Andypro, do you know if by chance the content of the ikaruga.co.uk strategy forum is still available somewhere?
keylie: I asked the former operator of ikaruga.co.uk if he had the forum contents or a database backup, but unfortunately he says he does not. It's a shame, because there was quite a wealth of information there.
If I ever find an old mysql backup I will let you know, but it seems unlikely at this point. Sorry!
It feels like it 'should' be possible to optimize 0:33 so that the left black bullet spewer is parked on a little faster (which would get, what, six more bullets?). Does the combo not work if the homing lasers are released further to the top right?
You are right, it feels a bit sloppy. I was concerned that if going on top too soon, the suicide bullets from the two white boxes above could hit the red box and vanish. But yes, on the 5 black bullets lost, I may have saved some.
Edit: Damn, this stage is so hard.
Could you make a detailed explanation of the 'chip enemies before homing missiling them' mechanic, and how to maximize point gain using it? A few people I talked to were confused about how exactly it works.
How many shots should you fire?
Should you use same colour or different colour?
If you only half overlap with an enemy you hit it with only one half of your shot, is this useful to get more points?
Could you make a detailed explanation of the 'chip enemies before homing missiling them' mechanic, and how to maximize point gain using it? A few people I talked to were confused about how exactly it works.
How many shots should you fire?
Should you use same colour or different colour?
If you only half overlap with an enemy you hit it with only one half of your shot, is this useful to get more points?
Well, I took a look at it again, and I couldn't get any difference in points between using the shot, the laser or both to kill enemies. So it must have been a mistake in the first place, you cannot get different points by how you kill enemies, sorry.
Basically, one shot gives 10 points when on the same color and 20 for opposite color. One laser gives 100 points for same color if it doesn't kill the enemy, 200 points for opposite color. If the enemy has low heath, the laser gives the amount of points depending on the remaining heath.
Could you make a detailed explanation of the 'chip enemies before homing missiling them' mechanic, and how to maximize point gain using it? A few people I talked to were confused about how exactly it works.
How many shots should you fire?
Should you use same colour or different colour?
If you only half overlap with an enemy you hit it with only one half of your shot, is this useful to get more points?
Well, I took a look at it again, and I couldn't get any difference in points between using the shot, the laser or both to kill enemies. So it must have been a mistake in the first place, you cannot get different points by how you kill enemies, sorry.
Basically, one shot gives 10 points when on the same color and 20 for opposite color. One laser gives 100 points for same color if it doesn't kill the enemy, 200 points for opposite color. If the enemy has low heath, the laser gives the amount of points depending on the remaining heath.
Ok, got it. Shame, it was a cool sounding mechanic :)
Stage 2 finished:
Link to video
I will upload a YT higher quality version soon. Edit: done.
- after the first part, I ended up with an incomplete chain on both ships, which was annoying
- I let one white box alive because killing it would require to keep the laser gauge very low, resulting in less absorbed bullets
- For the first two generators after the boxes, you will see me not absorbing many bullets. This is because I need to keep my laser gauge low, and I have emptied them as late as possible without destroying the generators
- The last portion with the 6 generators was a real difficult puzzle to solve. You have to kill the enemies going in rounds as quickly as possible, because killing all of them triggers the spawning of the two big enemies. Killing the two big enemies and the two next ones quickly gives you bonus enemy rows. There are basically two routes here: if you keep your laser gauge full for the big enemies, you can get 16 bonus rows, but you cannot kill the last enemies from the generators. With empty laser gauge, you can get 15 rows. I took the second route because it gives more chains in the end. You will notice that there are 2 black enemies remaining. I couldn't get a third one unfortunately.
- I'm not very happy with the boss fight :(
Yep, looks really, really good. I don't see any errors in ch2. It's interesting that 16 rows are possible. It would be nice if there were some crazy homing strategy that allowed you to get all the 2nd generator chains and still get 16 rows, but that doesn't seem likely.
Looking forward to ch3!
Joined: 8/9/2004
Posts: 139
Location: Washington State
I may be incorrect but on the GCN sku can't you do damage to the weakpoints of the stage 2 boss before the doors initially close? I'm pretty sure this big was only fixed on the xbla and steam versions of the game.
Edit: my mistake, this bug is xbla only.
would it be possible to get an encode of that level in its current not so awesome form?
Well, I'm almost finished with stage 3, so you will have to wait until I'm done with the boss.
I will post the boss 3 fastest time in a separate video. Time remaining will be 92, but 93 might be possible. I'm not sure I will spend time on the 93s since it won't stick in the final TAS.
