Be Excellent To Each Other

As part of an occasional series, let's give the superb Zub a quick blast.



Highest score by Friday 8pm wins a small ripple of applause. You can play online here:

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekplay.cgi?title=Zub&pub=Mastertronic+Added+Dimension&year=1986&id=0005878&joy=kemp&game=/games/z/Zub.tap.zip&emu=1&aspect=3

You know how to play Zub right? Jump on the platforms and get to the top of the level. Crouch when on a platform and move right and left and it will move. Shoot the baddies. Don't go to the extreme right or left of the level as there is a energy barrier that will zap you.

Note the game gives you 3 scores, Hi, Lo and Score. You want Score. No screenies needed as this is just for fun.

I highly recommend you redefine the keys to QAOP and Space. If you press '0' you activate the scanner which shows you where the baddies are. This also shows you how close you are to the edge of the level.

Leave the difficulty on the default setting "C".

Er, 240.
How do I get off the first platform?

Crouch, then while crouching go left and right to get beneath the next platform.

On the first train.

Bonus points to anyone who can remember how to get into the secret hidden game, Lightfarce.

Got it - duck and move.
264!

It is a game of skill and timing.

Never played it before - score 388

The scoring seems to make no sense and the controls are a little on the ...... "imprecise" side.

Oh, it's something like you hold down 13579 to activate the cheat, then 24680 to get to the game (or vice-versa).

It is a game of rage and quit.

That game can fuck right off

Blimey that game sucks big salty balls, glad i missed it 1st time around

After playing it for a bit last night I can make one small change which would make it about 10% better.

When you shoot a baddie have them 'die'

That would mean youd still get the shonky controls / jumping / everything else mechanic but you do away with the stupid "I've shot that enemy so it will go 'up' for a few seconds and then come back down on my head and knock me off the platform :-(

Wow. Really?

I guess modern games that mollicoddle the player have made people soft.

Remember if you activate the scanner (press zero) you can see where the baddies are and can pre-empt where they will appear.

I'll be putting in a score later.

Just had a quick play. Died quickly when using a joypad. However keyboard controls were far easier.

Got +945 before the batteries ran out in the wireless keyboard and I died. Shame really as I was really getting into it even if I had to repeat level 1 twice due to going to the wrong teleport.

However in retrospect the default difficulty setting is too hard for newbies. I playtested the CPC version which was fine but the Speccy version is waaay harder at that difficulty.

Chinny - 945
Zaphod - 388
Grim.. - 264

343, but my scoreboard kept on being displayed ghostly over the top left of the screen....



Malc

296 - I don't think I like this.

Up to 330, I'm not even going to try and work out the scoring mechanics.

276 for me on the first go. It's a bit frustrating but only because I'm rubbish with the keys.

and 409 on the second go... even though I seemed to do worse than the first?

What a curious little game.

That's minus 343.

I forgot to mention that Zub will take away points if you do badly and in fact can award minus scores. Do check before you submit.

Not sure about the scoreboard error. Must be a JAVA problem if its using the WOS link.

Scores this far:

Chinny - +945
TheVision - +409
Zaphod - +388
Devilman - +330
Grim.. - +264
Joans - -330
Malc - -343


Do say if I've given you a + when you should have a minus.


Tips:
Use the keyboard only.
Watch where the baddies are on the scanner. Ensure you are facing the right direction ready for their attack.
Lure baddies in by hovering away as they move into the screen. They'll get level with you then POW, right in the kisser.
Try to kill baddies as close to each other as possible to maximise the amount of time between being hassled.
Never let baddies approach you so they are either side of you. Get positioned so they are all on the same side.



And finally a nice write up on the game by the Pickfords
:
http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/archive/zub.php

Mine was a -, I clearly have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing.

Bloody Hell!

That was the highest I got, and I shot loads of them too!

I'll have to play it again!

Malc

Play something good next time, Zub annoyed me in the 80s.

Ranarama is fantastic. I never completed it in the 80s but did manage to about 5 years ago in an emulator.


Anyway, happy zubbing (renamed from Zob cos apparently a rude name in France - can see it was chopped by the loading screen)

I have a feeling most of the points come from how high you climb. Also there's an end of level bonus where you are given big points for shooting accuracy.

I only managed 330. I'm sure I got off the first level when I had this as a child but no chance now.

Ahem.....

Corrected. Assuming you meant +409 and not -409.

Current scores:

Chinny - +945
TheVision - +409
Zaphod - +388
Devilman - +330
Grim.. - +264
Joans - -330
Malc - -343

Last few hours chums. Score deadline is 8pm.

And the final scores are:



Chinny - +945
TheVision - +409
Zaphod - +388
Devilman - +330
Grim.. - +264
Joans - -330
Malc - -343

Thanks to all those who took part. Suggestions for a future quickie challenge would be appreciated (NB you must be able to play online).

Does this mean that technically... I won?

Technically you came second.

Second comes right after first!