Pikmin

GameFAQs archives

These are the full, expanded threads from the preserved GameFAQs threads. I had to exercise some wicked Perl voodoo to extract the actual text, bad HTML and all, from the archives provided by RockMFR 5 (and DistantSpring54), and patch up the code so it's valid. We couldn't preserve the links to the author name or message detail because they don't seem to work anymore.

Archive: 1 · 2 · 3 · [4] · 5

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 11/25/2002 8:58:42 PM

Grenade Guzzler, bummer about that tragic slip of the thumb. When I was working on my Impact Site 278 I misfiled a blue 5-pellet and ended up with a 276 so I know how you feel. You're so close, I'm sure you'll have it soon.

Mike, although I am a bit of a coward in real life when challenged to a fight, it's a completely different story when it comes to Pikmin:

Distant Spring - 574

I am just eight Pikmin (the equivalent of one Wollywog or Fiery Blowhog) from Ferret's ethereal heights. I was able to do the exact same thing as in my 565 run but much faster, allowing me to attack the Puffy Blowhog in the water. He dropped two reds and a yellow so I had to misfile them all. I had to misfile the red 10 again as well as two or three Wollywog pellets. Based on this run, I think that breaking 600 is possible (though you would need a ton of lucky drops from the Wollywogs and Blowhogs).

Damned if I can't hear Ferret's funeral dirge growing louder on the wings of the stinging winter wind. Can you hear it?

---
Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by Jimithingr - 11/26/2002 11:23:28 AM

Ok, so I finally found what works and am happy to report that I have now obtained a 553 in FoH. I'm proud of this for one main reason. I assure you that I have been around long enough that I do not need to view anyone else's strategies. I came up with this on my own, and yes I will only have one perfect score after I get the 569 but I'm going to continue to keep playing. I'm pretty pumped. Finally I'll have met one of those tough but realistic goals in this game. Thanks to everyone for keeping this game what it is.

---
"Are you ready for Pikviiiival!?" - Said the Southern Baptist Church Preacher.

Posted by Jimithingr - 11/26/2002 12:46:18 PM

Alright, I'm 2 away, I will get this soon I finally got 566 in FoH so I'll be back soon.
---
"Are you ready for Pikviiiival!?" - Said the Southern Baptist Church Preacher.

Posted by TomatoMan - 11/26/2002 7:11:04 PM

Nathan, you are recording, right? Use good tapes, and no more cutting off the ends!

I'm just holding my breath for fear of creating ripples in the water.

TM

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 11/26/2002 7:41:28 PM

Two improvements:

Impact Site: 251
Forest of Hope: 569

w00t w00t! Finally got my 569 in FoH. Last dwarf bulborb carcass came in with 1 left on the countdown.
---
Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 11/26/2002 10:04:50 PM

It is finished.

Distant Spring - 582 (on tape)

You are not going to believe this! I left a very, very, very easy to get Dwarf Bulborb sitting just past where Mamuta is! I could have gotten him in but I was so preoccupied watching all my pellets go into the onions (the last red 10 that put me exactly at 582 was quite awe-inspiring) that I forgot all about the dwarf! I am pretty angry about this error because it would have put me at 586. I think I am going to keep playing this level and shoot for 590.

I had so much extra time that I was able to wait around a bit and stop my blues from carrying a big load of red and yellow pellets and file them correctly at the end of the run. I misfiled a yellow 5-pellet and a yellow 1-pellet. I had four deaths, one or two of which were caused by a Spotty Bulborb escaping from my swarm of 50+ Pikmin. So had I filed those two pellets correctly, avoided deaths and picked up that last dwarf it would have been 593 (my goal score is 594). Maybe there were actually five deaths. I'll know when I review the video.

I'm going to go crazy thinking about that dwarf. At the end of my run you can see that with six seconds left on the countdown I run over to the Mamuta area and look at the dwarf. But I knew he could never make it back in time so I didn't even bother with him.

600 is possible. My run is far from perfect. 600 is possible. 600 is possible. 600 is possible.
---
Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by TomatoMan - 11/26/2002 11:00:44 PM

Well, the moment we all knew was coming has arrived. Nathan has all five high scores. If he hits 600 on DS, I think it's safe to say it'll be the most amazing feat in the history of this competition and this game.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a clear and indisputable Pikmin champion. Congratulations, Nathan. Keep pushing that DS score, and we can't wait to see the vid. You've got two slots on the DVD now, obviously. (Unless someone other than you pulls the theoretical 462 on FN, the likelihood of which I'm nowhere near qualified to judge.)

Whee!

TM

Posted by robluvsnic - 11/27/2002 12:14:17 AM

Congratulations Nathan!

What a tremendous feat -- it leaves me speechless. But don't stop now. Rest assured that I, at least, will be waiting right here for you to post a 600+ score.

Incredible!
---
Please don't beat me!

Posted by Rouge7 - 11/27/2002 2:34:31 PM

Wow. Congrats to Nathan for matching Ferret, probably won't be long until you pass him. I remember calculating DS out for a "reasonable" max and came up with something in the 590's (594,596,can't remember). I'm pretty sure breaking 600 will require going into the area where the yellow 20, a puffy blowhog and some dwarves are. Good luck.

Let's not forget Grenade Guzzler for dropping some explosives on FoH. Nice work man, time to conquer the other levels.

I hope everyone has a pleasant Thanksgiving and manages to still get some Pikmin in. Does Europe have Thanksgiving? Anyway, if I survive the annual turkey bowl, I'll be back on Monday...
---
R7

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 11/27/2002 3:27:23 PM

I don't think I ever congratulated Ahlyis for his Forest of Hope 569.....so nice work, Ahlyis! I had the same problem you had with multiple dwarves wreaking havoc on my Pikmin. Especially troublesome to me was that group of four dwarves by the Bulbear and the blue 10. You have to isolate one or two of them instead of going for the whole group. It sucks. Mysterious deaths were rarely a problem for me and only occurred on the Bulbears occasionally. Again, excellent work. You've got two perfects now and I figure you can take care of business on Impact Site if you've got the patience required to hit the stupid beetle eight times.

Grenade Guzzler, got the job done, eh? I knew you'd get it soon enough once I saw your 560 a little while ago. Good job. Thinking of going for an IS 273 or 278?

I reviewed the tape of the Distant Spring 582 and realized a few things. First of all, had I not been so excited and full of adrenaline at the time I could have coasted into a 586. I had plenty of time to take care of that dwarf I missed.....I even ran over to grab Mamuta at the end and then ran back to base with a bunch of Pikmin. I just forgot about the dwarf until it was too late and now I have to live with the regret til the day I improve on the 582. Another thing I noticed was that I lost a total of five Pikmin. I believe that only two of them died mysteriously. But the most painful part is that the last Spotty Bulborb I killed ate THREE of my Pikmin in one gulp. This is highly unusual for a couple of reasons: Spotty Bulborbs usually only eat one or two Pikmin at a time, I swarmed him with 58 Pikmin (many of which were red), and that particular Bulborb has never given me any trouble in the past. My sheer stupidity in the dwarf debacle and my bad luck on the Spotty Bulborb caused me to forfeit what should have been an easy 589.

My plan for breaking 600 is to do the exact same thing I did for my 582 but hope to do it even faster so that I can attack the Puffy Blowhog by the yellow 10. This would put my goal score at 609. What I'm really hoping to do is get a 602 because it would put my total combined score at 2200 even. That would be amazing. I might play some more tonight.

By the way, I think I've mentioned before that JimiThingR is my friend who lives nearby. I got to watch him pull in his FoH 566 and I was surprised to see that the two parts of the level he saves for last are the two pearl areas. Does anyone else do this? I couldn't believe how well his strategy worked. I think he's going to be playing more tonight in his attempt to become the now 10th person to get 569 on FoH. It's unbelievable that there are more perfect score on FoH than on any other level....wasn't SnapDragon's 569 the only one back in September?
---
Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by TomatoMan - 11/27/2002 5:33:28 PM

I was in Virgin today getting my brother a PS2 game for his birthday, and browsed the GameCube aisle while I was there. Saw Metroid Prime and a couple of other new things I was moderately interested in.

Then I said to myself "but I'm nowhere NEAR done with Pikmin yet!" There's nothing on the shelf there that interests me anywhere near as much as getting my perfectoes on FoH and FT at LEAST, and getting my total above 2000 and continuing my epic battle with Ahlyis and wondering how the hell Nathan does it. :P

Honestly, this was the game I bought the Cube for before, before Pikmin was even out. Amazing longevity. I never get even a little tired of it. Frustrated as hell sometimes, but never tired. :)

Go, Nathan, Go!

TM

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 11/27/2002 5:53:25 PM

Impact Site: 259

Just for the record, I tried playing FoH for fun today, and omg I scored a pathetic 490. That's what happens when you go to the bathroom in front of a bulborb when you forget to pause the game. Darnit
---
Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by Mikepharvey - 11/28/2002 8:54:55 AM

well nath, it takes two to fight

Distant spring-576

i misfired a red 5 and had several deaths. i also never got the blue 20 in and forgot to get the blue 1 i usually get.

i also had a quick go on impact site again and managed to get a 273 with 2 time spots left!!
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Incubus rule!

Posted by Dragorn - 11/28/2002 2:08:20 PM

After a few days on FoH, I finally managed a:

FoH - 521
---
Why is it called Tourist Season if we can't shoot them?

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 11/28/2002 5:34:11 PM

Stop upping the ante, Mike! It's getting sick!

Distant Spring - 587 (on tape)

Let us bow our heads and remember the great Ferret. Rest in peace Ferret, rest in peace.

You guys have to see this video. The ending is, yet again, tragic. This time I only had two deaths, one mysterious and one caused by a Wollywog. I lost 5 points on misfilings. One of these was a yellow one-pellet that I almost always file in the blue onion because it is not worth wasting time over. The only other misfilings were a red five and a yellow five at the very end of my run. I have this new method of leaving a big clump of red and yellow pellets sitting near the red onion at the end. Then once I'm done gathering everything else with my huge army of blues I pull down reds and yellows and collect the idle pellets. Well, this all went well except that when I assigned yellows and reds to their pellets I decided to double up the pellets with blues. Time was running out. Everything got in but the blues decided to carry one red five and one yellow five into their onion. Another heartbreaker. I haven't watched the video yet but I figure I accidentally threw too many blues on these pellets in my panic to get everything in. Should've been a 591. Damn.

I can easily break 590 on this level now, it'll just take a few runs. Misfiling is not a big problem at all for me anymore. My last three runs on this level have yielded 582, 565 and 587.

I've got a lot of respect for Mike. He's keeping up with me very well. If he keeps the heat on me like this then one of us is sure to break 600 soon. I just hope it's me.

---
Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 11/28/2002 6:56:59 PM

Forest Navel: 388

I would have actually had a 391, but three slacker yellows decided not to listen to me and stayed in the clamclamp. They were eaten.
---
Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by Jimithingr - 11/28/2002 8:18:21 PM

Due to popular demand, I am going to give a small rundown of my FoH run. So as Nathanian mentioned, he watched my strategy, and was perplexed by how I leave the two pearls for dead last.

This is true, I do my run just like most of you do but after I get the main area cleaned out by the blue ten and then gather all my guys and make a huge run toward the red ten and all that stuff over there. I clean that out and with 40 guys left I go for the blue ten on the ledge and clean that area out next. Right after I go there I head back to base and grab reds and yellow to get the yellow 20 and red 5 which makes everything go smoothly. Then I go back toward the back of the level and clear out the red 20 and then the area where the 3 single yellows are. Then its on to the farthest pearl and then I take that whole section and then run back to base. Lastly I go for the last pearl area and by the grace of god with enough time I should be able to get everything back in time before the counter runs out with no deaths, and should be able to get my 569. Wish me luck, and I apologize about the grammar, I'm not a English major like some of us!
---
"Are you ready for Pikviiiival!?" - Said the Southern Baptist Church Preacher.

Posted by Mikepharvey - 11/29/2002 4:09:33 AM

thanx nath, i have huge respect for you and i dont care who breaks 600 first, i just want to see it done. i was very close to a 577 yesterday, but i spent a lot of time changing pikmin as i put too many reds back in and had to get them out and i never got the mamuta or 10 red back.

i know if i get fast enough then i will get the blue 20 in and get 600 or close, but i keep making stupid mistakes.
i am going home this weekend so no playing again till monday now, plus i have metroid fusion for my gba, so my pikmin playin will be going down for a bit.

and on another matter, i had 7 mds on one frog!!! i have never had mor than 4 before but this takes the biscuit.

and tm, europeans dont have thanksgiving.
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Incubus rule!

Posted by SuperStein - 11/29/2002 9:18:06 AM

God! Nearly 600 in Distant Spring! I only have the suckiest score of 386 ^_^ I'll surely bring my combined total score up soon!

Well, I'm so impressed by this! I'm looking forward 'til I can see those superb runs Nathan have performed (Mike? Any taped runs?). But first I need to clean up my hard drive! It's completely full!

I just can't find time for Pikmin!
I have 9 games now. I've completed everyone of them except for Resident Evil and Star Fox, and as soon as I have finished a game, I find a new one! Damn, I've got to get back into Pikmining! Just out of curiosity,
does anyone know the absolute maximum score for Distant Spring?

---
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beerholder...!

Posted by Jimithingr - 11/29/2002 10:47:32 PM

It Has Begun....

569 in FoH

I finally got my perfect score. Nearly a year since I have bought this game, I finally got up enough time and courage mind you to attempt this feat at making a perfect score. Now that I have reached the top ten in this level (No. 9 to be exact) I think my next turn is leaning toward the Final Trial. Its so easy as I hear, and yet after just a few runs, I was in the top 15 so I think I shouldn't have a problem with it.

As I mentioned about leaving the two pearls for last it does work. I ended up finishing the level before the timer had even started. I am very proud of this. Just so all of you know, Nathan was over tonight to watch the whole thing, and he, I'm sure, will post about the credibility of this. Thanks Nathan.

One more thing I would like to add. I was taping my runs, and had to try several time to get it perfect. Midway through my 569 run the tape shut off on me and I lost the only thing I claim to be mine. Hopefully soon I will get this on tape, and I can submit it to you guys, possibly even for the DVD, if you are including multiple videos. I would feel honored, if its deemed worthy enough to be used. I know I have been gone for a long time but expect me to keep coming back, to all of you dedicated gamers and thanks for all the support. Its truly appreciated.

~Jimi
---
"Are you ready for Pikviiiival!?" - Said the Southern Baptist Church Preacher.

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 11/30/2002 9:29:34 AM

Okay, this is ridiculous. I just can't seem to ever break my 489 in DS. I really need some basic pointers on how to get over 500... this is really ticking me off.
---
Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by Ahlyis - 11/30/2002 9:23:20 PM

Congrats everyone on all the new scores. I'm in Kansas right now, but I'll be back at home in California soon so I can get back to some healthy Pikmining! :-)

Once again, good job all on the awesome scores. It's great to see such a great game still going strong after all this time! :-)
---
I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 12/2/2002 11:19:51 PM

Never thought I'd have to do this, but

*bump*

I don't want this topic to drop off before I get home tomorrow and get back to work on that 569!

TM

Posted by Mikepharvey - 12/3/2002 5:12:52 AM

very quiet on this board lately. expecting nath to have broke 590 by now.

new score for me though

distant spring-581

this would have been 600 if i hadnt made three errors at the end.

i forgot to put pikmin on the blue 1 and the yellow 1.
i put far too many pikmin on the blue 20 because i thought i was slower than usual but i was infact much faster, so i could have put 6 less on the blue 20 and got 2 of the dwarfs i missed.
i also put 8 pikmin on a wollywog by mistake, which i didnt think was bad until i went to get a red 10 pellet and realised i only has 9 pikmin, with no time to get more.

on top of this, the three wollywogs in the water dropped red or yellow pellets and i didnt get round to chaging them.

so come on nath, you will have to get 600 soon, or lose you crown!
---
Incubus rule!

Posted by greatmagnus - 12/3/2002 7:24:27 AM

What is a perfect score? I know there has got to be a limit on the number you can get in 1 day.
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This message was brought to you by me.

Posted by Secrano - 12/3/2002 10:09:31 AM

Do I had to send a picture/foto of my records to you guys?

Posted by Ahlyis - 12/3/2002 10:23:04 AM

Secrano, why do you come back and ask the same questions all the time? We answered you before and if you can't remember the answer, READ THE THREAD!

Sorry, but I get tired of answering the same question over and over, especially when it's the same person asking it!
---
I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by Ahlyis - 12/3/2002 10:40:19 AM

IS - 278
DS - 449
Combined Total - 1990

I thought I was going to be stuck with a 276 on Impact Site. I had a perfect run. The Flint Beetle got hung up on the side of the box and I pummeled him. Then I went through the rest of the level without a problem. I got done and the damn counter read 276! I ran back through the level and found I had forgotten the single red 1 pellet over the red 20! I didn't have enough time left at that point to get it. I was stunned by my own stupidity.

Thankfully, I kept at it and finally managed to pound the stupid beetle enough times again AND not screw anything else up. :-)

The 449 on DS obviously has room for improvement, but it was a pretty good run for my current pattern. Would have been about a 455 if I hadn't tried for a frog at the end. I killed the frog with 6 deaths and didn't get the carcass back! Doh! lol
---
I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by Ahlyis - 12/3/2002 11:08:32 AM

Challenge Mode High Scores as of 12-3-2002

Impact Site:
1. 278 (TomatoMan, SuperStein, cocoapuffs999, Mikepharvey, Rogue7, Nathan Ian Bowers, *Ahlyis)

Other Top Scores:
8. 273 (Snapdragon, JimiThingR, Ferret5317, spenser, Cork)
13. 270 (Xel23)
14. 263 (GasMan)
15. 259 (Grenade Guzzler)
16. 253 (jakemrjr)
17. 246 (Lewellyn)
18. 212 (robluvsnic)

Forest of Hope:
1. 569 (Snapdragon, SuperStein, Nathan Ian Bowers, cocoapuffs999, Rogue7, Mikepharvey, Ahlyis, *JimiThingR, *GrenadeGuzzler)

Other Top Scores:
10. 568 (topotheclass)
11. 559 (TomatoMan)
12. 544 (spenser)
13. 528 (redpichead)
14. 524 (Xel23)
15. 521 (Dragorn)
16. 490 (Lewellyn)
17. 469 (Ferret5317)
18. 450 (jakemrjr)
19. 444 (robluvsnic)

Forest Navel:
1. 452 (Nathan Ian Bowers, Mikepharvey)

Other Top Scores:
3. 447 (*Rogue7)
4. 439 (Snapdragon)
5. 418 (cocoapuffs999)
6. 397 (redpichead, Ferret5317)
8. 395 (Ahlyis)
9. 390 (JimiThingR, SuperStein)
11. 389 (Xel23)
12. 388 (Grenade Guzzler)
13. 377 (Nai)
14. 349 (jakemrjr)
15. 345 (TomatoMan)
16. 332 (smoky progg)
17. 331 (robluvsnic)
18. 303 (AdvanceGamer)

Distant Spring:
1. 587 (*Nathan Ian Bowers)
2. 582 (Ferret5317)
3. 581 (*Mikepharvey)
4. 533 (cocoapuffs999)
5. 520 (Rogue7)
6. 516 (Snapdragon)
7. 507 (redpichead)
8. 501 (JimiThingR)
9. 489 (Grenade Guzzler)
10. 482 (Nai)
11. 449 (TomatoMan, Ahlyis)
13. 443 (topotheclass)
14. 441 (Xel23)
15. 439 (jakemrjr)
16. 437 (robluvsnic)
17. 399 (Souja246)
18. 386 (SuperStein)
19. 298 (ShadowNinjaGuy)

Final Trial:
1. 299 (Snapdragon, Ahlyis, SuperStein, Rogue7, Mikepharvey, cocoapuffs999, Nathan Ian Bowers)

Other Top Scores:
8. 281 (redpichead)
9. 279 (Grenade Guzzler)
10. 278 (jakemrjr)
11. 267 (Ferret5317)
12. 266 (Lewellyn)
13. 251 (JimiThingR)
14. 248 (Xel23)
15. 242 (Secrano)
16. 241 (TomatoMan)
17. 220 (robluvsnic)
18. 218 (Kingfisher)
19. 214 (TrentEaston)

Top Ten Combined Totals:
1) 2185 (Nathan Ian Bowers)
2) 2179 (Mikepharvey)
3) 2113 (Rogue7)
4) 2097 (Cocoapuffs999)
5) 2096 (SnapDragon)
6) 1990 (Ahlyis)
7) 1988 (Ferret5317)
8) 1984 (JimiThingr, Grenade Guzzler)
10) 1922 (SuperStein)

Notes:
- There's a few *'s up there now. I'll get a photo for my IS score sometime soon.
- Tomatoman is now 50 away from the top 10 combined. Let's all work to keep him there! ;-)
---
I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 12/3/2002 2:58:42 PM

Reunited with my Cube at last! Right back to FoH! I was hoping my layoff and fresh perspective would land me the 569 on the first try. Wound up with 506. Rats. :P

Ahlyis, congrats on the 278! Yeesh, everybody's doing it. Kids these days...

- Tomatoman is now 50 away from the top 10 combined. Let's all work to keep him there! ;-)

GAAAHHHHHRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

TM

Posted by Rouge7 - 12/3/2002 3:40:21 PM

Excellent work Ahlyis, that makes three perfects for you.

Nathan and MikeP, nice work tearing up DS, 600 lies waiting in the wings...

Wish I could report some of my own scores, but alas, FN continues to shut me out of the 452 club. My current strategy of "Do everything faster and collect one more 5 pellet" isn't panning out. I'm contemplating scrapping my "70-30" strat and starting over, but that's gonna be hard... I don't know, I stink. Nice scores everyone.
---
R7

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 12/3/2002 4:56:51 PM

Impact Site: 264

I was able to bring everything in, but I ignored the flint beetle. I need to improve my speed a bit before I can try to go after him. Last pellet came in with 2 on the countdown, I should try to make it say 9 or 8 when the last comes in before I even consider going after the beetle.
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Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by robluvsnic - 12/3/2002 8:01:19 PM

Congrats to all for the improvements. I wish I could report a few of my own.

I stink -- Rogue, if you ever say that again I am going to slap you across the face! I have spent at least 7 hours now trying to improve on my 331 on FN, while you pioneered a 442 and will no doubt get the 452 very soon. That suggests that rather than stinking, you smell of roses.

I am just about beaten by FN. My 331 came in when I abandoned an old strategy and just made up a new one as I went along. Since then, no matter how many times I try and no matter how much I calculate the precise number of pikmin I need to have with me and need to throw here or there, I cannot beat that score. In fact, until last night, when I scored a 330, I couldn't even get close to beating my best. So as far as I'm concerned, anyone who can break 350 is a pikmin master and anyone who can get 442 is a pikmin god!

---
Please don't beat me!

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 12/3/2002 8:37:33 PM

Well it depends really. I'm very good at FoH and IS, but I'm a total bugger at DS.
---
Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by Rouge7 - 12/4/2002 6:42:17 AM

Heh, for fear of being slapped silly, I won't say I stink, but roses? How 'bout houseplants with a touch of B.O. rob, it sounds like your struggles are similar to mine on FN. I too have a precise strat that always seems to come up short, so I have no advice, but let's keep pluggin'...
---
R7

Posted by Ahlyis - 12/4/2002 11:00:18 AM

Let's see.

We have 2 levels where perfect scores can and have been obtained (FoH and FT) and a third (IS) which is probably perfected.
We have one level where perfection is close, but probably unreachable (FN).
And we have one level which is wide open and perfection is nowhere in sight (DS).

Now, what is the order of difficulty?
If it weren't for the flint beetle, I'd say IS is by far the easiest level. But the flint beetle is enough of a problem to shuffle things slightly. Here's my opinion of which levels are the hardest in order of hardest to easiest:

1)Distant Spring
2)Forest Navel
3)Forest of Hope
4)Impact Site
4b)Final Trial

Why'd I post this? I don't know, just bored I guess. :-)
---
I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 12/4/2002 11:45:30 AM

I'm not going to say much right now because I've been awake for about two days now laboring over this infernal university crap. But I wanted to mention a couple of things:

(1) Rob, the one thing I can tell you for certain about the Forest Navel is to resist the temptation of getting everything in the pearl area in one swipe. In fact, it might be a better idea to just knock one of the 20's or 10's off your inventory from that area. Those pellets take an excruciatingly long time to return to base. When I used to be stuck with a 398 on that level it was because I could not help but try to clear that area entirely since it seemed the most valuable spot in the level. But really it is not the most valuable because of the time consumed in returning the pellets. Also, you should throw six or seven Pikmin on that pearl bridge in the first half of your run and come back to it later. And remember that the geysers are especially useful for returning Olimar quickly to the onions. Wrapping your head around that area of the level will make things a lot easier for you. Keep asking yourself, "Can't I find a more efficient way of doing this?" That's the battle cry for the entire level, actually. It takes a lot of meticulous plotting to get to 400. To achieve success you really need to pay attention to the small details. Every Pikmin counts! My 452 was built on a strategy that really only allowed me to waste one or two Pikmin for long stretches. Keep cracking at it. Your scores are far from insignificant - quite the contrary. This game is taxing.

(2) Rogue, any individual combined score above 2100 is, as Rob pointed out, a horticultural wonder of a rosebed worthy of the cover of Better Homes & Gardens. You know, there are only three of us who have reached that mark. The glass is half full, I should say.

(3) I agree with Ahlyis's level difficulty ranking...for now. I have resigned myself the undeniable fact that, based on my own videotaped run, 462 is possible on the Forest Navel. If I were to go for this score (which I am still debating) I would definitely rank it numero uno in difficulty. This mark would require reworking details and rearranging numbers on paper for hours and hours on end. We're talking reams of scrap paper.

(4) Nice work to all the new high scores, especially to Ahlyis's third perfecto, Mike's awesome work on Distant Spring (the jerk) and Grenade Guzzler's recent conquests. Keep it up, everyone.

(5) Can't wait for you to get back on the Cube, Tomato! Give 'em hell!

(6) This topic almost slipped onto the second page if it weren't for Tomato's timely bump. Let's not let this happen again. It was especially painful seeing topics like "Should I sell this game?" hovering about our legendary topic. It makes me shudder. Brrrrrrrrrr!

Okay, so I lied when I said I didn't have the energy to say much. I'm full of bunk sometimes.

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Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by robluvsnic - 12/5/2002 2:26:31 AM

Would you believe, Nathan, that I don't try to get anything, let alone everything beyond the bridge to the pearly clam-clamp? I devised my strat around ignoring the two twenties and the two tens out that way, since it just seems to take too many pikmin for too long a time.

My strat goes something like this:

Having cleared the first 67 (ideally with yellow/blue from the breadbug, and with a significant amount flowered), I move out between the yellow and red onions to collect the surrounding pellets in the following order: Y1, Y10, B1, B5, Y5, R1, B10, R10 (from the stick). Here I throw 4 yellows on the wall, B1, R5, 3 blues on the top ramp, two blues on the bottom, take the 2 flowers in different colours (ideally yellow/red), and the R1 on the way to check on the R10. (If I remember, and if I've got one, I'll shoot 1 blue out to where the B10 was sitting to use later on.) Back to the onions to take out the 2 nearby flowers to bring the total to 130, with a 28R/40Y/32B balance. On a good run, the timer has just reached the dot before noon as I'm collecting all pikmin at the onions. Most times, though, it's much closer to the noon ding.

Collect the 4 yellows from the wall and the 3 blues from the top ramp (the other ramp won't be finished yet), and go to front of BLL area. 1 red on the wall, 10 red on the R10, drop down into puff's area and take down the two flowers (reds ideally), 20 non-flowered yellows on the Y20 and 12 blues on the B10 (to make sure it gets back in time). Out of the area collecting the Y1, R1, Y5, B1, then the two R5s, Y1, B1 and the two flowers -- again reds, ideally, leaving me with 0R/13Y/18B, albeit 3 of those blues are otherwise occupied. (This is an ideal senario, but it rarely occurs. All too often a pikmin just decides to give a mate a hand on a 1-pellet, and I'm suddenly short on what I thought I had.)

[post break]
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Please don't beat me!

Posted by robluvsnic - 12/5/2002 2:30:07 AM

Now things really start to get murky, 'coz it's all improvisation and contingency plans from here, depending on how the flowers turned out and on whether I managed to keep my guys in line. Anyway, generally I'll take the blues into the water, collecting the B1 and putting the remainder on the B10 (for extra speed). If I've got 13 yellows with at least 6 flowered, I'll collect the Y5 in front of the R10, before taking the remainder out to the pearly clam-clamp bridge. Shoot the geyser near the bridge, collect the castaway blue and grab that nuisance B1. By this time everything bar the Y20 will be back and the 2 blues left building the ramp early on should have jumped on a passing pellet.

Time's getting pressing here, and I don't bother to think about numbers and ratios at this stage. I run my ass off to the BLL area and sick everything onto the wall, which should be virtually finished anyway. All yellows go on the Y10, and if I'm thinking straight I'll throw only 20 reds on the R20. At this point, I'm doing well if the timer's only just hit the second last dot before the finishing mark. Then it's around towards the water again, and if I've thought straight I'll have 8 reds and 2 blues to throw on the R10, and the rest of the blues will go on the blue 20. Race around to the pearl, crack it, dismiss the yellows (so that six will take the pearl home and the rest can break for smoko), and shoot the geyser to get back to the onions.

Hopefully, but very, very rarely, the countdown starts only as I arrive at the onions and not before. Then it's utter madness as I grab everything that's there (it would be nice if that 20B was back by now), and I try -- but usually fail -- to collect the Y5s and the B5s out near the BLL area, and help along anything else that might need it, while I wait, praying, for the pearl to get back in time.

So that's the strat, with a highest possible total of ... let's see ... 357? 362? I think it's 357. I should add that I rarely keep track of numbers in my mind as I'm playing, but given what's required to get a 452, I really don't think that mine's an ambitious strategy, and I don't think that too much time is wasted waiting for things to return. My biggest problem reaching that score lies in the fact that the blue and yellow 5s, and sometimes the pearl as well, usually don't have enough time to get to the onions.

I think there's only one answer to it. In Rogue's famous words: I stink. But I'm still trying :-)
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Please don't beat me!

Posted by Ahlyis - 12/5/2002 10:33:35 AM

Here's something you might want to try. You can add this to your current pattern.

DON'T flower your Pikmin after you get all 67 initial ones. Instead, go get the two pellet posies behind the red onion, then grab a yellow Pikmin. Drop over the ledge and down near the blue 5 in the water and the yellow 5. A honeywisp will appear. Throw your yellow into it, then swarm your remaining 64 Pikmin into the nectar. I usually get 60 or more of my Pikmin onto that one nectar!

This has several advantages.
First, it's on your way anyway, so you don't need to vary your pattern to go get it.
Second, it's ALWAYS there. No worrying about whether you will even get a nectar like you do with the grass.
Third, it's fast. The nectar is always immediately available. No waiting for your Pikmin to pull one up.
Lastly, you can get virtually all of your Pikmin flowered from this single nectar. Nectar seems to have a 'window' of opportunity for how long it will accept new Pikmin. Nectar from honeywisps seems to have a slightly longer window, provided you get it as soon as it falls.

I highly recommend using honeywisps to flower your Pikmin instead of grass patches. If you plan it out right, you can flower all 100 Pikmin from just two honeywisps. This will save much time over trying to flower them from grass patches.

Here's my recommended honeywisps for FN.
1) Use the honeywisp described above to flower your initial group of Pikmin.
2) Later, when you have all 100 Pikmin picked, use the honeywisp by the second ramp to flower the rest.

Hope this helps. Hey Nathan, Mike, Rogue, are any of you using this sort of thing in your strategies? Could it maybe save you enough time to get that 462? Any thoughts or comments?
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 12/5/2002 7:45:53 PM

I'm still bashing my head against FoH. I thought I had a new route that would work better, since I never have time to clear the red 20 area using Nathan's route. I took to picking all 50 (42 + 2 dwarf borbs), then heading out towards the water and killing both bears and bringing everything back to get 100, then taking 100 flowers out the other way by the blue onion around to the bear by the red 10, killing everything on the way, bombing the wall, then bringing everything back from the wall to the red 20, then bringing 90 or so to get the pearl across the bridge and the stuff back there, then getting the blues in the water and the yellow 20 and going up the cliff to the other borb and 4 dwarves, continuing down with 40 or so to clear out the back area by the yellow 1s, and leaving the pearl by the ramp for the end. I had a couple of runs in the 520s and 530s that made me think I could get it working, but then I fell back into the 450s again and AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I'll get that 569 if it kills me. Even if I have to resort to bombing bad guys. Nathan did it without doing that, so it's possible. Timing, timing, timing...

Posted by Grenade Guzzler - 12/5/2002 8:03:04 PM

Impact Site: 271

I was able to hit the Flint Beetle for two pellets, a 1 and a 5. Unfortunately I couldn't get the second 1 because he ran right behind the flame sprouts. I had a large number of yellows and blues at the front, so I couldn't risk them getting broiled. The beetle disappeared a few seconds later anyways.

So close to a 273... come on, I can make it!
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Dynamite tastes like chicken until it explodes.
-Me

Posted by robluvsnic - 12/5/2002 8:37:26 PM

Thanks for the tip Ahlyis. I'll give it a go.

The main reason why I had decided to flower the Pikmin on the grass was that I was getting sick of having them get distracted by the grass just over the ledge between the yellow and red onions. I decided that I could kill two birds with one stone by c-sticking a bunch over the edge (midway through the initial picking session) and dismissing them. I figured that that way it's not so much wasted time, since I carry on plucking while they're flowering, AND I remove that annoying patch of grass. But it may well be not worth the trouble, especially if I can flower them all on the honey wisp.

Cheers
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Please don't beat me!

Posted by greatmagnus - 12/5/2002 8:58:32 PM

I got 501. Is that good?
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This message was brought to you by me.

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 12/5/2002 9:20:13 PM

Rob, here's one extra thing I remembered to tell you after reading your Forest Navel strategy: the two bridges are worthless. Absolutely worthless. Trust me, I know. Ferret used to tell me (way back when) that he had evidence to suggest Pikmin carry pellets no faster when the bridges are built...possibly a little slower. I didn't want to believe him. But back in September when I started playing the level again trying to break 400, I tried several hundred ways of making the bridges work to my advantage. It did exactly the opposite. Just pretend they're not there. Don't let them tempt you.

Speaking of the Forest Navel, I'm back on it. Having mixed emotions about whether or not 462 is possible. I've explored a dozen or so theories on how to tweak my run to get that last yellow 10 in but to no avail...not yet. It all looks fantastic on paper. But paper lies. I always preach to JimiThingR that Pikmin is a ballet...to do it right everyone needs to be in synch with one another. Part of the ballet is being able to return to the base and find the right amount and colors of Pikmin waiting for you to move on. This is where the problem comes in. If I tweak things even the tiniest bit I find that it throws off the amount of Pikmin I have waiting at the base for the next big phase. For instance, say I were to ignore the red ten by the Puffstool area (because I realize it is close to base and I could get it in at the end of my run) and use the extra ten Pikmin to get the yellow 10 in the pearl area. It seems like a good plan because I'm still using the same amount of Pikmin...just getting a more difficult pellet rather than an easy one. But the problem is that whereas those 10 reds would've been waiting for me at the base if I got the red 10, now they're busy working with one of the big pearl pellets and I find myself 10 short of what I need. I can't even get the red 20 in the Beady Long Legs area because of this. Does this help illustrate how insanely difficult a 452 is?

Good to see you're still on the job, Tomato. And nice work on Impact site, G.G.

I don't want to go back to Distant Spring until I know if 462 can be done or not. I still think it could be possible...but rest assured it will be much more difficult than a DS 587.

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Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 12/5/2002 9:25:10 PM

Great Magnus, you're probably the eight billionth person to post a number, without any explanation of what represents, and ask us if it is good or not. This is a Challenge Mode thread, so we deal with Challenge Mode scores...nothing from the main game applies. So if your score is for Challenge Mode we will need to know what level it was achieved on. I didn't think this was an overwhelmingly difficult concept to grasp.

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Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by robluvsnic - 12/5/2002 10:14:09 PM

Thanks Nathan. I was never too sure about those ramps, and now I've got it confirmed. The best thing about this little snippet of advice is that it means I can grab the blue five between the bridges without losing even the slightest bit of time. Plus I'll be running around with a couple of extra blues, which might be enough to allow me to get the blue 20 in the water on my first pass rather than just the blue 10.

Hmmmm. I'll have to look into this. Thanks guys.
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Please don't beat me!

Posted by greatmagnus - 12/5/2002 10:19:54 PM

OH, SORRY IN WAS IN THE FOREST OF HOPE.
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Posted by Nathan Ian Bowers - 12/5/2002 10:28:26 PM

501 is a good score for the Forest of Hope. Personally, however, I will not honor it until you turn off caps lock. I'm surprised you haven't been moderated yet. It's incredibly annoying.
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Captain Nathanian Nibbles of the U.S.S. Awesome

Posted by greatmagnus - 12/5/2002 10:29:00 PM

Bump and 100 posts
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