High Score Challenge Season 15 - Rd 3 - Psycastria 2

[klintworth]

[KarateEd]

I actually got to level 2 but......a lower score because that's just how it works. I really don't like this game for the same reason as I didn't like the first one. It's not a fair game. You don't have enough time to react to something that comes onto the screen or something off screen shooting at you and just walking into it.

I have no problem with the learning of the levels portion, that's a given in any computer game. I love the smoothness of it but the randomness spoils the game tremendously. If a game isn't somewhat predictable then it can't be claimed to be a very good game. Personally this is where this one sits with me. I know this sounds harsh but I've got an idea of what a good game should play like in almost any genre of game so, this fails due to randomness in it's game play, a real shame really, it has a lot going for it other than that.

PC2-7.png

I'd probably agree with you on almost all your points if you were referring to the original game. However, I don't agree with your first point about the lower score. With this sequel, if you manage to get through the levels (which is more possible, now that level 2 is doable) you'll be able to build a higher score. For example, for completing level 2, you'll get a double time bonus. My score of just over 70K wouldn't be easily doable by not progressing through the levels (you'd have to stick around on the first level, dogfighting the aliens, in the vain hope that you could average 15K per life so you could hit 60K to get your 2nd extra life). Not trying to progress through the levels just to build a high score would also be a breach of the competition's rules.

What I meant is that it's tough enough getting through level one so often I lose all my lives there but......the score is up due to that. So.....once I got to level 1 on the first life (and it's only happened once-I've seen level 2 twice so far) and the score was lower of course. That's how many games of that era worked and this one works that way as well. There's no bonus I could see other than shooting at something that doesn't seem to be a part of the game but is....if you get my meaning. For me, that's not that big of a detractor as you see it in most of these games.

[MatthewThompson]

Best score yet. One of the highest posted so far, but i've not even got off level 1 yet !

How do you complete Level 1 ? I can't finish it, I get to the end and the ship turns round, I know this means something has been missed, but what? i'm sure i've shot everything there is, maybe there's a sneaky hidden one?

As for the game itself I would say it's not quite as brutal as the first one was, it looks more like a Peter Scott game with the colours/graphics of Level 1 , but the most irritating thing is the aliens, totally random, and can appear out of nowhere shoot straight at you with no chance whatsoever of getting out of the way, or they appear from behind and zap you ! bit unfair that as no matter how good as the game you are, you lose lives through no fault of your own.

Better than the first game, but could of been even better.

[MartinH]

How do you complete Level 1 ? I can't finish it, I get to the end and the ship turns round, I know this means something has been missed, but what? i'm sure i've shot everything there is, maybe there's a sneaky hidden one?

Make sure to zap all the power cell things (these look like cylinders). Then at the end of the level you need to clear the runway and then the ship should just land on it after a couple of passes.

psy_land.png (4.38 KiB) Viewed 561 times

the most irritating thing is the aliens, totally random, and can appear out of nowhere shoot straight at you with no chance whatsoever of getting out of the way, or they appear from behind and zap you ! bit unfair that as no matter how good as the game you are, you lose lives through no fault of your own.

They get worse on Levels 2 and 3

[MatthewThompson]

How do you complete Level 1 ? I can't finish it, I get to the end and the ship turns round, I know this means something has been missed, but what? i'm sure i've shot everything there is, maybe there's a sneaky hidden one?

Make sure to zap all the power cell things (these look like cylinders). Then at the end of the level you need to clear the runway and then the ship should just land on it after a couple of passes.

psy_land.png

the most irritating thing is the aliens, totally random, and can appear out of nowhere shoot straight at you with no chance whatsoever of getting out of the way, or they appear from behind and zap you ! bit unfair that as no matter how good as the game you are, you lose lives through no fault of your own.

They get worse on Levels 2 and 3

Many thanks for the pointers - seems I was doing it right every time but I thought you had to land on the runway at the end of the level like in the first game - can do level 1 every time now , usually without losing a life - but got a worse score of 36803 , so as Ed says the better at the game you are the less you score ! I got 3 quarters of the way through level 2 but ended up with a worse score than I got for not completing level 1 !!

[MartinH]

Many thanks for the pointers - seems I was doing it right every time but I thought you had to land on the runway at the end of the level like in the first game - can do level 1 every time now , usually without losing a life - but got a worse score of 36803 , so as Ed says the better at the game you are the less you score ! I got 3 quarters of the way through level 2 but ended up with a worse score than I got for not completing level 1 !!

Happy to help!

Once you get through to level 3 you should be able to get higher scores... but I agree, the level completion bonuses seem incredibly stingy! The one saving grace is that the time completion bonus runs on a multiplier, so if any of can get 5-6 (or more) levels in that should give a more worthwhile point boost.

[Venger]

A tiny increase on the high score. A lot depends on luck on level 3.

[KarateEd]

Many thanks for the pointers - seems I was doing it right every time but I thought you had to land on the runway at the end of the level like in the first game - can do level 1 every time now , usually without losing a life - but got a worse score of 36803 , so as Ed says the better at the game you are the less you score ! I got 3 quarters of the way through level 2 but ended up with a worse score than I got for not completing level 1 !!

Happy to help!

Once you get through to level 3 you should be able to get higher scores... but I agree, the level completion bonuses seem incredibly stingy! The one saving grace is that the time completion bonus runs on a multiplier, so if any of can get 5-6 (or more) levels in that should give a more worthwhile point boost.

Yeh, I can't see wasting that much of my life, to get to level 3 and beyond in this game.......

The saving grace is we won't see either of these games for at least 5 seasons......and if one gets chosen, the other will not be illegible.

[FourthStone]

Spent an hour today attempting to 'play' but not getting into any sort of groove, either get wiped out by random ships / bullets or twitch my self into an obstacle I'm starting to think the first one is better as I was able to progress a bit further.

Score: 22275

[Rod C]

Made it to level 2 a few times now but my best score was still before I beat level 1.

35750

[MartinH]

The saving grace is we won't see either of these games for at least 5 seasons......and if one gets chosen, the other will not be illegible.

And that, folks, is the power of prayer in action

Also...

Actually I was completely wrong about this - this is the bonus screen! It's simply dressed up like an end of level summary screen!

psy_bonus.png (3.15 KiB) Viewed 481 times

[fwibbler]

You can be sure I never bought this after having been stung by the first one.
I see its almost as unfiar as that was.

[KarateEd]

Finally got a higher score from level 2, of course that means I failed twice on level one....arggghhhhh

[MartinH]

I think this is the best I can be bothered to do:

89467

Technically, I think it would be possible to get over 100,000 points by maxing out the bonus levels (you'd need far quicker reactions than mine, though), have a perfect run to level 3, get very lucky on level 3, and then treat your remaining lives (and any you can collect!) on level 3 as a point harvesting exercise. You certainly don't want to be going on to level 4.

psy2_6.png (5.29 KiB) Viewed 461 times

I've been to level 4, folks, and it ain't pretty. In fact it completely breaks what was already a clapped out Mk2 Ford Fiesta by, and you are going to love this...

Introducing an enemy type that, as soon as it spawns, homes in on your ship and follows you around. Once it does this you can't shake it and you can't shoot it... but it can - and will - shoot you! There is absolutely nothing you can do about it!

Who designs a mechanic like that!?!??!?

This complete cowpat of a game isn't just broken, it's been run over, set on fire, and had several heavy blocks of concrete dropped on it from a great height!

[Venger]

I think this is the best I can be bothered to do:

89467

Technically, I think it would be possible to get over 100,000 points by maxing out the bonus levels (you'd need far quicker reactions than mine, though), have a perfect run to level 3, get very lucky on level 3, and then treat your remaining lives (and any you can collect!) on level 3 as a point harvesting exercise. You certainly don't want to be going on to level 4.

psy2_6.png

I've been to level 4, folks, and it ain't pretty. In fact it completely breaks what was already a clapped out Mk2 Ford Fiesta by, and you are going to love this...

Introducing an enemy type that, as soon as it spawns, homes in on your ship and follows you around. Once it does this you can't shake it and you can't shoot it... but it can - and will - shoot you! There is absolutely nothing you can do about it!

Who designs a mechanic like that!?!??!?

This complete cowpat of a game isn't just broken, it's been run over, set on fire, and had several heavy blocks of concrete dropped on it from a great height!

It'd definitely take a lucky run to get to 100000 but it is doable. On this playthrough I got to level 3 on my first life and didn't have a bad run on it (apart from one life where I was more or less blown to bits straight away). If the 90K mark is reached then it's another extra life.

I don't think the games testers (did they even have any?) were much good when playing this as they'd have seen the ridiculousness of the alien fighters on later levels. There are some things that I do like about the game though - the action's fast and frenetic and requires a deft touch when trying to negotiate some of the trickier walled sections. It's just a pity that it's spoilt by the randomness of the appearance of the alien fighters and their uncanny accuracy (also their ability to shoot backwards and forwards independently of the way they're facing at the time).

[KarateEd]

Yeh, I got a new high score again for me but I'm not very happy about it. 3x I got into what I call 'the box' right at the end of the level to have the stupid ships pop out of nowhere to shoot me down in flames.....this is craziness....and becoming crankiness.

[KarateEd]

I think this is the best I can be bothered to do:

89467

Technically, I think it would be possible to get over 100,000 points by maxing out the bonus levels (you'd need far quicker reactions than mine, though), have a perfect run to level 3, get very lucky on level 3, and then treat your remaining lives (and any you can collect!) on level 3 as a point harvesting exercise. You certainly don't want to be going on to level 4.

psy2_6.png

I've been to level 4, folks, and it ain't pretty. In fact it completely breaks what was already a clapped out Mk2 Ford Fiesta by, and you are going to love this...

Introducing an enemy type that, as soon as it spawns, homes in on your ship and follows you around. Once it does this you can't shake it and you can't shoot it... but it can - and will - shoot you! There is absolutely nothing you can do about it!

Who designs a mechanic like that!?!??!?

This complete cowpat of a game isn't just broken, it's been run over, set on fire, and had several heavy blocks of concrete dropped on it from a great height!

It'd definitely take a lucky run to get to 100000 but it is doable. On this playthrough I got to level 3 on my first life and didn't have a bad run on it (apart from one life where I was more or less blown to bits straight away). If the 90K mark is reached then it's another extra life.

I don't think the games testers (did they even have any?) were much good when playing this as they'd have seen the ridiculousness of the alien fighters on later levels. There are some things that I do like about the game though - the action's fast and frenetic and requires a deft touch when trying to negotiate some of the trickier walled sections. It's just a pity that it's spoilt by the randomness of the appearance of the alien fighters and their uncanny accuracy (also their ability to shoot backwards and forwards independently of the way they're facing at the time).

I agree, any testers worth their salt would have modified the defender crafts to something sensible. I suppose we can assume the programmer got tired of working on the game and put it out as is, also it may be very, very difficult to strike a decent balance with the enemy ships. In any game, especially shooters like this, there has be to be a balance that makes sense. The awkward randomness of these craft make an otherwise great game, a mess. As you, I like the handling of the graphics, ship movement, speed of the game, layout.....all those are good but the randomness puts all that in the background. Personally for me it gives this game a fail in my book despite all it's great features. Game play is what matters in any good computer game, even 8 bit ones.

[MartinH]

It'd definitely take a lucky run to get to 100000 but it is doable.

I'd put money on you being able to pull it off. If you could hit all four ships on the bonus stages, that would give you a 40k boost that would get you to level 3 with ~75k points. At that point you wouldn't need hyper-good-luck on 3, just so long as the game doesn't decide to kill you on each remaining life at the start of the level. If you avoid bothering with the power cells and just go for the point harvesting you should have enough lives to get that 25k.

There are some things that I do like about the game though - the action's fast and frenetic and requires a deft touch when trying to negotiate some of the trickier walled sections.

I think that's what annoys me. It could be a very good game. For a game based on Uridium (which is great) and was the programmer's second attempt at a Uridium clone I don't quite understand why it isn't a great game.

On the other hand, here I am moaning about a game released 35 years ago

I wonder if we could get Tricky to do a Psycastria 3?

[Venger]

It'd definitely take a lucky run to get to 100000 but it is doable.


I'd put money on you being able to pull it off. If you could hit all four ships on the bonus stages, that would give you a 40k boost that would get you to level 3 with ~75k points. At that point you wouldn't need hyper-good-luck on 3, just so long as the game doesn't decide to kill you on each remaining life at the start of the level. If you avoid bothering with the power cells and just go for the point harvesting you should have enough lives to get that 25k.

There are some things that I do like about the game though - the action's fast and frenetic and requires a deft touch when trying to negotiate some of the trickier walled sections.

I think that's what annoys me. It could be a very good game. For a game based on Uridium (which is great) and was the programmer's second attempt at a Uridium clone I don't quite understand why it isn't a great game.

On the other hand, here I am moaning about a game released 35 years ago

I wonder if we could get Tricky to do a Psycastria 3?

I don't know about you but I've only ever hit the 3rd ship once or twice to get the 6000 bonus. I guess my reaction time has slowed over the years Also, unfortunately, the bonuses aren't cumulative (so only 4000 for hitting two ships, rather than 2000 + 4000 = 6000).

I still haven't gotten to level 4 yet because I get shot up slightly before the end, so kudos to you for getting that far .

I think Tricky could do a good job on a sequel or maybe just a revamp.

[MartinH]

I don't know about you but I've only ever hit the 3rd ship once or twice to get the 6000 bonus. I guess my reaction time has slowed over the years Also, unfortunately, the bonuses aren't cumulative (so only 4000 for hitting two ships, rather than 2000 + 4000 = 6000).

I didn't even realise that it was a bonus stage until earlier today 20 years ago I'd have nailed it... today, not so much!

I still haven't gotten to level 4 yet because I get shot up slightly before the end, so kudos to you for getting that far .

I got very lucky. I found that taking out the final power-whatsit from the start of the level - you can get it, with a good shot - helped with the end of the level. The rest was just random luck. And even then it wasn't worth it!

[Rod C]

Making a little progress despite the frustration factor.

39309

[Venger]

A tiny increase but a raise in ranking on the 82K score. I could've kicked myself as I had 78K going into level 3 and had 2 lives left. Typically the aliens blew me up almost instantaneously .

[Rod C]

Getting into level 2 more consistently these days and eventually pushed my score up a bit. I'm so sloppy at the in-between challenge that half the time I'm not ready, just thinking "Phew, I got through the level."

[Venger]

Getting into level 2 more consistently these days and eventually pushed my score up a bit. I'm so sloppy at the in-between challenge that half the time I'm not ready, just thinking "Phew, I got through the level."

44586.JPG

The in-between challenge is quite tricky, I find. The first alien shouldn't be a problem but the 2nd can take you by surprise. I won't mention the 3rd...

[KarateEd]

Getting into level 2 more consistently these days and eventually pushed my score up a bit. I'm so sloppy at the in-between challenge that half the time I'm not ready, just thinking "Phew, I got through the level."

44586.JPG

The in-between challenge is quite tricky, I find. The first alien shouldn't be a problem but the 2nd can take you by surprise. I won't mention the 3rd...

Hahahaha, that's the best part of my game, I almost got the 3rd guy last night.

[JoolsH]

Not a big fan of this one - the deaths just seem too random. Took me forever to actually get to level 2, this is the only time I've done it so far...

39,783

[fwibbler]

Mr Partis has a lot of explaining to do!
Even if I can memorise the entire level (level 1 of course), I still get taken out by the impossible to avoid bullets shot from the enemy ships.

[Venger]

If it wasn't for two lives that were lost within an instant of each other (thanks level 3 fighters!) this would've been over 100K. Twice I got to the landing strip at the end of the level, only to be shot down. Oh well

[sydney]

My first couple of goes.

11325

[Rod C]

Finally cracked 50K then I saw that I had also cracked the X key on my HPZBook. This notebook weighs a ton and is pretty tough but there it is, a hairline fracture most of the way up the middle of the key cap.

Otherwise I felt it was reasonable progress. I paid attention to the bonus shoots and got first two which helped.

51682