Being killed by bullets not yet at the rim?

matt · Post by **matt** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:01 pm 0

Got an Elite a few days ago an am trying to improve at SG. Great game, once you figured out what to do, well done to all involved.

However, I'm convinced (as far as I can be with the limited number of times played) that I can be killed by bullets not yet at the rim?

How close do bullets have to be to kill you?

matt

korruptor · Post by **korruptor** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:14 pm 0

In pixels, or inches?

Istar · Post by **Istar** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:15 pm 0

Now that's odd. Just today, I was having a quick bash - got to around level 7 or 8, whenever it is you start getting a few more bullets to panic about.

Now I know it's been said before that dodging/shooting those little fuckers is a learned art, and some people have said they occasionally cut it too fine and blunder into a bullet they thought they were going to head-off. I do that all the bastard time, and yes, it's a reflex I'm learning to control as I get better.

But today, on at least two occasions, I am bloody sure I was well ahead of a bullet as I traversed the rim towards it, and still got killed. And it could just have got lost in tripslation as the background pulsed, but I reckon it never actually hit me - just sort of went from '1.5 seconds to impact' straight to 'haha you suck what a pretty explosion your giraffe makes'.

I could be wrong. I'm not looking for bugs, but I noticed this. And given my shiteness at this sort of game in general, I don't feel qualified to assert that there's anything amiss. But since it's been mentioned, like...

Yak · Post by **Yak** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:26 pm 0

I think if there were issues with being hit by nonproximate bullets we'd've seen them by now. It's pretty much just a case of judging how fast you're moving across the rim and how fast the bullets are coming up.

Somewhat counterintuitively slower bullets can be more of a danger than faster ones.

Istar · Post by **Istar** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:32 pm 0

Yak wrote:Somewhat counterintuitively slower bullets can be more of a danger than faster ones.

Go on then, I'll bite.

Why would that be the case? Is it just deceptive perception, or are slower-moving ones able to jump to lightspeed just before the rim, or something?

bcass · Post by **bcass** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:44 pm 0

I've noticed this from the begining, but have just learnt to compensate by staying well clear of bullets that might be near the rim. It does 'seem' that they don't have to be right on the rim to kill you though, even when the powerzone is fully extended (and are thus moving more slowly).

benedictw · Post by **benedictw** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:16 pm 0

Istar wrote:
Yak wrote:Somewhat counterintuitively slower bullets can be more of a danger than faster ones.
Go on then, I'll bite. Why would that be the case? Is it just deceptive perception, or are slower-moving ones able to jump to lightspeed just before the rim, or something?

Theres probally a killing distance from the rim - the bullets move slower, so they are within the killing range for longer - so you're more likely to hit them.

aureole · Post by **aureole** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:16 pm 0

I've had similar experiences: I leave up to a ships-length in front of me clear of bullets - any less and they seem to get me. That, and swiping the hoof shots to the side as a traverse.

axel000 · Post by **axel000** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:17 pm 0

A simple rule is don't cross right in front of a bullet thats going to hit the rim in the next second or so, their speed is variable so you can't judge it by pixel space.

matt · Post by **matt** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:04 pm 0

Glad to see I'm not alone in this thing catching me out.

I'll go play some more and try to watch more closely what's going on. axel000 seems to have the right idea, though.

If I have any more thoughts on the matter, I'll post back here.

matt

fog · Post by **fog** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:21 pm 0

Yeah I've noticed this and seen a couple of other people post about it elsewhere.

I'd always assumed it was by design and that the Giraffes neck was sticking down the grid accounting for the early collisions.

It might also be down to the bullets length though if there is such a thing? Like how the powerups have a length to make them easier to collide with, the bullets might have some kind of bounding box you can collide with.

Only Jeff knows for sure.

franki · Post by **franki** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:52 pm 0

are you sure it's not the powerzone collapsing up to the rim? since the bullets move faster when the powerzone is gone, they might be getting you that way. also some baddies seem to shoot several bullets at once, either that or it's more than one baddie shooting down the same lane at once, too hectic for me to tell which is happening there.

matt · Post by **matt** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:33 pm 0

franki wrote:are you sure it's not the powerzone collapsing up to the rim? since the bullets move faster when the powerzone is gone, they might be getting you that way.

Could be, I'll have a look.

matt

sack · Post by **sack** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:13 am 0

it just felt to me initially that you had more time to get to a bullet than you really had so a bullet you judged as being a short way down the power zone was actually close enough to kill you.

No worries though - a few shock deaths, a lesson learned...

Kamineko · Post by **Kamineko** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:34 am 0

From my experience, I've come to the conclusion that it's the lit corona of the bullets that'll kill you.