MAME ROW #46 - U.N. Squadron

pjft

@lilbud Thanks! I'm actually on an iPhone, but I'll keep that for reference! I could certainly get an app to resize the picture, but I suppose I'm kind of lazy to install an app I'll rarely use.

It's not like I'll be kicked out of the MAME ROW club by not submitting the picture immediately, hopefullt - unless you guys changed the rules yet again :P

Here's the image of the wall of shame (both PJT and AAA are mine, 4th and 5th places):

AndersHP

@pjft I can just exactly squeeze past this, but it wasn't easy!
My current high is 49.130 at 4th place - same place as you, second level boss.
I'm running the plane in the middle, what about you guys?

Funny how the autofire stops after like 5 seconds.. And did anyone get what the different powerups mean.. Blue = weapon, green = speed, or..?

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meleu

I'm in!

Reached stage 3. Not sure if I reached the boss, it is a kind of fortress with several cannons...

Score: 86030

I chose that blond pilot in the middle. Tried a few times with the bearded guy because of his double shot and then realized that when choosing the blond guy we have more bombs. And having a log of bombs is very useful at the bosses. :)

obsidianspider

95,630 for now

AndersHP

Wow, good job, both!

UDb23

@obsidianspider Well done!
What's that device you show in the picture ?

meleu

@udb23 looks like a 3DS.

@obsidianspider well done! what stage have you reached and what pilot did you choose?

buddyscott

I need to get retroarch running on my 3ds. Would be nice to play some Mame games on my break times at work.

obsidianspider

@UDb23 it's a n3DS XL. It stutters in some spots which you would think would help you because of the slowdown, but then it randomly reverts to normal speed so I end up taking damage at weird times.

@meleu I got to the end of the third stage (the fortress thing). I have had the best results with Shin. I did not use any special weapons on the first stage, I used the forcefield on the second stage (those planes coming up from behind all the time SUCK), and no special weapons on the third stage.

pjft

@obsidianspider Interesting. I've so far used the 5x missile shot in the first mission even though it's more of a convenience thing than a need, you're right.

On the second mission, though, I was finding the missiles to be handy for the boss, just blasting him full on with those, though I didn't defeat it :P

@AndersHP I don't know what each bonus item relates to, no. I know that sometimes my shot will become bigger, which is nice, but I can't say I know enough about it to notice a pattern yet.

obsidianspider

@andershp said in MAME ROW #46 - U.N. Squadron:

And did anyone get what the different powerups mean.. Blue = weapon, green = speed, or..?

This is what I think is happening after dozens of rounds and watching the count as I've collected things:

POW is how many powerups you need until you get to the next level
TOTAL is how many powerup units you've collected in total

GREEEN = 1 powerup unit
BLUE = 2 powerup units

Also, for those of you who are enjoying the arcade version, check out the Super Nintendo port. Better music, more than one life, you can choose from different planes, and after you complete the second level you can select which stage you want next.

buddyscott

@obsidianspider is it typical for the n3ds to stutter a lot when playing Mame games?

obsidianspider

@pjft On the first stage, if you do it right (it's not easy considering how quickly the plane moves when you tap the D-Pad) I have found that I can align my plane so the missiles at the end boss fly over me and under me if I stay totally still. It's really hard to explain, but I've found an alignment point with one of the smokestack things in the background that if I can get my plane in that spot, I just keep firing and it's easy.

Stage 2 the end boss isn't that hard for me, but it's just getting there. The planes rapidly flying up from behind isn't so much the issue as it's the flares/bullets that they dump at you that are not easy to avoid. I've tried staying toward the center of the screen, but that only helps so much. I've only gotten to the third stage twice so far with the arcade version of this game.

obsidianspider

@buddyscott As with MAME in general, it depends on the game. (No Killer Instinct ;) ), but for what we play in MAME ROW, most games are playable.

There's also a known bug where vertical games are rotated, and if you try to rotate it in the RetroArch controls, it just flips the image, it doesn't rotate it. The controls aren't rotated though, so the games are basically unplayable.

pjft

@obsidianspider Thanks! I heard great things about the SNES version, it's certainly on my backlog.

As for the first stage boss, I know exactly what you mean. I found that spot one time - it seems to be pretty much aligned with the "coloured radar" thingie at the bottom of the missile launcher, which allows you to just sit there. It is tricky, though, as a few times I thought I was there and then one of the missiles hit me :)

buddyscott

@obsidianspider that is good news. I was worried that since it has a faster processor than the original that it might speed up or cause issues with the roms. looks like ill be putting retroarch on my 3ds today after work.

meleu

@obsidianspider said in MAME ROW #46 - U.N. Squadron:

for those of you who are enjoying the arcade version, check out the Super Nintendo port. Better music, more than one life, you can choose from different planes, and after you complete the second level you can select which stage you want next.

And has cheevos: http://retroachievements.org/Game/274

UDb23

@andershp said in MAME ROW #46 - U.N. Squadron:

And did anyone get what the different powerups mean.. Blue = weapon, green = speed, or..?

While I was searching artwork for the overlay I found a high-res (but cutoff) image of the real bezel; it contains the "official" instructions:

obsidianspider

Yellow? Wow, I haven't seen any of those yet. Nice for it to show the strengths of each plane as well. I've wondered about what made them different aside from the obviously different firing patterns.

Also, I'll be traveling for the next week for work, so the timing of the MAME ROW posts may be off slightly (time of day, not the actual day). I already have the post composed and ready to go. @meleu, if for some reason the post doesn't show up on Monday by 5PM Brazil time, would you please create a post for us?

pjft

I finally barely crossed the 50k barrier, with 50430.

Unfortunately still didn't cross the level 2 end boss.

That being said, buying the missiles in level 2 allows me to kill more enemies, rather than evading those white planes that come from behind, which helps with the score as well as preempting their attacks.