guitarzombie

Also what are the conditions for Gold Medal Challenge?  I don't own the game, but I've played it a lot with friends.  Is it just to come as #1 with the most medals at the end?

In order for it to be fake, they would have to have ripped off another prototype, because only prototypes use "TKEPROM" boards, or any other of those types of non-commercial boards.

I have strats now up to level 7.  The real issue is the bit of randomization.  Sometimes the enemies spawn behind you, or the bottom group shoots instead of the top one.  I don't think there can be a 100% foolproof 'strat' for each level, but these are the things that I'm doing that seem to be most successful. 

The other bit I didn't count on is, every so often there's a 'homing' enemy that flies right to you and shoots you, but not all the time.  Again another aspect of the randomness so I'm trying to find the best strats to shoot them or avoid it.

PS. I realized level 7's map is longer than it should be (I doubled a section).  Its been corrected but i'm gonna see if I messed up any others before I reupload the maps.

5 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

I wonder if they had to tweak the tile layout to conform to the NES abilities.

 

Also, for some reason, when I click on the thread's latest post, and then try to scroll up, it gets really jittery when I hit the first post with all the map layouts. I'm not saying the game itself is to blame for that, but it's highly suspicious and I wouldn't put it past that game to screw up the forum. 

Haha yeah it does it for me too.

33 minutes ago, wongojack said:

I think those of you on this thread will know this, but the game is known as Uridium on classic computers.  The C64 version is notorious for difficulty too, but I did a comparison not too long ago and found it to be just a little slower and easier.  I think the PAL version was one of those that slowed down a click too iirc.

It is also on Spectrum and Amstrad and there is an Uridium 2 on Amiga which (if you like the original game) is pretty good once you get used to the differences.  I found it more playable than any version of the original game that I tried.

Anyway, I don't know if the levels and enemy patterns are the same, but it really doesn't SEEM like they changed much on the NES conversion except for some visuals.  Going to another platform may help to see some new things and let you come back to Last Starfighter fresh.

A completely different game is the modern release - Hyper Sentinal.  Any fan of Uridium will recognize it, but it is its own thing entirely.

 

Yes I knew it was Uridium.  Admittedly I haven't played it on the C64, but when I looked for maps for Uridium, they were different than whats on the NES.  SIMILAR at points, but the layout of the hazards and ships are different.  You can compare my maps with this

https://www.gamesdatabase.org/media/commodore-64/artwork-map/uridium

15 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

What, you thought I wasn't going to weigh in?  

 

The enemy ship spawning thing is one thing I haven't figured out yet, either. I'm not sure if it's RNG or what, but I've yet to sense a rhyme or reason. But that might be my frustration talking. 

Some of the later levels look absolutely sadistic in their layout. 

 

Good for taking one for the team on this, though. If it were me, I'd try a few levels, then take the cart out and throw it against the wall. 

I did some testing yesterday.  For the first level at least, the ships seem to come in the same order.  Each group spawn was the same and did generally the same action.  After the 5th spawn, it came up with the "Land now" sequence.  What I'm gonna try to test is what the 'safest way' is to avoid those enemy spawns and then land right away.  The map layouts are to avoid the obstacles of course.

I have an AVS and luckily, it has game genie built in with infinite lives, so I plan on playing a level over and over, testing different things, until I can get to the end without dying and writing that down.  Then following the guide.  If I didn't have that infinite lives code yeah no way I would be doing this haha.

Oh again, it doesn't seem like its the layout thats tough to mitigate, especially with maps.  The real issue is getting shot immediately seeing a group of ships that you had no time to avoid.  I think maybe the later levels are more obstacle heavy than ship heavy, where the earlier levels are.  Again, I'll do more testing but when I was playing thru it to record the level to make the maps, some of the latter levels I beat relatively quickly.  The hardest parts are when I had to twist my ship, only because I was using a keyboard and wasn't doing that maneuver, so I was trying to make it leveled out, which you can but its just tougher.

43 minutes ago, Khromak said:

I've always enjoyed Imgur for image hosting online, could try that. It might not help with the embedded images on VGS, but people can hop out to Imgur if they want the full-size images and/or to download them. Worth a try at least.

Good idea, thanks!  At least those previews will give you an idea what the level looks like.  I just added an Imgur link.

I think I found some strats that are pretty consistent.  None of them are 100% because of the randomness of the game, how the enemies shoot, the homing mines, etc.  Id say they're pretty much 75% safe. 

So far, the only one that I think needs to be worked is Level 2.  From this point on, I'll be playing the game without codes and can start to tweak strats if I keep dying in the same spots.  If anyone wants to give these a try go ahead.

FULLSIZE STRAT MAPS:

https://imgur.com/a/Pxy02EZ

Star
Level 5: Around this point should be the first homing ship that should be destroyed, if you turn around it should hopefully be behind you to shoot.

Level 7: If you got here at the right time, around the 3rd or 4th spawn will be a homing ship.  After you destroy it, then move on.  The next spawn should go left to right, allowing you to follow it.

Level 12: Ship should be turned sideways after 1st spawn

Level 14:

1) After spawn, flip ship sideways.  If any homing mine is released, RUN till it goes away.

2) First ship spawned here should be a homing ship that needs to be killed or avoided.  Next ship spawns are easy to get past

Green lines mean you're moving at a normal pace, pretty much how you start. 

Red lines mean TOP speed.

The Green Boxes are areas where you just move back and forth to wait for something.

I dunno why I decided to do this, but after watching some gameplay, I think this game is easier than we think, as long as we can find a strong strategy.  Here are some things about the game:

 - 15 levels, 5 lives but no continues. Do get an extra life after 10k points. No boss battles or anything.

- To beat a level, you don't have to do ANYTHING but land when the game tells you when to land.  I'm unsure if this time is different every level but is about 30-45 seconds.

- Level 15 seems to be the shortest for some reason. 

- Some of the levels at the end almost require you to spin your ship to get past the wall hazards but only really towards the end.  This can be done as Up + A, or Down + A.

- You speed up by pressing right when facing right, or pressing left by looking left.  pressing left while moving right will slow it down, and eventually make you turn around.

- The only ways to lose a life is to be shot / run into a wall / homing bomb.  Luckily, there is no collision detection between enemy ships, so you only have to avoid the walls, which have shadows.

- The way you land is awkward.  When it says "Land now" you have to be to the left of the runway, move right and slow down. If you're to the right of the runway, you have to move to the left, past the runway then back. If you hover right before the runway and it says "Land now" you can land right away.

- IMPORTANT!  For the bonus round, you have to input something, even "quit".  If you let the time run out and don't do anything you will have to replay the stage again.  The bonus stage is a good way to get points for lives if you can reach the max amount.

I haven't developed any strats yet, but just using the maps, I find that the hardest element of the game is getting shot by another ship.  Some of the ships shoot really slow which is easy to avoid.  But, there are certain ships that shoot immediately and even at top speed you wont avoid.  This is probably the part I have to work on, to know when they spawn and how to avoid them.  The homing missiles can be tricky but you can outrun/weave around them.

These maps arent super pro, but they're intended to show where the wall hazards are.  I may upload some later with a path overlaid on top. 

FOR FULL SIZE IMAGES:

https://imgur.com/a/FeqwlkM

Ok I finished all the maps for Last Starfighter, but how can I upload them in high quality?  I have them as bmp but the jpg seemed to compress it and not make it look clean.  Any suggestions?

3 hours ago, Khromak said:

Conquest of the crystal palace is done. The hardest part of this game is the spike ceiling and the two final bosses. This time, I got the spike ceiling on the second try or so, first final boss on second try, and final boss on the first try. Because of this, it was WAY  faster than any other clear I've ever done. It's a fun enough game, but some sections are kinda BS unless you know some tricks

This one was also on my list.  I dont remember it being that hard, but its possible I brute forced it if it has infinite lives.

Anyway, I have about 3 maps make for Last Starfighter.  Then I can start finding routes and strats.  Oddly looking back at my footage, some of the latter levels I beat really quickly without knowing anything, but some of the mid-levels (like level 8 ) seemed to have taken me a long time to remember.  The last level is also pretty easy too, oddly.

39 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Disagree.

All of gaming is one giant family to me.  I'll play whatever is good, regardless of console or generation.  But if you want my time in 2024, you have the bring something to the table, because it's an ever-increasingly crowded scene.  What are you doing for me lately game?  Because if you need special treatment and can't handle being compared to your successors, you're probably just not that good.

I understand that these polls are based on "Your experience" and not "historical significance" but saying a game from 40 years ago has to bring something to the table that games 40 years after, that were built off of those ideas and technology that didn't exist back then, is a silly way to look at things because perspective is INCREDIBLY important.

That would be saying any piece of art today has a significant advantage over anything in the past because of modern innovations that didn't exist then.  Why watch Nosferatu?  It has no sound or color, but "The Room" does, so it must be better.  Or that literally every single metal musician is a better guitar player than Jimi Hendrix.  Except Kirk Hammett.

On 2/28/2024 at 9:13 PM, CMR said:

I gave it a 9/10.  I'm grading it in the context of the 2600 and what is on that system, and I think it's one of the best games on it.  Only a few, like H.E.R.O., might be better.

Same.  Its stupid for people to give it a low score for comparing it to any other later alternatives.  For what it was at the time, Id argue its the best Atari 2600 game period.

Got sidetracked with my Last Starfighter maps as I was editing some video.  I have 5 levels done, and ill probably finish them by Sunday/Monday I hope.

2 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

Tag me whenever your witch hunt puts a witch in jail. Other than that, you and Lieutenant Pat the Angry Video Gamer can keep the conspiracy content coming. Maybe sell a few pillows while you’re at it!

Turn off the Fox news.

19 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

Oh look, 45 comments of NOTHING HAPPENING other than Pat the nes punk collecting hundreds of thousands of views of the go-to content when things are slow. Rent must be due!

I would like to send this post over to WATA to be graded, so this post can be preserved for all future generations to show them how stupid you are.

Ive got 4 maps done for Last Starfighter.  Lemme see how it looks on here.  It takes about 20 mins to make em although I'm getting a bit better at it, just using microsoft paint and copy and pasting the pics together.

I used FCEUX to record videos of me beating every level of Last Starfighter with infinite lives, so I can start taking screenshots of the levels.  This is probably gonna take a while, but when I'm done ill make a thread about it, ala Mutant Virus.

I told ya I never liked that Kahn kid from the start.

7 hours ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

Don't worry. There's still plenty of tough games left. Speaking of which, Last Starfighter might be just as difficult as Dirty Harry if not even more so.

Yea but remember, I don't have an everdrive, I use real carts.  So I only have about 7 games that I own that haven't been beat yet and I've only beaten 3 of them before.  Last Starfighter doesn't seem to be hard, but needs to be memorized.  Then when memorized could be beaten easily every time, I think.

Thats why I wanted to create some maps, and follow a route after replaying the level over and over again to see what works.  If I can get those maps made, I bet anyone could follow it and beat it.

37 minutes ago, Gaia Gensouki said:

Dirty Harry: The War Against Drugs is done. One of the worst and most despicable games I've ever played. From the infamous Hahaha room to the 30+ minute long first level to all the shit that they're throwing at you all the time or constantly having to retread certain passages just because you've missed a jump or someone shot you down from the telephone wires ... I absolutely despise this game. 1 out of 10. Never again.

This was on the backburner for me when I was feeling desperate haha.  Dont have to worry about this one.

6 hours ago, Tablew/chairs said:

I thought there was maps for it online? The worst part is the later levels where you have to like snake your way through the barriers cause you either don’t turn around fast enough and smash into the barrier or you do turn around and immediately there’s ships there that blow you up

I found some for "Uridium" but the levels don't match up to whats in the NES game.

Does anyone know how to make good NES maps?  I wanted to make some of "The Last Starfighter" but it seems to be a bit tricky, unless I just have to savestate-screenshot then stitch together the photos.  Maybe someone can make them?

I played a bit with infinite lives, and with that, I could replay the levels over and over again and write out a 'path' for the level that will give a high degree of success.  Then eventually by replaying the game you could beat it. 

I dunno why but i'm thinking about The Last Starfighter.  I may not finish it, but it may get a worse rap in difficulty than it really needs.  Not saying its great or super easy, but not impossible.  This is why:

First off its about 15 levels and a speed run took about 10 mins.  It seems like you don't even have to destroy anything, you just have to wait a certain amount of time, then land.  So your only real obstacle is flying into things. 

If you have the levels mapped out, you can learn where to avoid them, and just kind of kill time before landing.  Landing IS weird and i'm still getting the hang of it using infinite lives.  But this could be one of those games thats actually much easier if you map out the routes to take and can land consistently.  I'll play around with it more and see if my opinion changes.

@scaryice that shouldn't even count, he wasn't even on WCW roster back then