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From: deadman@garnet.berkeley.edu (Ben Haller)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Re: Solarian II
Message-ID: <1991Apr29.190518.14202@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 29 Apr 91 19:05:18 GMT
References: <1991Apr26.175655.11136@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <11083@bunny.GTE.COM>
Sender: root@agate.berkeley.edu (Charlie Root)
Organization: Stick Software
Lines: 37

In article <11083@bunny.GTE.COM> CAH0@bunny.gte.com (Chuck Hoffman) writes:
>I found that I had finally become bored with the game, consistently 
>scoring in the 200,000's, but with no apparent way to go beyond that 
>because the gifts no longer come to the bottom of the screen after level 7 
>or so.  Ben says the gifts can be "captured" anyway, but no one I know has 
>ever done it.  They often just burp and go off the top of the screen in 
>1-2 seconds, or follow what Ben calls "crazy" paths around the screen.  

Now come on, if I say they can be captured they can.  In terms of skill,
anyone could do it.  All it requires is that one *think* and figure out
*why* the presents are flying off of the screen.  There is a very good,
and very simple, reason.  I've known several people who have figured it
out without any hints - it's really fairly obvious if you just pay
attention.
  The crazy presents are the only ones that are at all hard to catch.
They require a fairly unobvious kind of movement to coerce them down.
But people have even figured this out all by themselves.

>Also, I normally get 40-42 on the second type of challenge round (the one 
>that begins with a stream of Eyedroids coming in from the right) but don't 
>seem to have to key to getting all 44. 

If you've gotten 40-42, you must have the correct idea, you're just not
quite smooth enough in your execution.  It took me about two days of
on and off playing from the point where I was getting 40-42 to the point
where I was getting 100% about two thirds of the time.  If you're not
willing to practice to that extent, then you clearly have a problem, yes.

  Solarian II is not a *simple* game (like Tetris, which he mentions).  It
requires thought, and it requires practice.  If you do these things, then
you get to see all the nifty later rounds, and *maybe* finish the game.  If
you don't, then you get bored and give up.  Keep practicing and thinking,
or don't.  Your life, do with it what you will.

-Ben Haller (deadman@garnet.berkeley.edu)
"Normally I wouldn't spray naked girls with shaving cream,
 but today was an exception."  -  Jeff