MGLXLIX - Game 4 ~ Lode Runner IV (closes 3-Oct)

[ZNC]

16 hours ago, terencew said:

Bits & pieces that I know that are probably already common knowledge, but anyhoo...

MAX SCORE REQUIRES A PLAN/PATTERN - while you can fumble your way through many rounds, it's not as profitable as learning how to control the level (somewhat). I guess this applies to most games...

About 50k per round is ideal, though this isn't possible on every round, and it doesn't take much to miss out on this goal. I mess this up aaaaaall the time.

There are certain places you can sit per map where enemies will not come directly for you, but rather will either sit in wait, or go into a holding pattern - this is vital to know on some levels... I'd say it is on nearly all levels if you're aiming for all the bonuses.

8k bonus for grabbing the sparkling nugget first - this appears on most (but not all) levels, and its position is fixed in any of up to three options per level.

3k/5k/8k bonus item appears for uncovering & trapping a bonus monster - I haven't figured out if it's possible to control this value, and I think the same rule applies as above in that this appears on most (but not all) levels, and its position is fixed in any of up to three options per level... e.g. I've not found it on round 6 before (i.e. if it's not bottom right), though maybe I just haven't looked under all moving boxes etc!
NOTE if you trap but don't pick up the bonus item, no bonus. This can happen if you're being chased by other enemies.

20k bonus for finishing without trapping any enemies

10k bonus for finishing without killing any enemies (i.e. trapped but not killed)

Neat but mostly difficult trick relevant to the previous two bonuses... if a hole is in the process of refiling and an enemy falls into it but is taken out before it hits the bottom, you do get 100 but this does not count as either a trap or a kill!
But either know where this is possible, or don't bother trying for it... it could be a 10k/20k mistake!

Dropping on the head of an enemy is worth 500.
Note of caution... e.g. at the start of round 3 I used to drop from the wire on top of enemies at the top of the ladder, but because they're bouncing about there, sometimes an enemy will be on its way up a teeny bit just as you land, and there's an even chance that will kill you. So in this case, not worth the gamble.

Walking over an enemy who is just about to climb out of a hole is worth 1000 - trapping three in a row and walking over them is a reasonably safe way to get this, though there isn't much margin here.

Chasing the bonus enemy at the risk of losing BLUE time bonus - this is generally a bad idea.
You may find yourself (🎵 living in a shotgun shack 🎵) having just picked the last nugget, and you could make it out with >5000 on the timer, but that bonus enemy is still hiding somewhere... note that when your timer goes into yellow, you've just lost at least 5000 clearance bonus because you only get (at most) 2x your remaining time rather than 3x, plus the lost time going after the bonus enemy. Which means that your bonus enemy must be worth 8k to make a profit.
Chasing the bonus enemy at the risk of losing YELLOW time bonus - probably still a bad idea.
You've got about 30 seconds once your timer drops below 2000. If you can get the bonus item and finish before the timer hits 1000 (about 15 seconds), then you've made a profit even if the bonus item is 3k. Otherwise you're rolling the dice that it's 5k/8k, or that you can even get the bonus before you run out of time.

I'm sure there's plenty more. Hope it helps!

well written 

I also have no idea if the amount of the 3k / 5k / 8k bonus can be influenced, it is probably a random selection

in round 6 there is a bonus in these places, which I circled in black

 

Edited October 3, 2021 by ZNC
wrong image

[ZNC]

6 hours ago, OOO said:

Day 17 of 17 ...

Final Scoreboard ...

I have played the original Lode Runner at the arcade back in the 80s. It was a fun and massive brain teaser. This is the 4th incarnation, and it proved to be even tougher than the original version. 12 gamers managed to do quite well and score over 100K. Well played. Blackflag82, Terencew and Lexa managed to score even higher with 150K+ scores, taking out 2nd to 4th place respectively.

The number one spot went to Martin Patra, with an excellent score of 307,120 points. This was his 2nd game win in MGL history, after his super game win on The Adventures of Mr. F. Lea in MGL46. Congratulations Martin.

Lasso, Blood Bros. and Rally Bike are all currently in play. That's a nice mix of arcade games to rope, shoot and ride for some new high scores.

   

thanks OOO