Holy crap.  Thanks for the video!  I apparently suck, as I've been a fan of the game since the Jaguar came out, and never even made it to the rainbow webs. 

 

This stupid level drains most of my lives every time, lucky to make it through a few yellow after that.

 

 

 

 

 

[Austin]

Those four points can be tricky to deal with, with how they overlap!

[Cobra Kai]

9 hours ago, thanatos said:

Holy crap.  Thanks for the video!  I apparently suck, as I've been a fan of the game since the Jaguar came out, and never even made it to the rainbow webs. 

 

This stupid level drains most of my lives every time, lucky to make it through a few yellow after that.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't give advice better than Austin because I can't even pass level 64, but sometimes if I'm having a problem I like to adjust the level of zoom and that will help get through a particularly troublesome web.