From: IYI4DTN@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU (Gann Matsuda)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Re: ARASHI 1.0a on sumex-aim
Date: 23 Dec 92 21:52:19 GMT

In article <00WQ03VRc6TW00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>, on 23 Dec 92 18:57:20 GMT,
jsp@uts.amdahl.com (James Preston) writes:

>
>
>First, let me say that I really love Arashi.  If those who've worked on
>it are worried that some netters might get on their case for reasons
>similar to the current Maelstrom flap, I can say that I think the two
>cases are totally different.  The whole purpose of Arashi is to duplicate
>the arcade game, so the more copying it does the better as far as I'm
>concerned.
>
>So please, guys, keep up the good work.
>
>klui@corp.hp.com (Kenneth K.F. Lui) writes:
>
>}In article <1992Dec22.182109.18982@nntp.hut.fi> jmunkki@vipunen.hut.fi (Juri Munkki) writes:
>}>I kind of like the way fuseballs work now.
>}[...]
>}>                                  Arashi is probably a bit more
>}>difficult in this respect.
>}>
>}Yes, it's a _lot_ more difficult than the arcade version.  I'm
>}having a difficult time getting past the yellow Star.
>
>I would really like to see this brought more in line with the arcade
>game.  I often find myself with two fuseballs approaching me from
>opposite sides.  In that case, there is *nothing* that I can do except
>die (assuming that I've used up my mega-blast, or whatever the spacebar
>command is called).  This seems rather unfair.
>
>Of course, if there's something that I've missed, and there is some way
>to kill a fuseball when it's on the outer rim, please tell me now!
>
>}>I had a lot of trouble remembering how pulsars should work... I'm
>}>still not sure hwo they work, because my memories are clouded from
>}>the amount of testing that I did with Arashi/STORM.
>}>
>}It appears as though pulsars are always pulsing except for a
>}fraction of the time when they are changing lanes in Arashi.  In
>}Tempest, the pulsars pulsate at a different rate than their rate
>}in which they're changing lanes.  i.e. There's a long-enough
>}period of time when all pulsars aren't pulsing and are either
>}changing lanes or moving up/down a tube.  All pulsars pulse at
>}the same time.  The only "safe" method of killing pulsars is to
>}constantly fire at an adjacent lane and wait for it to move into
>}your lane in Arashi.  'Course, this method also works for Tempest.
>
>Here, too, I'd like to vote for the arcade way.  Until I read this,
>I thought that my memory of the arcade game was faulty; I hadn't
>remembered pulsars being *that* much trouble.  In Arashi, once the
>pulsars appear, my whole style of play has to change drastically or
>I just keep getting zapped by those things.  They just take way too
>much of my attention.  And on the invisible levels, the Arashi pulsars
>are almost impossible to deal with (at least for me), because without
>the lane lines, it's just too difficult to get exactly one lane over
>from them.
>
>}>I'm glad you like it. Mike was a bit worried that Arashi wouldn't be
>}>well received after the way some of the recently released games have
>}>been treated on comp.sys.mac.games.
>
>Again, I love it; you'll hear no complaints from me.  And if you guys
>want to start charging a shareware fee, my checkbook is ready.
>
>--James Preston
>
Yeah, I agree that the pulsars should be "changed" to behave like they
do in Tempest.  It's frustrating to play the game the way they behave
now.

BTW: It's only frustrating for _ME_ because I'm used to getting up to
level 49 all the way from level 9....can't do that in Arashi, though.
The pulsars are too tough.

And...the fuseballs in Arashi add to that problem...again, they should
not travel around the edge of the tube as they do.  In Tempest, they
never did that.

I don't think Mike and Juri will be charging a shareware fee, however.
If they do, I think Atari might have something to say about that... :-)
They certainly deserve it though...I too love Arashi!

Gann

P.S. I've been in contact with Mike (rather extensively) about this
stuff already... :-)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games