MAME ROW #79 - Hotdog Storm

[obsidianspider]

This is the MAME Random Of the Week #79

The three random numbers for this week are: 758 1713 548

Click here to vote! Which game do you choose for MAME ROW #79?

The result of the poll is posted on Wednesday, so we have Monday and Tuesday for experimentation.

758
Game Name: Hotdog Storm
Company: Marble
Year: 1996
ROM file name: hotdogst.zip

1713
Game Name: Soccer Brawl
Company: SNK
Year: 1991
ROM file name: socbrawl.zip
BIOS: neogeo

548
Game Name: Fire Battle
Company: Taito
Year: 1984
ROM file name: firebatl.zip

What is the MAME ROW?

MAME ROW stands for MAME Random Of the Week. We randomly select an arcade game from the 0.78 MAME Reference Set to play on the week. The idea is to play games we've never played before, interact with other forum members, post hi-scores, share game strategies, fun facts, and (the most important) HAVE FUN!

Notes:

1. We usually post hi-scores screenshots after playing with only one credit. If you used more than one credit, please mention it on your post.

2. There's no need to use RetroPie to join the MAME ROW! You can play it on any platform you want.

3. Feel free to post your hi-score (or any content about the game) anytime you want on the previous rounds topics (link below).

Every Monday we create a topic at the "General Discussion and Gaming > MAME Random Of the Week" forum section with the 3 random games to be voted. And on Wednesday we check the result.

These "rules" are constantly being improved!

Previous Rounds

[AndersHP]

Think Hotdog Storm looks like the better of the two shooters and the football game I'm not sure will be so fitting for a MAME ROW.

So I voted for the first!

[GtBFilms]

@AndersHP Got to agree. I tried these out last night and Fire Battle does show it's age against Hotdog Storm. I know there's 12 years between them, so it's not surprising, but Fire Battle does seem pretty clunky nowadays.

I was quite pleased to see a soccer game come up this week, but although soccer brawl isn't entirely bad, there are a LOT better soccer games out there - it's like they've tried to spice it up a bit with sort of robot players but it's entirely unnecessary. I did play a full match and went to a penalty shoot-out, which was fun, but nothing special.

So I too will be voting for Hotdog Storm this week - it looks like an interesting bullet-hell game with a ridiculous amount of power-ups. Probably the best choice for a high score contest.

[mediamogul]

@gtbfilms

Looks like 'Hotdog Storm' is gonna take it this week. My first impression is that it seems to be tough, but fair for a bullet hell. I really wanted to like 'Soccer Brawl' more than I did, but as you say, there's not much there to get excited about. Looking over the previous rounds, it doesn't appear as though a sports game has ever won a MAME ROW vote, outside of a few racing games. Just a warning, if 'Windjammers' ever comes up, I might have to stuff the ballot box ;). It's frisbee and it's 'PONG'!! Two great tastes that taste great together, with gorgeous Neo Geo graphics to boot.

[obsidianspider]

@mediamogul The Ultimate 11 - The SNK Football Championship won for MAME ROW #30

[obsidianspider]

This week's winner is Hotdog Storm

[thelostsoul]

Funny enough two or three weeks ago, while I was searching for some hidden Arcade gems, I stumbled upon Hotdog Storm. Besides its strange name (and title screen) for a shmup, I didn't found much special about it and so leaved it out of my collection. But I may rethink ad add it for highscore play.

[mediamogul]

@obsidianspider said in MAME ROW #79 - Hotdog Storm:

The Ultimate 11 - The SNK Football Championship won for MAME ROW #30

Ah, nice. Neo Geo had some great arcade sports games.

[Fruitybit]

I’m certainly struggling with this one- don’t get me wrong; the game is awesome, it’s me that’s struggling! Don’t think I’ll be posting a decent score :(

[mediamogul]

@fruitybit said in MAME ROW #79 - Hotdog Storm:

I’m certainly struggling with this one

A couple of potential tips that may help is to first get really familiar with the ship's hit box. The hitbox in this game is actually pretty forgiving and will allow you to squeeze through dangerous locations that you might otherwise think you can't. This opens up a lot of maneuverability to move to safer areas where you can then re-prioritize your targets. After you get a feel for the space, it becomes easier all the time to relax your vision to the entire screen and only take note of the incoming bullets, allowing you to strategize as the conditions change.

Something else to look for on the bosses and mid basses is a safe place to simply sit and fire. These guys usually throw out a wide spread, but on many occasions, that spread is arranged to where you can sit dead in front at a certain distance and just fire as the attack spreads outward. The stage bosses are actually a good place to use your bombs if things get too hectic, as it will briefly remove all projectiles from the screen. To that end, the bombs can of course be used in any situation where you're feeling overwhelmed.

Two more things are really preferences. The first is the controls. If you're using a controller with the option to use a thumbstick, or a D-Pad, you'll likely get more precise movement from the D-Pad. I've been using a thumbstick because I like the smooth feeling, but I plan to try for a score with the D-Pad at some time. Second, is regarding the red, green and orangish yellow Mech power-ups. While they all are similarly effective in their normal state, the real power comes from charging them up by holding down the fire button. However at that point, I personally find the red one to be the weakest. The orangish yellow is very powerful, but limited to a forward direction. For me, I've had the most luck with the green. When it's charged up an unleashed, it's not only very powerful, but it also has a homing effect that really comes in handy. Also keep in mind that if you grab multiples of the same color, the effects increase substantially each time.

I hope all this helps. One final thought to consider is that no game like this was ever designed for a single quarter play through. They're meant to unleash hell and take your quarters, so we're all only gonna get so far on this before we crash and burn. However, with that in mind, I do have to compliment this particular game, as it does seem to be one of the most fair and balanced bullet hells I've played in quite some time.

[Fruitybit]

@mediamogul Thank you! That does help and I’ll be giving it another go with these tips in mind. I do use the d pad for this, but I’ve never been that good at this kind of game, I fear I’m getting too old for so much going on on the screen at the same time!(

[mediamogul]

@fruitybit said in MAME ROW #79 - Hotdog Storm:

I’m getting too old for so much going on on the screen at the same time!

I feel like I was never young enough. My reflexes have always been sub-par. I try to make up for it with strategy, but that'll only get you so far.

[obsidianspider]

After a lot of practice I finally made it to stage 2 and on to the leaderboard.

152,400 for now

[mediamogul]

@obsidianspider

Nice! I've been playing this quite a bit myself. After learning when and where to attack and what type of attack is most effective, I've gotten as hooked on this as I would a good puzzle game.

[mediamogul]

I was able to work about half way through round two for a score of 175690. I might play a bit more later tonight or maybe in the afternoon tomorrow to get in the full mood for 'Ready Player One'.

[Fruitybit]

@mediamogul said in MAME ROW #79 - Hotdog Storm:

get in the full mood for 'Ready Player One'.

You’ll enjoy it I’m sure:) I was expecting it to be just like the book but it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

[thelostsoul]

I tried out this game too. Alongside with my score, I have two questions:

1. Is it normal that I get slowdowns with this game?
2. Is autofire considered as cheating?

My score is: 167440

[mediamogul]

@fruitybit said in MAME ROW #79 - Hotdog Storm:

You’ll enjoy it I’m sure:)

Just getting back and it was fantastic. The movie they went into within the movie was a great surprise, as it's one of my favorites of that genre. I also got about 30 mini copies of the movie poster that pays homage to the iconic 'Star Wars' and 'Indiana Jones' artwork. Great time!

@thelostsoul

Is it normal that I get slowdowns with this game?

It's tough to say without comparing it outside the pi, which I haven't. I noticed a small amount of slow down in some areas using AdvanceMAME, but this sometimes accurately portrays the original hardware.

Is autofire considered as cheating?

I don't use it myself, but it doesn't bother me personally. It's not like we're trying for a record in the Guinness Book or anything. Nice score!

[GtBFilms]

Well I made it into the high score table, but only just! This is a tough game!

169320

[obsidianspider]

MAME ROW #80 is live!