Lemon/EAB Super League 2012 - Round 7: Bubble Bobble

[mihcael]

Lemon/EAB Super League 2012 - Round 7






Rules:
This round starts today and will end Saturday 16th June, 11:59pm UK Time.
Score as many points as possible.
Post screenshots of your high score in this thread, and write the score underneath.
Screenshot maximum size of 400px width please, or use a thumbnail.
Don't cheat! No continues or passwords.

In an exciting twist, the winner of this round gets to choose a year between 1987 and 1995 for Round 8 after the competition's break, when only games from the chosen year can be voted for. Well, except 1994, as that was taken last season. And 1995, as that was chosen the season before.

Game Info:
Bubble Bobble Lemon Page

Get the Game:
[ADF]
[WHDLoad]

Round 7 Final Scores:
(Sunday 17th - 19:09 UTC)
Pos.... Name................................................ Score............ Pts

1. aca0808 (LA) ......................................... 1,831,760 ........ 15
   
2. Lonewolf10 (EAB) .................................. 1,828,680 ........ 12
   
3. LinesMachine (LA) ................................. 1,201,600 ........ 10
   
4. lifeschool (LA) .......................................... 964,650 ........ 9
   
5. premmisseth (LA) ..................................... 934,500 ........ 8
   
6. Biscuit (LA) ............................................... 897,940 ........ 7
   
7. capehorn (EAB) ........................................ 621,740 ........ 6
   
8. Predseda (LA) .......................................... 600,700 ........ 5
   
9. ChrisN82 (LA) ........................................... 587,850 ........ 4
   
10. mailman (EAB) .......................................... 476,950 ........ 3
    
11. bbsteal (LA) ............................................. 240,860 ........ 2
    
12. kkgarbod (EAB) ........................................ 233,650 ........ 1
    
13. diablothe2nd (EAB) .................................. 224,160 ........ 0
    
14. Ze Emulatron (LA) .................................... 211,760 ........ 0
    
15. Graham Humphrey (EAB) ......................... 194,720 ........ 0
    
16. OLDGAMER (LA) ........................................ 133,150 ........ 0
    
17. akabei (LA) .............................................. 114,260 ........ 0
    

Lemon (1,166,090) vs EAB (677,036)

Extras:
EAB's Round 7 thread is HERE.
Check out the C64 Games Competition at our sister site Lemon64.

All new players are welcome at any time. Join us!

[LinesMachine]

Some rounds I look forward to more than others. I've got a whole week of an empty office at work starting Monday (boss man is out, dishing out the smack down on the plantations). I'm gonna stick the kettle on Monday morning, say around 08:30am and play some serious Bubble Bobble!

[lifeschool]

Tips section:

Ok guys, it's Bubble Bobble. This is the third game in a row (after BuggyBoy and Deluxe Galaga) to have the following characteristics:

1. The game only takes a short time to play, but a long time if you are good.
2. The game has a number of random factors which makes every play very unpredicable.
3. Each level has a 'formula' or 'route' which makes the level much easier.
4. The levels get harder, then easier, then harder again the more you progress.
4. Highscores can be saved in the whdload version.


Items:

For a full list of points gaining items, look here. (new link! - part 1)
For a full list of powerup and special items, look here. (new link! - part 2)
For a more detailed list of collectables, look here. (previous link)
Note, The tips on the third link (directly above) are for the Arcade version, on the Amiga these items appear mostly at RANDOM.



Game Info: (no spoilers)
. All you have to do is blow a bubble into an enemy and then pop it to kill the enemy. Once all enemies are dead it's on to the next level.

. If you leave an enemy inside a bubble for more than 10 seconds it will flicker and pop, freeing the enemy - and making the enemy move at twice the speed. For this reason it is always a good idea to reach those bubbles before the enemies angrily re-emerge.

. Max visible lives = 7 (extra lives will still be registered, so I guess lives are unlimited). Lives are gained at regular score intervals early on (such as at 100k) and also by collecting all the EXTEND letters. Collecting all the EXTEND letters will also make you skip to the next level (but gives no extra score).

. The player can bounce on top of their own bubbles to get to higher platforms. If the player bounces on a bubble while at the very top of the screen they may be able to jump up and appear at the very bottom of the screen again.

. Some bubbles take a little extra effort to pop, so don't expect them all to pop easily.

. If you take too long to complete a level, just like Galaga, this game will conjure up something to kill you. This time it's a white ghost. Kill all the enemies before the ghost gets to you.

. When you lose your last life don't press the fire button too quickly or you'll use up a credit (which you can't do in the compo) and this also resets your score to zero!

. The WHDLoad version will save your scores to disk ONLY if you press F10 to quit the game (then waiting three seconds) before pressing F12 to close WinUAE.



General Tips: (Contains Spoilers)
. The first and most important tip is this: kill most of the enemies on screen and then wait for the bonus item to appear. These bonus items appear after about 15 seconds or so, and are often very helpful, e.g. Sweets/Candy give you speed and power, as do Magic Lamps and Rings. It is usually always worth going for bonus items unless it means falling to uncertain doom.

. Try to work out the formula for each level so that you can remove the first enemies quickly, and the rest are easier to manage. If you can leave just one enemy on screen while you wait for the bonus item, so much the better.

. There are only two items which I'd definitely recommend you avoid: the Speed Shoes (which may move the player around too quickly?) and the Umberella - which promotes the player on to further (harder) levels, and thus misses out on those levels scores.

. The Crook a.k.a The Sugar Cain is another favourite item. Collecting this will make a large bonus fruit appear after the last enemy is killed. This will drop from the centre of the screen and can be worth quite a few thousand points. Also, any bubbles left on screen after the final enemy dies will turn into bananas (or some other item) worth 500 points each.

. Treasure Boxes work in the same way of the Cain/Crook, and give a nice big diamond on completion of the level.

. Letters DO NOT appear at random, and you can often predict a certain letter appearing on a certain level to get your 'EXTEND' complete and gain another life. The most common letters are: The Orange 'E', followed by the Blue 'N', the Purple 'D' and then the 'X'. The least common letters are the Green 'E' and then the Yellow 'T' - so get those as a top priority. The longer you wait on a level containing 'fall-throughs' the more chance a different letter will appear. Unlike the arcade version, leaving letters on screen as you complete the level will NOT give you different set of letters on the next level.

. Some levels contain Water Bubbles, and popping these will send you (and any enemies in the way) down to the bottom of the screen. You'll then appear at the top of the screen with any bonus fruits from these enemies falling down on top of you. On some levels (like the 'Heart' Level #13) - the player will find it difficult to get to the enemies without dying, so making use of these water bubbles is the only real way to drop down into the heart and tag the baddies. Remember, the water will flow in the direction the player is facing on contact with the water bubble.

. On certain levels (like level #22) you'll find enemies trapped inside scenery. On these levels you may find Lightning Bubbles, which upon contact will fire a lighting bolt across the whole screen - usually in the direction the player is facing but sometimes in the opposite direction the player is facing. It is possible to get all enemies with just one lightning bolt if they happen to move into alignment with it.

. Don't try to out run your enemies as most of the time they will move faster than you!

. Try to avoid falling as much as possible. Not only do you fall very slowly (the enemies are usually faster - making timing difficult) but also you can't turn or move the player very well during a fall, so very often you can find yourself falling on top of enemies when you really didn't want to.

. As soon as the time runs out you'll get a 'hurry up' and the ghost will steadily move in your direction. The speed of the enemies will also speed up double. It is easy to avoid the ghost simply by falling off the bottom of the screen and moving around the ghost. If the player waits even longer, the ghost may disappear - meaning the level can be completed now without a time limit. If the player dies the timer and ghost will be reset.

. Lastly, protect your lives at all costs! - even if it means avoiding risky collectables. Remember, just one life can make all the difference.



Pro Tips: (Contains Larger Spoilers)
. On level 1 especially, take out the first two enemies and then fill the whole screen with bubbles. Even if you don't find the Cain/Crook, all bubbles remaining after the last enemy is killed will turn into 500 point bonus fruits. It is also a good idea to make use of the 'filling the screen with bubbles' technique on all the levels just in case it triggers the same event.

. Always go for the Rainbow Flasks (also known as potion bottles) - as they give you an easy bonus round with a larger bonus if you collect all the items. This will also complete the level.

. Try to have at least one emergency tactic in reserve to complete a level in case you die too many times. For example, collect all the EXTEND letters except one, and collect that one to complete the difficult level. Other methods include collecting the Light Blue Cross (Water Flood) or the Yellow Cross (Lightning), the Bomb, the Angel Wings, the Clock, the Book or the Blue Diamond Necklace. Rainbow Flasks (as mentioned above) will also complete the level.

. Use Chain-reactions, e.g: If you have enemy(s) trapped inside bubbles which are floating up the level beyond your reach, simply blow a load of bubbles up the screen. As soon as this chain of bubbles flows around your enemy(s) you can pop the nearest bubble to you and this will blow up all the bubbles in a chain-reaction, hopefully taking out your enemy(s) as well. This saves you falling down the level trying to get them from above.

. When the level ends and you are hanging around waiting for the screen to scroll, stand by a solid wall and fire bubbles into it. Every bubble you pop will give you 10 points. If you have collected a Ring or a Magic Lamp this will be multiplied and you will also be given extra points for jumping and moving around; BUT! the effect of these collectables will only last until the screen scrolls - so do as much jumping and bursting as possible.

. It is certainly possible to attain 500k by level 18 if you find enough Flasks (which seem to give the largest reward), Cains/Crooks and Bombs. If there are 100 levels in the game (presuming they don't wrap around) this would give a potential high score somewhere in the region of 3 million points.

.

[lifeschool]

So this is my first try. Just to prove you can get 500k by level 18; here it is. For me it was easy to gain score but not so easy to avoid dying!



Score: 505, 830

NOTICE: Please be aware I'm changing my ISP tomorow so this may mean a loss of my internet access for several weeks. So this may be my only entry in the compo unless I get the 'Net back pretty soon. I hope the tips will help all of you and answer all your questions while I'm away. So if you notice my absence or failure to reply to messages then this is the reason why.

[aca0808]

Warming up for this brilliant game:



256,040

[Biscuit]

I find this game frustrating. Controls feel awkward. Are you sure Qwak didn't win?


483,530
_________________

Lemon/EAB Super League 2013 - Round 6: Arcade Pool

[akabei]

I'll really be a loser in this round. I just tried five times and none was better than 100,000 points. Bah, I thought I could do much better. I have to hang in this game to get a decent score.



score: 79,890

[LinesMachine]

First attempt. In fact first time playing since 2007 (I think) so quite a break. Excellent game, thanks to lifescool for the hints and tips, there are some other (even more detailed) hints and tips lists out there if anyone wants to go hardcore.

154490

[premmisseth]

Is there anyway to turn only music off?

[LinesMachine]

It doesn't save scores on reset...never noticed that before, that's a pet hate of mine for any game that is score based (most shmups and platformers).

306510



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[premmisseth]

Damn, don't remember this game beeing so hard.

Praise the flasks!



371,110

[premmisseth]

A question:
Is it allowed to use save state only when stop playing the game just to preserve the highscore and then loading it from there? Otherwise I don't see a way to keep my scores here. The only way would be having the game always running for days or even weeks but that's not really practical.

I know it's a retorical question and the answer is probably NO cause it would have to be a precedence for emulator users, but just to be clear.

[Graham Humphrey]

You're right - the answer is no because it does indeed set a precedent. I appreciate it's only a small thing but I don't think we can afford to do this to any extent. Sorry. Blame the programmers for not including a save function

Having said that, if you have the capability to play the WHDLoad version that automatically saves scores on exit.
_________________
Lemon/EAB Super League 2013: Round 6 - Arcade Pool
Round 7 - Cast your votes...

[premmisseth]

Using adf version, but thanks for the answer. No biggie.

[aca0808]

My latest hi-score:


390,490