EAB/Lemon Super League 2019 Round 8: Shadow of the Beast II

[capehorn]

Originally Posted by john4p

@capehorn: Please choose a letter for the Alphabet round that is not A, D, G, L, M, Q, U, V, W, X, Y or Z (we already used these).

@malko & rexsu: If you manage to beat capehorn score then please do the same.

I've just scanned the HOL listing for 'E' and I don't think I've played any of them, with the exception of Electronic Pool (which is also the only game my grandmother ever played in her life!). I'll pick E and hopefully get to discover a new one.

[malko]

Tonight's best go : 470'000 (score 1'360)
Think it's a draw game with capehorn concerning the energy but I didn't manage to have a lower score than him... so be it.

[malko]

I have decided to share another tip concerning SotB II.
This time it concerns the two giants with mass of weapon.
See attachment and enjoy

[john4p]

^ Nice.

Originally Posted by malko

Think it's a draw game with capehorn concerning the energy but I didn't manage to have a lower score than him... so be it.

Yep - same health:



Thus capehorn wins due to his lower in-game score.

[capehorn]

I think this is the absolute limit of my abilities. If there is a way of killing those two giants without losing any health, I don't know what it is. I left the snail world with full health and lost no further energy other than when I battled those two.

I think this is also a personal record for score... 200 for killing the block pusher, 200 for Ishran, 200 for the axeman (with 3x20 for hitting blobs while doing it), 4x50 cavern crystals (I could improve this by taking a health hit but I didn't think it was worth it) and 200 for the orange waterfall monster. I didn't kill a single bat, other than in the snail world where they are not worth points.

I'll give out one last tip... in the snail world ignore the potion and horn and head straight down the rope towards the snail. The bats will all disappear at a particular moment. Then head back up the rope. You can collect the horn and potion without being bothered by the bats anymore.

470,000, score 1,060

[john4p]

^ Wow, truly deserved gold medal!

Originally Posted by capehorn

I'll give out one last tip... in the snail world ignore the potion and horn and head straight down the rope towards the snail. The bats will all disappear at a particular moment. Then head back up the rope. You can collect the horn and potion without being bothered by the bats anymore.

That's how I always do it.

Now I was on my way to a new personal best (never did better against the giants) but then...see for yourself:

[ Show youtube player ]

edit: reupload because the last one was cut off too soon

[capehorn]

Ouch! I was watching that convinced you were going to jump into the giants, or get hit by the flying snake. On the first upload I just saw that you had selected the health instead of the horn when it cut out and assumed that was it. You did pretty well on the giants, in fact you might only be a couple more goes away from matching me and Malko.

I am impressed you got straight on with it and used the horn. If you check 18:35 in my video, you will clearly see a brief moment when I paused to turn the air blue after I took a couple of unnecessary hits!

[capehorn]

Originally Posted by capehorn

I'm annoyed because this could have been better, it contained a very silly mistake.

My silly mistake was getting the jump wrong in the snail world and falling into the acid. I mastered that bit years ago, something even Laffer had trouble with, yet I've managed to do it 3 times this week. So many tiny things that can do wrong in this game.

[john4p]

GOLD for capehorn
SILVER for malko
BRONZE for john4p
CHOCOLATE for rexsu

Complete annihilation of the Lemoners in the team battle. 7-3 for us now.


Great, great game. One of the Amiga's best.

Originally Posted by capehorn

I am impressed you got straight on with it and used the horn. If you check 18:35 in my video, you will clearly see a brief moment when I paused to turn the air blue after I took a couple of unnecessary hits!

Hah, I was so shocked that I just proceeded in autopilot mode for a couple of seconds before I restarted.

[malko]

you got it right against the giants and their axes John
I think I managed to kill them without loosing a pixel health only 2 or 3 times (but considering the numbers of plays...)

sad for the use of the potion instead of the horn.

By the way : Thanks to both of you for the tip (snail world) as I never thought about it (even BitD)

Originally Posted by capehorn

[...] I won't share the glitch during the round so no-one is encouraged to use it, but I will reveal it afterwards. [...]

don't forget it

[capehorn]

Originally Posted by john4p

Great, great game. One of the Amiga's best.

I agree, there is a lot to admire about it. But I do also agree with the critics that say it is just too hard. I was thinking this morning, if they had made SotB I with three difficulty levels, easy (20 hit points), medium (16 hit points) and hard (12 hit points) I think it would be remembered a lot more fondly. SotB II needs a second life, respawning you at nearby points if you lose your first one. If they have done this, I think people would have got much less frustrated with them, and the community would look back at these as amongst the very best games the Amiga had to offer.

Another thing that really struck me whilst playing it was the audio direction, especially within the goblins section, the amount of time the music changed theme and tempo depending on what situation you are facing is really impressive and the end result is flawless.

Well done to everyone who finished it and special congratulations to anyone who did so with a potion or more remaining. I really didn't think we would need to invoke score to separate players but I guess I didn't account for Malko!

don't forget it

I'll post a video soon, I'll need to do a commentary to explain parts of it as it may be hard to follow.

[malko]

Originally Posted by capehorn

[...] I really didn't think we would need to invoke score to separate players but I guess I didn't account for Malko! [...]

When it come to SotB, I am round the corner
Again, it was a pleasure to compete against all of you .

Originally Posted by capehorn

[...] I'll post a video soon, I'll need to do a commentary to explain parts of it as it may be hard to follow.

OK

[capehorn]

Here is the video.

[ Show youtube player ]

The first part of this glitch I discovered after somebody posted about it here a few years ago (although I forget who and I can't find the post). This very glitchy glitch results in the game thinking you are a lot 'lower' in the map than you actually are, and transports you to Barloom's lair when you approach the bridge over the jumping fish.

Once in Barloom's lair you can make the chest appear repeatedly, allowing you to gain as many coins as you want. The parchment doesn't appear automatically, although there is something you can do to make it appear. I haven't work out what exactly, and in a previous attempt at a video I was jumping around for 10 minutes trying to make it materialise. In this vid it appeared early thankfully.

After leaving Barloom's lair the game returns to normal, and you have the parchment without having to trouble Ishran at all.

I did try milking this, collecting 72 coins and visiting the snail twice. The snail didn't mind, he was happy to take my money twice and return me to Karamoon both times .

[malko]

Thank you capehorn !
I did try to enter this place but never succeeded and insisted.
I have noticed, that taking this shortcut is visible as the health potion never returns to normal.
Anyway, now that I know it's feasible, will give another go just for fun !

[capehorn]

Yes, the health vial graphics get corrupted, so it would have been obvious if I had submitted it as a score

The other thing I noticed is at around 12:55 in my video, you cannot see the ring from below, only when you climb the chain and approach it from the right. I think that's because the game's code only spawns the object if you do the right thing in the right order. It must be a similar story for the parchment. If you try it and work out what you have to do to make it appear, let me know. In the end I just did a load or running and jumping around and eventually it appeared. It haven't worked out the logic behind it yet.

[john4p]

Originally Posted by capehorn

Here is the video.

[ Show youtube player ]

Whoa crazy how this works and you're still able to play through the end without problems.
Reminds me of the World Beyond Walls.

Originally Posted by capehorn

I agree, there is a lot to admire about it. But I do also agree with the critics that say it is just too hard. I was thinking this morning, if they had made SotB I with three difficulty levels, easy (20 hit points), medium (16 hit points) and hard (12 hit points) I think it would be remembered a lot more fondly.

Good idea. That would've worked.

Originally Posted by capehorn

SotB II needs a second life, respawning you at nearby points if you lose your first one. If they have done this, I think people would have got much less frustrated with them, and the community would look back at these as amongst the very best games the Amiga had to offer.

I feel that would be too "immersion-breaking". I like that you only have one life in Beast I&II and it's an important part of their identity in my opinion.
There are only three things I would've wanted them to have changed:
1. Don't have to be at the ledge to kill the rock-pushing guy. He should just die at the sixth hit regardless of where you are.
2. Slightly less strict timing on the two falling stones directly after him.
3. Being able to distract the dog with a huge ham club that you place on the floor.

Originally Posted by capehorn

Another thing that really struck me whilst playing it was the audio direction, especially within the goblins section, the amount of time the music changed theme and tempo depending on what situation you are facing is really impressive and the end result is flawless.

Yes that's astonishing. One of the first games to do this so well.

[malko]

Originally Posted by john4p

[...] 3. Being able to distract the dog with a huge ham club that you place on the floor.[...]

+1, good idea !
Why not something gathered from the pygmies.

[capehorn]

... or have the dog maul the devil, giving you a short moment when it is distracted to hit the switch.

Originally Posted by john4p

3. Being able to distract the dog with a huge ham club that you place on the floor.

Why not something gathered from the pygmies.

Both these ideas, of course, are present in SotB III

[john4p]

Ah damn, knew I've seen this before.

Then your idea is better and would require the littlest change.