NoahsMyBro Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Well, I received my copy of Star Fire tonight, and it's very impressive! (below are excerpts from an email I just fired off to Albert) We had company over this evening, so I wasn't able to open it and check it out until about 30 minutes ago (it's now 3am), but I must say it's pretty cool! The instruction manual is First-Rate stuff, as is the game - graphics, sound, gameplay, all very good! Now, I don't know if this is due to my advancing age, but I seem to recall in my youth playing these games for hours before my hands began to ache - I've only played Star Fire for about 30 minutes, and my wrists ache already. And I've tried using an Epyx 500j, and then a CX-40. So far, my best score is around 1200. AND, I don't know how I did it, but at one point I managed to kill off all enemies in the sector, and no warp ever appeared, leaving me to fly around aimlessly for all eternity. The only thing left to do was hit reset. Have you heard of that occurring before? ____________________________________________________________ So, to sum up - the game is very good, I'm lousy at it and my hands hurt, and I think I found an interesting bug. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 The same quirk just occurred again! I think I'm in level 5 (not sure). My score was about 1150 before entering the sector. I've killed off all the bad guys, and no warp appears. The shield indicators are all dark green, the border around the screen is white, and the radar shows no objects at all, with a yellow inner square and a sky-blue outer square. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Bad copy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Beats me. I don't see how that could be possible, but I don't really know. For what it's worth, I just scored 1799 (best so far), and my left hand really hurts! I'm thinking I may try Genesis or Pointmaster controllers and see how I do with one of them. Damn I ought to go to bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Well this is frustrating. There's no way I'm going to break 3500 if I can't get to Wave 6. I'm almost positive that my copy is simply not letting me advance past Wave 5. Every time I finish off Wave 5 no warp appears, and I am left just flying around aimlessly. I can still control the ship (steer and shoot), but there is nothing to do. Pressing Reset once brings me back to the title screen. I've tried the cart on a 2600jr and a 6-switch VCS. I'm seeing the problem on both. I don't know what I can do about this. This is very frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 are you sure you shot EVERYTHING. If you are on Wave 5 that should be the Star Destroyer round. Generally you must clear any remaining Freighters or Restore Diamonds at the end of a wave for the warp to appear, although if you fail to, generally they program will go ahead and replace the final diamond/freighter with the warp if you fail to shoot it for too long. If you have shot everything (remember freighters do not appear on your radar) and you still just fly around endlessly with no warp, I'd say you have a very weird (see also malfunctioning) cart. Manuel??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 One other possibilty occurred to me - The TV I'm using is old, and the display is not as bright as it should be. When I got Battlesphere a few years ago, I discovered it was unplayable on this TV, because it was impossible to see the many navy-blue colored objects against the black background. Is it possible that whatever is left for me to shoot is dark blue or dark gray, and I simply can't see it on this TV? I'll have to attach an RF switch to my better TV and test this theory out later. -- Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Maybe. Can you see the restore diamonds normally? They are white-ish. The only freighter that might be hard to see is the Slave I in wave 4,8,etc. its a very dark gray. The one in wave 5 is reddish pink and gets lighter as you shoot it, you should be able to see it at all times. The other problem is that the game is programmed to generate the warp tunnel after a certain amount of time regardless of what you shoot. You should get a warp tunnel at the end of each wave no matter what. This is very odd... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Speaking of which, still waiting for my copy to arrive... and hopefully getting a patch from it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Hi there! The only freighter that might be hard to see is the Slave I in wave 4,8,etc. its a very dark gray. I'd also assume that he's not seeing Slave I. The other problem is that the game is programmed to generate the warp tunnel after a certain amount of time regardless of what you shoot. You should get a warp tunnel at the end of each wave no matter what. That is only half the truth. The diamond will disappear after a while that's right, but as long as the last special ship is not shot, the gate will not appear. Hm... I dunno, I'd suggest tweaking the contrast and brightness of the TV when it happens the next time. Please report again. Greetings, Manuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Unfortunately, the TV has no contrast control (I swear!), and the brightness has been at full-blast since I discovered the problem on Battlesphere. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to try this out on a different TV soon. I'll let you guys know the outcome once I do. -- Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Maybe full color might help too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 The other problem is that the game is programmed to generate the warp tunnel after a certain amount of time regardless of what you shoot. You should get a warp tunnel at the end of each wave no matter what. That is only half the truth. The diamond will disappear after a while that's right, but as long as the last special ship is not shot, the gate will not appear. AH. that is interesting. Did not realize that. Perhaps he has shot the Star Destroyer and it has turned a darker color and become un-seeable on his TV and then he just "lost" it? I'll have to look, does the Star Destroyer turn any dark colors when shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I just tried Star Fire out on our main TV in the Den. Sure enough - the special ship in level 5 (Slave ship?) was simply too dark/dim to be visible on my TV in the game room. I managed to get 2274 points right off the bat! Literally off the bat, too - I've settled on using the Wico Command Control stick with the baseball bat-style handle! Pretty soon I think I'll be seeing that glorious badge of honor (the patch, you nitwit!) coming to my mailbox.... First Battlesphere, now Star Fire... I've GOT to get a new gaming TV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 whew! Thank goodness, you had me scared to death over here! Congrats on your score! Well done. Are you playing Diff A or B? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Hi there! whew! Thank goodness, you had me scared to death over here! Same here Greetings, Manuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahsMyBro Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I'm playing Difficulty A. A results in higher scores, right? -- Steve PS: Anybody know of any decent pawns or thrift stores in NJ, where I might pick up a cheap 19" Stereo TV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 yes, difficulty A is the only way to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neotokeo2001 Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I'm playing Difficulty A. A results in higher scores, right? -- Steve PS: Anybody know of any decent pawns or thrift stores in NJ, where I might pick up a cheap 19" Stereo TV? Target has a nice 13' Daewoo set for $50. I would get a new one instead of a used. I've been using old Commodore monitors for years, it looks much better on the TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Ray, my copy arrived at last yesterday. Unfortunately my 2600 doesn't have the greatest picture in the world (really need one with a composite mod!). Fortunately I can make out everything, even Slave I Only had time for one game but I got just over 3,100 so hopefully it won't take too long to earn the patch here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendon Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Wanted to say that after I read the glowing posts here on AA about the game and the fun everyone was having trying to win a patch, I ordered a copy from AA (maybe I shouldn't use just the initials of AtariAge... someone might think I have an addiction problem or something ). As usual, the game arrived ultra-fast and expertly packaged. Thanks AtariAge!! Only had time to try the game for 5min due to company coming over but in that brief amount of time I can see why this game has garnered such a devoted following. Excellent, excellent gameplay and graphics. And addictive as hell! Almost told the wife to entertain our company and I'd join them in a few hours Anyhoot, Thanks to everyone involved with this game and Congratulations on an excellent release! Mendon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 Many copies of Star Fire were sold in December and early January, but I haven't received any new high scores in several weeks. I'm disappointed! All these patches just sitting here, unloved, waiting to be claimed... ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 I qualified for the patch a few games after reading Stan Jrs expert advice. If people are having trouble I recommend giving that another read. Also Mid December sales of StarFire were about 60+ Just out of curiousity, whats the sales # now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Many copies of Star Fire were sold in December and early January, but I haven't received any new high scores in several weeks. I'm disappointed! All these patches just sitting here, unloved, waiting to be claimed... ..Al Can I get a patch if I play it on a Cuttle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 Many copies of Star Fire were sold in December and early January, but I haven't received any new high scores in several weeks. I'm disappointed! All these patches just sitting here, unloved, waiting to be claimed... ..Al Can I get a patch if I play it on a Cuttle? The patches are only available to those who purchased the game, sorry. Now, if you bought the game but played it on your Cuttle Cart and took a picture of your television, I would have no way of knowing. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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