Conveyor Help

[JoshtheGamer]

The last couple of days I've been finding myself dying on conveyor boards at an alarming rate. Had a 300k+ game yesterday where 3 of my deaths were on conveyors.  But maybe this underlying issue has always been there, just not as apparent until I was more proficient on the other boards.

If I can't get the free pass and have to freestyle this board, my chances of death go up a lot.

Basically my branching path goes something like

1. Go for free pass. If no go...
2. Go for hammer or retreat to bottom girder. Look for an opening (left side if the fireballs camp right).

I think I just need to practice free styling. Half the time I have some bonehead death where the conveyor switches and I run into a fireball/pie or get myself in a fireball sandwich due to impatience. Seems like there's a lot to keep track of (kong, pies, fireballs, oh my).

I have a save state in MAME at the end of 8-1 so I can go to 8-2 at different frames/times and practice.  Just seems like when I'm playing at my computer, I get free passes a lot more than at my mame cab which doesn't have save states for practice.

I'll keep working on it, but if anyone has ideas/suggestions let me know. Have a good one--Josh

[danman123456]

Seems good the pies can suck.

Edited with some of Mrvaya's details as well since I know what i meant but didnt actually type it

1. Go for free pass is good idea. Also look hard at the early hammer grab making sure to stay left of the barrel so the fireballs will spawn on the right side should you smash them. Early smash also gets you at least 3 pies but this isnt really about points. This way you can smash and if you avoid the fireballs you might have a new "free pass" setup. Smashing and then going for the free pass. IF fireballs go over this is best bet and smashing early seems to help.

2. Watch kong as you may not know if he gets to the left side the conveyors switch direction.

3. Dont panic and just wait for the opening. If just trying to survive you have a LOT of timer to wait out.

Dan

The last couple of days I've been finding myself dying on conveyor boards at an alarming rate. Had a 300k+ game yesterday where 3 of my deaths were on conveyors.  But maybe this underlying issue has always been there, just not as apparent until I was more proficient on the other boards.

If I can't get the free pass and have to freestyle this board, my chances of death go up a lot.

Basically my branching path goes something like

1. Go for free pass. If no go...
2. Go for hammer or retreat to bottom girder. Look for an opening (left side if the fireballs camp right).

I think I just need to practice free styling. Half the time I have some bonehead death where the conveyor switches and I run into a fireball/pie or get myself in a fireball sandwich due to impatience. Seems like there's a lot to keep track of (kong, pies, fireballs, oh my).

I have a save state in MAME at the end of 8-1 so I can go to 8-2 at different frames/times and practice.  Just seems like when I'm playing at my computer, I get free passes a lot more than at my mame cab which doesn't have save states for practice.

I'll keep working on it, but if anyone has ideas/suggestions let me know. Have a good one--Josh

[UKP]

thank you i didn't know the conveyors switched directions when kong got to the left side.

[twinxen]

I am interested on expert opinions as well, my conveyors usually go really bad if I don't find a clean pass.

[twinxen]

Got this info from mrvaya, things that I didn't know at least;

If you dont get a free pass: quickly grab the hammer (kong is in the middle of the screen), then run all the way to the left smashing some pies and maybe some firefoxes and make them respawn on the left and then make sure to run back to the the right before the hammer runs out. You will have accomplished one of two things:
1) maybe you have another shot at a free pass...
or 2) escape route down the rightmost ladder to the bottom.

BTW the hammer runs out after approx a full kong cycle (when he’s back in the middle)

[JoshtheGamer]

Got this info from mrvaya, things that I didn't know at least;

If you dont get a free pass: quickly grab the hammer (kong is in the middle of the screen), then run all the way to the left smashing some pies and maybe some firefoxes and make them respawn on the left and then make sure to run back to the the right before the hammer runs out. You will have accomplished one of two things:
1) maybe you have another shot at a free pass...
or 2) escape route down the rightmost ladder to the bottom.

BTW the hammer runs out after approx a full kong cycle (when he’s back in the middle)

Will have to give this a try after work! I have a feeling I will need to de-stress with a cold one and some DK.

[mrvaya]

Well creating that extra free pass opportunity is pretty handy imo.

Another thing that should be mentioned if you are not completely aware yet: since the foxes more happily runs to the right than left and often guard that upper right ladder - left way up is often an easier path when things get dirty.

Btw: firefoxes can only use ladders when going RIGHT which is a nice thing to know on all boards.

Hope it helps to get you started.

[JoshtheGamer]

3. Dont panic and just wait for the opening. If just trying to survive you have a LOT of timer to wait out.

Dan

Well creating that extra free pass opportunity is pretty handy imo.

Another thing that should be mentioned if you are not completely aware yet: since the foxes more happily runs to the right than left and often guard that upper right ladder - left way up is often an easier path when things get dirty.

Btw: firefoxes can only use ladders when going RIGHT which is a nice thing to know on all boards.

Thanks all!

[Bounty Bob]

Something else to note with the pies. Often people die going up the top ladder because a pie appears while they are making the run up the ladder and catches their toe. Only one pie can spawn at a time, so if you see one appear elsewhere on screen you know you're good to go, if it appears near you just jump it and go up.

[twinxen]

I probably overdo this a bit, always afraid of kicking the pie (unless a fireball is coming up in which case I take the chance) even though the odds are low that it will appear just as you get on the ladder.

What I am wondering is, what is the spawn rate for the pies? What is the minimum possible time between one pie and the next spawning?

[UKP]

When there is a Firefox on the side that I'm trying to climb the final ladder I try to time it so I go directly up the ladder while it's up. Then the Firefox cannot chase  me up while I'm stuck on it. also if there are firefoxes on top blocking me I watch carefully for a Firefox approaching from the bottom so I can retreat before they make a jumpman sandwich.

[JoshtheGamer]

Something else to note with the pies. Often people die going up the top ladder because a pie appears while they are making the run up the ladder and catches their toe. Only one pie can spawn at a time, so if you see one appear elsewhere on screen you know you're good to go, if it appears near you just jump it and go up.

Whoa, cool! I had no idea.

[WCopeland]

When I was learning the game I used to die all the time on pie factories. I have a few tips that might help:

- The most important rule: it's always better to die from the timer than die from a fireball. The pie factory almost encourages you to rush it, but the reality is you can play these boards pretty slow even for 1,100,000 pace.

- Master your fireball rules.
The 2nd and 4th fireballs are always freezers (there are only two freezers - no more, no less).
Fireballs can only go up and down ladders when approaching from the left. There are some rare exceptions but 99.9% of the time this is true.
Fireballs move faster going right than going left. This means they naturally gravitate towards the right-hand side of the screen. That's why when lots of fireballs are up top, it's easier to go up the left-hand side. It also means the left-hand side of the screen is naturally safer than the right-hand side if you're trapped on the bottom.

- Remember that the conveyor belt reverses when Kong touches the left-hand side of the screen. You should never jump a pie and hope it doesn't reverse before you land. You can always know when it's about to reverse.

- A big beginner's mistake is to forget there's a second hammer on the left-hand side. If you're trapped on that platform for any reason, just grab the hammer and kill anything that approaches.

- If you're holding the middle hammer and a fireball goes down a ladder onto the conveyor belt, stop whatever you're doing and immediately go kill it. Don't leave it to its own devices.

- Free passes are generally safe only if one of the five fireballs doesn't go down the ladder at the start of the screen. If one does, consider immediately grabbing the middle hammer.

[JoshtheGamer]

I'm seeing improvement on pie boards thanks to all the great info in the thread.

- The most important rule: it's always better to die from the timer than die from a fireball. The pie factory almost encourages you to rush it, but the reality is you can play these boards pretty slow even for 1,100,000 pace.

Yes! I must remember this. Impatience kills me a lot on this board.