The System reacts to the player's actions. In its simplest sense, a player that is highly aggressive and wastes ammunition will face tougher opposition as the System reacts as if it is facing a larger fleet. This will be discussed in more detail later in this document (see "Aggression Levels" in "Tips, Tricks and Techniques") but I think this illuminates one possible reason no one has written a FAQ or Walkthrough for the game. Since player actions largely dictate the type and number of ships you will face, a level may change dramatically on each pass through depending on how you play the game. This makes writing a walkthrough more difficult than it might be in other games where you face similar waves of enemies each time you play the game. On the other hand, this obviously increases the challenge and replay value (especially when you consider all the secrets to be discovered and variety of weapons available).
Aggression Levels
As I explained in the introduction, the number and strength of opponents you face varies depending on the aggression levels of the System. When the aggression level goes up, so does the strength of your enemy and the degree of challenge you face in surviving.
The following seem to increase the aggression level:
o Shooting a lot, especially with the special weapon. Aggression levels
seem to increase faster and the more powerful the weapon being fired.
o Upgrading Special Weapons, especially picking up Fire 2 o Failing to destroy a base in the allotted time.
The following seem to decrease the aggression level:
o Destroying a base before the timer runs out o losing a Zanac o using an ERASER o Reducing your rate of fire for a while, or increasing your reliance on your
Conventional Weapon.
o you destroy a SART
Some events on each level are 'scripted' -- for example, near the beginning of Level 3 you will always be attacked by clusters of type 2 DEGIDs regardless of the aggression level. On the other hand, when you see Type 3 EFFINEs or the larger non-capital ships you can bet the System is pretty ticked off.
Base Destruction 101
Periodically the scroll of a level will halt and you will be given a time limit in which to destroy a large base, an assembly of ground turrets. If you destroy all the turrets before the time limit elapses, the screen will be cleared of enemies and you will receive a bonus before the scroll continues or you move on to the next level. If you don't destroy the base in time, I believe the aggression level of the System increases.
A typical base has at least four and usually quite a few more turrets. Initially, the turrets take turns firing in a pattern. As you destroy the turrets, the remaining turrets will begin firing more often. Finally, when only two to three turrets remain they will all fire continuously. This can be a problem if the remaining turrets are difficult to deal with based on your level of weaponry.
For example, some weapons are unable to destroy CHIPs, so CHIP Turrets and COMBINATION Turrets should be destroyed first unless you are using a weapon like Fire 7. AMOEBA Turrets, which fire round, blue hard to destroy blobs that look a little like miniature GIZAs, are also a pain in the butt when firing continuously. In general, you should save turrets that fire only ALMONDs for last since any weapon can easily mop up those projectiles.
If you end up with a CHIP or AMOEBA turret as the final surviving turret, it can fill up the screen with so many AMOEBAs that you are unable to reach it with your weapons. Try shifting to the upper left or right corner of the screen. You may be able to hit the turret a few times sideways with a weapon like Fire 0, but more importantly the AMOEBAs will follow you. After they are all heading for the corner of the screen, dodge back underneath the turret and enjoy a few precious seconds of clear shooting at the turret. Repeat this a few times and you should be able to destroy any turret, as long as you don't run out of time.
Some bases have very small turrets that shoot CHIPs or ALMONDs but are smaller than the actual base turrets and fire constantly. These turrets are optional -- they can be ignored and you will still destroy the base if you obliterate all the normal turrets in time. It is still a good idea to take them out at the start just to clear the field, especially since destroying them will not affect the rate of fire of the main base turrets.
Walkthrough
This walkthrough describes only what always occurs on a level, or things that are frequently encountered. Since the game constantly changes, you may encounter different enemies each time you play.