Level Four: Arrrggh??!?
by Ben Lilburne · in ThinkTanks · 04/27/2003 (12:02 am) · 9 replies
Does it seem to anyone else the level 4 in single player is _insanely_ difficult, compared to the earlier and later levels? It goes from 15 bronze bots on level 3 to about 30 gold ones on level four, plus a boss, all at once, on a flat level with nowhere to hide from the constant stream of fire! Then the next level is nowhere near as hard.
The only time I've beaten level 4 I lost three lives, then gained two over the next two levels before finishing on level 8 - is somthing messed up in the game here or am I just doing it wrong?
The only time I've beaten level 4 I lost three lives, then gained two over the next two levels before finishing on level 8 - is somthing messed up in the game here or am I just doing it wrong?
#3
As one of the developers who had the chance to play the single player a number of times, I can tell you that it gets easier. I'm often able to get to the red boss level (level 14) without dying. After that, it starts getting really hard! Once you start to master survival, the challenge becomes maximizing points. To do that, you must get all the survival bonuses you can, but more importantly you must get all the quick shot bonuses. My best is x25 quick shot bonus. That means I also got x5,x10,x15,x20, and x25 bonues. That's like destroying 75 tanks in a short period -- a lot of points for some strategic driving and firing. Believe me, it was important to us to make the solo play something you could play over and over, always finding new ways to improve your game. The fact that it gets hard is part of that. But don't worry -- you can overcome. I have faith in you. :)
Edit: Logged in as one of the other developers -- this was written by Clark not Mike.
04/27/2003 (10:30 am)
Ben, if it was easy there would no room for improvement. :)As one of the developers who had the chance to play the single player a number of times, I can tell you that it gets easier. I'm often able to get to the red boss level (level 14) without dying. After that, it starts getting really hard! Once you start to master survival, the challenge becomes maximizing points. To do that, you must get all the survival bonuses you can, but more importantly you must get all the quick shot bonuses. My best is x25 quick shot bonus. That means I also got x5,x10,x15,x20, and x25 bonues. That's like destroying 75 tanks in a short period -- a lot of points for some strategic driving and firing. Believe me, it was important to us to make the solo play something you could play over and over, always finding new ways to improve your game. The fact that it gets hard is part of that. But don't worry -- you can overcome. I have faith in you. :)
Edit: Logged in as one of the other developers -- this was written by Clark not Mike.
#4
04/30/2003 (6:54 am)
Personally, a game like this has been long in the waiting. It's simplicity is it's beauty yet it lends from some of the mid 80s early 90s 8 and 16 bit classics. It's no lie that the boss levels are hard going but, I find that this for me is what keeps me comming back to the game time and time again. I must admit that I am not that great on single player. I think Level 13 is my best so far. I tend to do much better in the multiplayer mode. There is little critisism that can be leveled at think tanks but for one or two small points. They are as follows. The initial single round shot then followed by the repeat shots can be frustrating especially when you're trying to stave off a bunch of the small nimble and fast tanks. I have found that I can take quite a kicking wouth out being able to defend myself effectively enough and running just means that you get clobbered to all hell. The second point is that the game will on occasions jump a stack load of frames meaning that you can get disoriented easily and again get caught out by the Bots. Not sure if this is a frame buffer purging issue or not. Final point is the spawning. There are many a time when spawning into a new level that a bunch of tanks will spawn right on top of you making it hard to get away and again if there are tanks spawning near by they can squeeze off a stack of rounds into your hide before you can do anything about it. But let me be clear, these are only small points and in a perverse way I am not too sure that I would want them rectified. If a game presents no challenge then it isn't worth entertaining. So out of 10 Think Tanks gets a 9 from me. The glitches just keep it away from 10. A very slick execution guys. Very well done. and for
#5
Also, the fact that there is no notion of the ammo left is a problem too, sometime in the action one run out of powerup and fire one single normal shoot at a time still trying to 'save' the powerup.
I'm not asking for a counter, but instead of the "You are running out of ammo" line we could have an icon somewhere that'd work for all kind of shots, telling you you running out.
04/30/2003 (8:00 am)
I agree on the firing mechanism, it's quite annoying -- especialy when you just had a powerup --Also, the fact that there is no notion of the ammo left is a problem too, sometime in the action one run out of powerup and fire one single normal shoot at a time still trying to 'save' the powerup.
I'm not asking for a counter, but instead of the "You are running out of ammo" line we could have an icon somewhere that'd work for all kind of shots, telling you you running out.
#6
@ BusError - we want you to have to think about whether you should use another powerup because it might be your last. That type of tension is what makes the game fun. If you always know the result of your actions, you will not enjoy a game (hey, I have a degree in psychology so I can say this stuff :). So anyway, we intentionally do not have any ammo meters and were even reluctant to add the message saying you are running out of ammo.
04/30/2003 (10:36 am)
@ Lee - not sure what the frame skipping issue is. I've seen two such issues intermittently and would certainly like to get to the bottom of them. Happily, they are fairly minor issues, but something that we will eventually figure out.@ BusError - we want you to have to think about whether you should use another powerup because it might be your last. That type of tension is what makes the game fun. If you always know the result of your actions, you will not enjoy a game (hey, I have a degree in psychology so I can say this stuff :). So anyway, we intentionally do not have any ammo meters and were even reluctant to add the message saying you are running out of ammo.
#7
I hate that thing...
I'm starting to dream about it. What do I have to do to kill it?
05/14/2003 (2:45 pm)
Is that damned flying saucer the boss?I hate that thing...
I'm starting to dream about it. What do I have to do to kill it?
#8
- don't lose a life until you get to level four
- fight the bots first
- loiter in the hilly part so it's not so hard. Hanging out on the plains is a sure way to die.
- As soon as there aren't many bots around any more, start fighting the boss. It takes about 5-6 full clips before it dies, but it's a lot easier once the bots are gone.
then:
make sure you collect all the brains on the bonus level, and all other bonus levels, keep playing, and suddenly the game gets very easy because you'll find yourself making a profit in lives!
05/14/2003 (5:31 pm)
All you need to do to kill the saucer is:- don't lose a life until you get to level four
- fight the bots first
- loiter in the hilly part so it's not so hard. Hanging out on the plains is a sure way to die.
- As soon as there aren't many bots around any more, start fighting the boss. It takes about 5-6 full clips before it dies, but it's a lot easier once the bots are gone.
then:
make sure you collect all the brains on the bonus level, and all other bonus levels, keep playing, and suddenly the game gets very easy because you'll find yourself making a profit in lives!
Torque Owner Joe Maruschak
The boss level is designed to be hard (it is the BOSS level) and then you are rewarded by the brain level (which allows you to rack up points and get lives).
The next 'wave' then eases up a bit to allow you to rack up points and collect lives before the next boss encounter.
No secret, keep moving is the key on the Boss level, and don't try to take on the boss right away.
My favorite strategy is to run to the small canyon by the reload station and wait for the onslaught to pop over the hill. As the change in elevation makes it more difficult to be hit (less grazing fire-more plunging fire) you can often take out bunchs of bots and rack up the quick-shot bonus.
So, the boss levels are designed to make you sweat just a little and 'escape' by the skin of your teeth, but as you get better, they are opportunities to rack up big points.