Tyrian 2000 - Engage Mode - Part 1 (Tyrian)

Read the description if you have questions. Although there is a giant wall o' text below...

After a lot of effort to record this, here it is. I plan to upload an entire Engage Mode playthrough of Tyrian.

*Note that the first episode is generally in Low Detail. This level was on Normal, so that the light cone appears, but as a consequence it lags. For some reason my computer suddenly decided, after Episode 1, that it can play in higher Detail.*

As for the game itself...
Tyrian is, as you can see, a vertical scrolling shooter game. This is actually Tyrian 2000, a free re-release of the original game, with extra stuff.

The difficulty levels of the game are absurd in that there are, if you count everything, a bucketload of them. There's "Easy", "Normal", "Hard"... ... ... "Impossible", "Suicide", "Lord of Game".
Also, depending on what type of game you play, the High Score Table shows OTHER difficulties : "Unranked", "Maniacal", "Zinglon", "Terror", "Master".

And FINALLY, There's the "Engage" mode. It's basically the "Lord of Game" difficulty (the hardest), with SEVERE limitations on what you can use. You can't buy or find weapons. Instead, you're restricted to a mediocre one, although your ship can "make" some out of a limited number.



Finally, about the level itself.
Don't be fooled. It takes some practice to get used to Engage Mode. Even the first level is a nightmare if you don't know what to do. The Sidekicks (which your ship can materialize in this mode) I've used are the BattleShip-Class Firebomb and the Companion Ship Gerund. The Firebomb is basically a friggin' nuke. Throw it in the enemy fleet, let it shoot them from within, call it back. The Gerund is just extra firepower.

I am playing with the mouse AND the keyboard. Keyboard for special commands such as summoning Sidekicks, and the mouse for movement. Using the mouse makes the game A LOT easier, as you can be more agile with it. You can argue it's unfair, actually.


Overall, easy level... on Engage Mode standards. The hardest part is the boss ; I screwed up there and almost became space bacon.

Difficulty : 3/10
Number of tries it took me : 1


If you want to find details or download the game, go here :
http://members.iinet.net.au/~vannevar/tyrian/downloads.html

If you want to learn the special codes essential to survive Engage Mode, go here :
http://members.iinet.net.au/~vannevar/tyrian/codes.html

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• Tyrian
• 2000
• Engage
• Mode
• Playthrough
• Runthrough
• Gameplay
• GiftMacker
• 99
• wtf
• random
• vertical
• scrolling
• shooter
• Trent
• Hawkins
• Stalker
• level
• first
• weapons
• video game
• warfare

[gdm413229]

What is the fade effect? (Tyrian Engage fade-to-black)

[GiftMacker99]

@gdm413229 No idea. It happens in-game ; I did not edit the video.

[Jor8a]

hey what porgram did you use to make this videos

[GiftMacker99]

@Jor8a

DosBox, an emulator. That's the program you need to actually play Tyrian, on most computers.

DosBox can record videos of what you're playing on it.

[Jor8a]

imagine you're playing engage mode in turbo how did you feel that

[NortShip01]

@GiftMacker99 Which is why I try to stick with the Forward Lightning as it is even stronger than a Level 11 Lighting Cannon. On occasion I attempt a MineSpray, Guided Bomb Cluster, 5-Way Ice Beam and otherwise avoid as many enemy shots as I can as I also use the mouse.

[GiftMacker99]

@NortShip01

The Stalker's Hot Dog special is stronger than the weapon? Hm, that would explain why the special is so useful, yet getting the real weapon is nothing short of suicide.

Also, your strategy is really good, if you can input the commands quickly.

I do something similar, but chaotically : sometimes I just move the mouse up and down, erratically, spamming the Fire button. If it works well, it shoots Hot Dogs specials, faster than the real weapon. This costs quite some Armor, though.

[NortShip01]

@GiftMacker99 Indeed, but the Mega Hot Dog shot (one of the Stalker 21.126's specials) is also stronger than the normal Hot Dog Front at Level 11. I also developed a strategy of my own; against certain enemies, I simply spam up with the Forward Lightning Shot (which is really effective against bosses and blimps.)

[GiftMacker99]

@NortShip01

So true. Eventually this playthrough made me admit I really underestimated it.

After all, remember that talk about Hot Dogs we had? The Front Hot Dog Blaster is a pretty powerful weapon, but it's actually surpassed by the Atomic Railgun...

[NortShip01]

I also have to admit that the power of the Atomic Railgun is really underestimated. At first it looks nothing, but at full power...