MAME ROW #12: Frenzy

meleu

@GtBFilms I'm afraid that just setting config_save_on_exit to false on your big arcade/retroarch.cfg file is not the best solution. Look at this part of my post:

Keep in mind that the config uses the "first match if finds" approach, so for you override a global config, keep the #include line at the end of file.

So if you change something on your global all/retroarch.cfg, probably these changings won't reach the arcade/retroarch.cfg because this file is full of settings and probably the #include is at the last line. My suggestion is to put only this content on your arcade/retroarch.cfg:

# Settings made here will only override settings in the global retroarch.cfg if placed above the #include line

input_remapping_directory = "/opt/retropie/configs/arcade/"

#include "/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch.cfg"

Cheers!

R1n0X

SCORE: 5806
Meego T07 / Windows 10 / MAME 0.139

meleu

@R1n0X I was only waiting your score to post the MAME ROW #13: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/6337/mame-row-13

Cheers!

MisterMeeseeks

Hope I am not too late, I have been following MAME ROW for a few weeks now, but just registered my account to start posting.

Frenzy was a tough game, after several tries the best I could do was 4336.

Looking forward to being more active in the next one!

GtBFilms

@meleu Awesome, thanks for that, I think that solution will prevent a lot of (my) future confusion!

I'll do it tonight.

backstander

@MisterMeeseeks

Hope I am not too late, I have been following MAME ROW for a few weeks now, but just registered my account to start posting.

Welcome! We're not so strict about when you can post scores. You could post your score a year from now and we'd be excited for you :)

Frenzy was a tough game, after several tries the best I could do was 4336.

I did about the same but I really didn't get to play it much this weekend.

VictimRLSH

Still quite rusty, I can normally make it to lvl 6 on a credit. Among hardcore players lvl 8 is considered a good run for 700 health. This is another game that had a rep for being a voracious quarter muncher, but in reality was quite the opposite.

What you need to beat Gauntlet is superhuman patience, and preferably a partner or three. If you are playing alone, you don't have your most powerful weapon available, screen control. You will always be in the center of the screen. With at least 2 players, you can control how the screen scrolls (since all characters in play must be on the screen) and only expose the generators, food, treasures, etc. that you want to deal with at that moment. Treasure box blocking you from shooting a ghost generator? Scroll only the treasure box onto the screen, then grab it and you can shoot at the generator. Too many generators appear on screen when you move? Send all the other characters up into the corner and scroll them on one at a time. This was a good way to clear lvl 3. Too many demons shooting at you and you can't get at them? Put the valkyrie and fighter in front, then the wizard and elf PUSH them from behind, multiplying the power of their melee attack, cutting through demons like butter and they won't fire while they are in melee range. You can even shove them through the generators that way. You can also trap Deaths behind walls with careful scroll tactics.

There are a couple tricks that work better for single play, which require monumental patience. Just remember that 700 health ticking away at one per second is still about 11 1/2 minutes, which is a VERY generous play time for one quarter. You can get a lot of points just monster farming. TAKE YOUR TIME. I always play the wizard, as you will want to be able to nuke everything with one potion. It's kinda pointless to waste a potion and still have generators to deal with.

If you are not currently holding any keys, waiting 16 seconds without moving or firing will automatically drop all doors. This could be good or bad. It's 32 seconds if you have keys before the doors automatically open. Watch for Deaths when the doors auto open, as traps auto open too.

If the level is a complete ghost town (literally) or full of demons, you are likely to lose a LOT of health if you play it through without helpers. Waiting 180 seconds without moving or firing will turn all the walls to Exits on later revisions of the game (rev 14 has this). The 180 health you lose may be quite a bit less than what you would lose fighting through the game alone. Demons can shoot over the newly exposed exits, so if you are on a demon level, exit immediately. If it is a ghost or grunt level, you have an opportunity to fire on generators that would normally be blocked, and might be able to recover some health or grab potions before you leave. If you want to stay, be VERY careful how you move, one wrong move and you'll exit.

Getting hit by any monster is bad, but you should try to NEVER be hit by ghosts. The big ones take out 30 health instantly. Advance on ghost generators very slowly, and if ghosts start to pile up, retreat and kill them, then try again. You will be farming a lot of points this way as well. If there is a ghost generator just off the edge of the screen, instead of trying to overcome the onslaught of ghosts by firing at it, fire a shot, release the fire button, then quickly follow the shot so it hits the generator just as it scrolls onto the screen. This will take practice. If you fail to hit the generator, back up, kill the excess ghosts, and try again.

Grabbing treasures while playing alone results in no score multiplier at all, just 100 pts. You can get this easily by farming monsters. Never take a risk to grab a treasure box.

The massive point boost you CAN get playing alone comes from using potions on Deaths. These guys drain your health rapidly anyway, if you nuke them with a potion, you get a multiplied score based on how many you take out at once.

Demons will fire if 1) You are in their line of fire, and 2) If the space directly in front of them is empty. This is why they die so easily to the melee characters (even though those are really bad to play alone). What this means is demons will shoot each other and even their own generators if you dance around a bit. It doesn't matter if there is a wall in the way either, as long as the demon isn't directly touching the wall so there is no space in front of their head. Unfortunately, this also means they will shoot unarmored potion bottles and food in jugs. :(

Sorcerers will teleport behind you if both you and the sorcerer are on the screen. This is when you'll wish you had a melee character, because when they mob you, it's kinda impossible to move anywhere. They also often hang around with Deaths, so if you don't have a potion handy, don't kill ALL the sorcerers because they make handy barriers to getting away from the Deaths.

pjft

@VictimRLSH It's great to read your tips on all these games - thanks for the massive effort - but I think you're posting some of them on the wrong thread? You posted a fighting game on Puyo Puyo, and now Gauntlet on Frenzy? Was that deliberate?

Thanks!

VictimRLSH

@pjft The name of the thread is the game that won the voting, but each week there are three games up for play, so I've been focusing on the games I had an interest in.

pjft

@VictimRLSH ah, got it. Well done then!

VictimRLSH

Almost made it to lvl 8, did not have another potion for the sorcerers on lvl 6, so had to go straight for the exit instead of heading NW for the potion there. If you have a potion, you can get a potion...