November 2019 Shmup Club - Tiger-Heli

[zoydo]

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That's no good! Hopefully you can get it working. If nothing else, try some Brasso (or other metal polish) on the contacts, and then chase that with rubbing alcohol, to make sure all the residue is cleaned off. That usually saves the worst carts for me. And don't forget, you can also emulate the arcade version, if you like. I'll be doing that as well.
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Thank you, i guess i give that a shot. Need to get me some metal polish.

[MetalFRO]

Started streaming the arcade version earlier, and I managed to reach stage 3 once, and got a pretty decent score after a few tries. In some ways it's easier than the NES version, because the enemy bullet trajectories are more direct, bullets are smaller, and your hitbox is smaller, so all that combined makes bullets easier to dodge, in theory. As does the fact that it's in Tate/vertical orientation. The counter to that is, if you're not taking out enemies as quickly, you get bullet spammed pretty quick.

[EZ Racer]

Finally starting to get a feel for this game. The "parking lot" on stage 1 always seems to give me trouble, though.

[MetalFRO]

That's a pretty good score so early, though! And yes, the parking lot was a bit of a sticking point for me at first, also.

[MetalFRO]

I managed to get a little further on the arcade version tonight, and hit 136K points! My best suggestion, particularly with the arcade version, but also to the NES version (to a lesser extent), is to "bob and weave" when dodging. Everything targets you in the game, so move up a bit, so they target you there, then fall back a bit, to avoid that bullet, and pick them off.

[EZ Racer]

Got on a good run last night. Thoughts so far- A solid shmup, but I wish the heli was a little more manuverable. I have to take frequent breaks from my left hand cramping. Enjoy that there's lots of targets to take down.

[MetalFRO]

Got on a good run last night. Thoughts so far- A solid shmup, but I wish the heli was a little more manuverable. I have to take frequent breaks from my left hand cramping. Enjoy that there's lots of targets to take down.

Once we get to it, I think you'll find that the sequel, Twin Cobra, improves upon this. Also, the arcade version definitely feels better, so keep that in mind. And yes, hand cramping is a problem with this game; I found that even playing the arcade version with a legit arcade stick.

[MetalFRO]

I'm inching forward a bit in the arcade version. I still can't even get through Stage 1 consistently, despite having tried to route through it. There are spots where tanks come on screen, and because they shoot immediately, it's nearly impossible to avoid their shots, unless you're far enough away. It's quite frustrating, and something that Toaplan would definitely improved upon in subsequent games.

[zoydo]

Sorry for the late entry, but i couldn't revive my copy, so i needed to get another one and now im on track.

This was my first attempt to the game:

[img width=500 height=375]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49093502401_794cfec0f1.jpg[/img]

[MetalFRO]

That's a pretty awesome first attempt! Way to go on that initial score! I assume you've already looped the game, and will be besting my score soon

[zoydo]

Thanks.

The PAL version runs a bit slower than the NTSC version, so i might have a slight advantage here, idk.

Had another pretty good run yesterday, made it to stage 6 and was around 230.000 pts, but the game didn't save my score to the title screen after the game over, so i couldn't capture it. No need to tell you how pissed i was...

Anyone else experienced that?

[MetalFRO]

Thanks.

The PAL version runs a bit slower than the NTSC version, so i might have a slight advantage here, idk.

Had another pretty good run yesterday, made it to stage 6 and was around 230.000 pts, but the game didn't save my score to the title screen after the game over, so i couldn't capture it. No need to tell you how pissed i was...

Anyone else experienced that?

Yes, you need to take a photo right after you get the score - after it goes from the title screen to the attract mode again, when it goes to the title screen the next time, it cuts off the 100K position digit in the score. It's a bug in the game. I discovered this while streaming as well, and someone on stream (dtungsten, maybe?) confirmed this as well.

[zoydo]

@MetalFro: oh man, what a bummer!   Thanks for the heads-up.

So i guess next time i will pause the game and take a picture, when i'm on my last life.

Funny thing is, that there is a similar issue with Kyuukyoku Tiger on the PC Engine. That game doesn't save the score at all, after game over.
So you need to do the same thing to capture your score. Or you have to be real quick and pause the game right after losing your last life to take a photo.

[MetalFRO]

I tweeted it out a couple days ago, but figured I'd give you all a crack at the question of the month as well - reply to get your answer read on the podcast!

If you were going to design a shooting game based around an animal’s name, or characteristics, what animal would you choose, and why?

[zoydo]

Here's my update from last weekend (posted this on Twitter already). Can't remember if it was stage 6 or 7, but the bullets were prety fast and hard to see because of the sprite flickering. Very hard to recover after losing a life.

[img width=500 height=322]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49125242258_7354599d6e.jpg[/img]