Give me some Centipede tips!

blkdog7

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Been playing the heck out of Centipede lately but I can't seem to break 30k points. Is there a strategy with this game? Some magical point combination? How do you play the game? Anyone know of any guides??
 
I find it easy not to ignore the spiders when they appear. As soon as I see one, I immediately gauge the speed he is hovering and shoot him so I dont have to worry about dodging him. And of course, the closer you get to the spider, the more points you get.
 
I usually try to build a tunnell or two and wait for a centipede to reach the bottom to gun it down. In the meantime I try to keep the bottom area clear of mushrooms and shoot down fleas. I can usually break 30k every time but not much higher, I dont try to master this game like I do other games.
 
I got a great Centipede machine a few weeks ago! I've managed to break 50K now and I regularly get 30K. Things I've paid attention to so far:

1) Make sure that you kill the spiders when they are close to be to get 900 points.
2) Keep the bottom clear and kill plenty of fleas. You don't actually get much points for the, but it's fun.
3) I'm always trying to clear out mushrooms when I'm doing nothing else. The centipedes really get down to the bottom fast as you progress.
4) Probably the most important thing for me is to try to zone out and not worry about the score. One strange thing for me is that I always see to do better when I'm playing a two-player game with someone else. I expect that it's just because I like being competitive, but it may also be that I get a break between turns.

I need to go read that strategy page so that I can learn more!
 
The fleas piss me off, I usually ignore them. Im averaging around 60k right now.

Probably worth ignoring. They aren't nearly as many points as I spider if I remember correctly. I've wondered about the tradeoff of continuing to let them come out by shooting the mushrooms at the bottom versus leaving some in the bottom so that the fleas don't fill up the top with mushrooms. Whadya think?
 
Probably worth ignoring. They aren't nearly as many points as I spider if I remember correctly. I've wondered about the tradeoff of continuing to let them come out by shooting the mushrooms at the bottom versus leaving some in the bottom so that the fleas don't fill up the top with mushrooms. Whadya think?

Well, the fleas are worth 200, which is technically 100 points per shot if you can kill it before it kills you. Whereas, the spiders are worth anywhere from 300-900 points per 1 shot it takes to kill it, depending on the distance you shoot it from. Spiders are more worth it IMO.
 
On what I believe is standard settings, I rarely break 40K...the spiders are what do me in. No matter how careful I am, they're always ramming into me. I agree about keeping the bottom clear of mushrooms. The single heads come down way to quickly if you don't, and as you get higher, if you don't clear them quick enough, new heads start feeding from the sides. Then it really gets tough.
 
On what I believe is standard settings, I rarely break 40K...the spiders are what do me in. No matter how careful I am, they're always ramming into me. I agree about keeping the bottom clear of mushrooms. The single heads come down way to quickly if you don't, and as you get higher, if you don't clear them quick enough, new heads start feeding from the sides. Then it really gets tough.

Hmm, I need to look up what the standard settings are. I didn't even think about that!
 
Not sure about the difficulty, but I believe it's 12K for a free man. (according to the dip setting page over at crazykong.com, it says 3 men to start, 12K for a free man, difficulty easy as Atari's recommended setting) Not sure what Twin Galaxies has for difficulty setting (and their site is down again) but I'm pretty sure they used 12K and 3 men to start for the other settings. One machine I've played recently I got almost 60K, but it was set to 10K per free man, and has a really smooth rolling trackball.
 
I have mine set on the Twin Galaxies settings which is HARD and 12,000 for a free guy.
 
Probably worth ignoring. They aren't nearly as many points as I spider if I remember correctly. I've wondered about the tradeoff of continuing to let them come out by shooting the mushrooms at the bottom versus leaving some in the bottom so that the fleas don't fill up the top with mushrooms. Whadya think?

i think that's better. because the more clogged up it'll get, eventually the centipede would just come straight down every time and you'll eventually get nailed. as long as there's at least 5 mushrooms in the bottom area the shooter can move in, the fleas will not come. oh, i usually try to spider hunt in the first few levels if that helps.

i've heard of tips like trapping and the blob methods to play but have never tried them. i can get consistently 50-60k and have gotten 70-80 a few times.
 
The spider is usually the downfall of most average players. The spider only moves horizontally in one direction. If it comes from the left, it will only go toward the left - it will never come back right. Conversely, if it comes from the right, it will only go toward the right - it will never come back left.

At higher levels it is better to avoid the spider and concentrate on the centipede. Get around the spider and then stay on the side that it appeared from. In other words, if the spider appears from the right and you can get to the right of it, it will never come back to the left to kill you.

The other issue I see with most underachieving players is the use of the fire button. If you fire from long range you have to press the button repeatedly. If the objects are closer, you can press and hold (auto fire).

Lastly, the game does take hand eye coordination - if you don't have it you're going to suck regardless of any tips. :D I'm not great at it, but my average scores are in the 160k to 200k range.
 
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