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Post by coleco1981 on Nov 7, 2015 23:24:27 GMT -5
Helmet - Thank you for putting together another great Vector War! I particularly appreciate the game selections this year which exposed me to games I wouldn't normally have played much but now appreciate because of the 'quality' time spent to aim for a high score (Dark Tower, Royal 21, Blitz). I hope we can do this all again next year with more new faces!
Some comments on the gameplay:
I ended up actually mapping Dark Tower out on graph paper which is what the instructions suggest. I found most of the keys by methodically 'sweeping' the forrests while ensuring I had a healer and scout.
I did spend a significant amount of time on Pole Position which is one of my favorite games. This port is much more forgiving then the arcade and 7800 vers. It is definitely a heart pumper - I managed to not crash and was at full speed for most of it, except for maybe 5-6 times hitting the grass (light tap slows you down 5-10mph or so). I think a higher score can be made, but it would really require no slowdowns at all. Being brave and weaving through the traffic at top speed is required I think. Its amazing how a fraction of a sec could make or break a few hundred points.
The same can be said about Tour De France. On that game I managed to not crash once and kept it in 3rd gear as much as I could. I had to memorize the hazards and just hope the other bikers got the hell out of the way. Controlling your speed by switching back and forth from 2nd to 3rd worked well for me. It took many - many attempts!
It looks like this year was dependent on fractions of seconds! Exciting indeed - Thanks VectorX and Chainsaw for pushing the limits to make this a challenging race! now that the competition in over I'd be interested to know your strategy on Omega - I tried to set a score on that game but I didn't get anywhere close to your scores so I didn't even bother posting a score for that game. VectorX - I'd also be interested in your strategy on Royal21 - it seems like a very simple game but after many many attempts I couldn't do to well on it.
Thanks again everyone! Vector Wars is awesome!
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Post by VectorX on Nov 8, 2015 0:29:25 GMT -5
I particularly appreciate the game selections this year which exposed me to games I wouldn't normally have played much but now appreciate I only played Omega Chase once or twice on an emulator years ago but never played on my Vectrex until this contest (I never thought to put it on my flashcard; duh!). It looks like this year was dependent on fractions of seconds! Exciting indeed - Thanks VectorX and Chainsaw for pushing the limits to make this a challenging race! It was pretty nuts! There's barely a difference in between my and Chainsaw's totals. now that the competition in over I'd be interested to know your strategy on Omega - I tried to set a score on that game but I didn't get anywhere close to your scores so I didn't even bother posting a score for that game. Mine was somewhat of a fluke. The closest I got to that (which was the game I was trying for one last score on but couldn't match or beat Chainsaw's) was about 9000. The main thing is staying far back and picking off enemies from long distance. Try to keep in mind what shape is in the center per level, then react quickly and accordingly: with the square shape for instance, position your ship so you can shoot enemies as they cross an edge of the square into your line of fire. For like a diamond-shaped level, position your ship so it'll fire at a diagonal towards enemies. Once a level starts, immediately either position your ship or head to another area if the enemies start off below you, since you won't have much time to react once the levels start getting faster and faster. The enemies are also easier to pick off though once the levels become bottlenecked. Make sure to also clean out as many mines as possible at the end of a level, starting from the area around your ship (/top left), then work your way around to other parts of the level if time permits. VectorX - I'd also be interested in your strategy on Royal21 - it seems like a very simple game but after many many attempts I couldn't do to well on it. It's kind of hard to say really since there's a lot of variables. Luck is actually a fairly big factor, since you can literally get like six cards in a damn row worth 10 points each (10 card or a Queen, King or Jack). Others depend on the situation, such as like when a Joker shows up: sure, if there isn't much onscreen/you don't have a lot of decks that are filling up, you can dump it on a King, Queen or Jack for a lot of points. However, if you have a lot of busts and/or card decks onscreen, it's better to dump it on a deck that's very close to 21 just to wipe it out, even though you won't get as many points, but then it'll give you another chance at putting more cards on the screen and/or getting a decent card after that to hopefully wipe out another deck. If you get two 7s in a row, if it's either early on in the game, you don't have a lot of busts and/or a lot of cards onscreen, put them in a row and keep on building up decks until that third 7 comes along for big points, wiping out a deck and a bust all at once. If things are going badly/you have a lot of busts and get two 7s in a deck, DON'T wait for a third 7 to come along because it probably won't. Also, you can substitute some cards: lets say you have a deck with three cards and you need a 9 to make 21. Suppose a 3 comes along. You should put it in that deck, then you'll just need a 6 or less in order to wipe out that deck, because once you get five cards that equals 21 or less then that stack will be gone. Just a few things I can think of; hope those help  |
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Post by Chainsaw on Nov 8, 2015 6:02:01 GMT -5
Omega Chase: Coleco1981 already described very well the strategy. It seems that I use the same in Omega Chase. I try to use the center core as shield, and shoot in an angle close to the corners of the core, that I hit the enemies, before they can shoot at me. (Because my english is still not perfect, it's difficult for me to describe such things. But as I said: Coleco1981 described it very good)
Thank you VectorX for the Royal21 information, also very interesting, I try to use your information when I play next time Royal21.
Pole Position and Tour de France: I also managed sometimes to play both games to the end without crash/accident. In Tour de France, I always have the problem to catch a bottle to fill up my energy. And shifting down often to 2nd gear, if there are to many enemies on the street. And Pole Position I often reach over 77000 points, but 77650 seems a very good result from Coleco :-)
Interesting was my last Spike game yesterday with 91000 points that I didn't post anymore, because I was too stupid to read the ending time of Vector War correctly and was too late. But yes, even the game is very fast after about 60000 points it's still possible to reach 90000 (or more?) without cheating in Spike. In fast levels you have to try to hit the enemies in a way, that you stay in the middle of the screen (hitting enemy changes always the direction of the platforms, so you can avoid in fast levels falling down at the left or right margins of the screen) and jump as often as possible from platform to platform. And interesting: If you reach about 70000 points in Spike (I don't know the exact amount of points you need) some levels are again a little bit slower, it seems that the difficulty does not rising linear...
Coleco: I had no time (or motivation) to play often Dark Tower. But thank you also for your information that could help to beat this game.
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Post by hcmffm on Nov 8, 2015 12:07:37 GMT -5
First off, thank you all for participating and thus making Vector War V another exciting contest! This year we had a bit less players than in Vector War IV, but all last year's champions participated and made the Vector War interesting and high scores real high. Dark Tower solved, Star Trek with 500.000 points, Tour De France below 1 minute, Omega Chase above 10.000 points, just to mention some of the excellent scores that you have played.
Second, I congratulate the three winner's: coleco1981, VectorX, and Chainsaw.
Three winners?! From my point of view, coleco1981 is the "primus inter pares", i.e. first among equals. Just 0,7% between #1 and #3 is minimal and as close as it can get. So I tend to speak of three winner's instead of just one. And I hope that other players also had fun and thus won. And there's still the random prize to be drawn...
Third, I'm reliefed that the Vector War went smoothly and with minor problems in the score updating, only. Also, I'm happy and thank you for the positive feedback on this year's game list. I was surprised that quite a number of players had the games at hand including the limited Omega Chase.
After Vector War V is before Vector War VI: If you have additional feedback, ideas or suggestions for the coming Vector War contest, please contact me or post here.
What next?
- Winners 1-3 will be contacted for clarifying details of their prize.
- Random prize will be drawn among all other players, soon.
Again, thank you all for your enthusiasm, effort, and endurance during the Vector War V!
Best regards, Helmut
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Post by VectorX on Nov 8, 2015 14:23:05 GMT -5
And there's still the random prize to be drawn... Awaiting dice video... I was surprised that quite a number of players had the games at hand including the limited Omega Chase. That ROM's available, as I've had it myself for years, one of the few (I think) that Chris Tumber released for his games. |
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Post by Rapetou33 on Nov 8, 2015 14:43:56 GMT -5
"Noch einmal, Sonja "!
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Post by centaura on Nov 8, 2015 14:46:35 GMT -5
And there's still the random prize to be drawn... Awaiting dice video... For a mere Wars spectator like me the dice video is a very cool and amusing ending. That video is going to be a classic! P.D. many impressive scores... Congrats all |
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Post by hcmffm on Nov 8, 2015 15:16:38 GMT -5
For a mere Wars spectator like me the dice video is a very cool and amusing ending. That video is going to be a classic! P.D. many impressive scores... Congrats all O.k., your wish is my command: Sonja will be the lottery queen, again. |
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Post by hcmffm on Nov 9, 2015 14:32:09 GMT -5
The random prize (1 game of Ratpack Videogames with shipping included) was just drawn. Candidates for the random prize were all qualified players except winners #1 - #3: wazzal Vectronic rapetou33 50tbrd  See here who the winner is. Congratulations! |
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Post by 50tbrd on Nov 9, 2015 14:35:27 GMT -5
Looks like the video is set to private.
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Post by hcmffm on Nov 9, 2015 14:51:25 GMT -5
Looks like the video is set to private. Oops, should be public, now. |
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Post by 50tbrd on Nov 9, 2015 21:16:42 GMT -5
I was glad I got an opportunity to participate. My scores weren't that competitive but I was happy that I beat a number of my personal best scores. Blitz and Tour de France I had not previously spent much time playing and was surprised that I enjoyed playing them as much as I did. I look forward to next years competition.
I hope that VeCaves is re-released soon, I'd like to see it was part of the Vector Wars. I'd love to see what kind of scores people get. Also, if it does have an ending.
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Post by VectorX on Nov 9, 2015 22:01:00 GMT -5
Blitz and Tour de France I had not previously spent much time playing and was surprised that I enjoyed playing them as much as I did. That's how I felt with Omega Chase. |
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Post by Vectronic on Nov 10, 2015 2:14:42 GMT -5
^___^ I never usually win randomly drawn prizes so watching that video was a pleasant surprise for me. I am already looking forward to next year's Vector War and will make sure to get in more practice time than I could this year. I really enjoyed it and I too spent time with a few games that once I got into more than I might have normally, ended up liking a lot and have been playing since. I plan to use my prize to get VeCaves when it comes out from Packrat Games.
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Post by hcmffm on Nov 11, 2015 15:23:12 GMT -5
^___^ I never usually win randomly drawn prizes so watching that video was a pleasant surprise for me. ... Good to read that the surprise did work out. Using the prize for Vecaves is a very good idea. "Hex" will also be offered by Packrat Videogames, so that would be another interesting title. When summarizing the Vector War I forgot two things: 1.) If you want to see your highscores achieved in Vector War V at the "International Vectrex Highscore List" hosted at www.vectrex.co.uk, please submit your scores yourself. (Last year I've submitted all highscores of Vector War IV to www.vectrx.co.uk but the highscore page hasn't been updated since then.) 2.) A big "Thank you!" is for you, VectorX, for providing the VGF as platform for the Vector War and your support and advice in various respects. Thank you! Last not least: I hope to see you all in Vector War VI! |
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