Credits Mission [spoilers]

[slayer]

Hi everyone,

I like to play for the best time/score I can possibly achieve. In my attempts at the Credits mission I have been successful in posting the second fastest time, but I'm stuck in getting my scores much higher.

FYI, I've come to my conclusions by analyzing times vs. scores and noting that to achieve the high scores players are collecting more points than I am aware of.

Spoiler

I'm aware of how to access some of the hidden rooms, but I think I'm missing something fundamental. I have cleared all of the emitters, collected all of the treasure chests (that I know of) ,and of course collected the gem and the chalice. What am I missing??

[close]

Thanks for any help/advice you've got.

Slayer

[J]

In my calculations you have the sixth spot, as the game sorts by time on default while your score is more important. (and I'm 3rd!)

Spoiler

As far as I know there are 2 hidden treasure chests

[close]

Try to find the optimal route through the map, meaning you never have to return to a certain position while collecting every single treasure chest. Just make sure you don't miss any. With a bit of training you'll also know how to quickly take down an emitter but I guess you already knew that. Also remember that respawning costs you 100 points.

[slayer]

Thank you J!

In my testing, which was obviously not extensive enough, I never came across the respawning cost.

To be more accurate, respawning seems to only cost you if you have already collected points but does not affect your score if no points were collected.

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction...onward.

Slayer

[slayer]

One other "feature" I've just found.

Saving a run-through, and then loading it later, ZEROES out any gathered points.

Virgil, you are one devious programmer!!

Slayer

[Grauniad]

One other "feature" I've just found.

Saving a run-through, and then loading it later, ZEROES out any gathered points.

Virgil, you are one devious programmer!!

Slayer

DO you have a save? It sounds like a bug and I'll alert Virgil to take a look.

[slayer]

Let me clarify:

If I've collected no treasure or nullified no emitter my score is based solely on time elapsed. Saving and restarting has no effect on the score. Neither does respawning.

Now consider I have a time-based score of 9000 and I've earned 500 points (by collecting treasure or nullifying an emitter) for a total score of 9500. If I respawn I lose 100 points leaving me with 9400. If I save and restart, I lose the 500 points collected but my time-based score of 9000 remains.

I actually really like this idea, but I'll double check to confirm the behavior.

BTW, as far as I know, this behavior only occurs on the Credits mission.

Slayer

[thepenguin]

does it happen on my trains maps?  I think it might, if the behavior is as you describe.

[J]

To me it looks like the AddictionalScore internal variable doesn't persist between saves, so it should only affect your map if you've used that functionality.

[slayer]

I've confirmed the scoring behavior, at least on my machine and for the Credits mission.

I can't recall any other worlds where points were collected (I haven't gotten deep into the Outer Sectors yet).

I've attached the save files for Virgil and others to take a look.

Note how the scores change once the pause is released.

Slayer