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| M I L L I P E D E |
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GAME: MILLIPEDE
PLATFORM: ARCADE
GENRE: ARCADE SHOOTER
CREATOR: ATARI 1982
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
E-MAIL: kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
FAQ VERSION: 1.0
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT I: INTRODUCTION
1. Legal Stuff
2. Version Information
3. Acknowledgements
4. Welcome
5. Overview
UNIT II: GAME INFORMATION
6. The Game
6.1 The Controls
6.2 The Playing Field
6.3 Scoring
6.4 Difference Between Millipede and Centipede
UNIT III: STRATEGIES
7. Playing the Game
UNIT IV: CONCLUSION
8. Conclusion
_______________________________________________________________________________
To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:
1. Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2. Press CTRL-C
3. Press CTRL-F
4. Press CTRL-V
5. Press CTRL-F
5. You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.
_______________________________________________________________________________
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********************************* U N I T I **********************************
**************
+=================+
| 1. LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+
This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author. Use of this guide on
any other web sit or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2003 by
Kevin Butler. Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com
If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask. Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?". If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.
If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me. If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me. Just have Millipede as the subject so I know it isn't another kooky
vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have new
friends.
+=========================+
| 2. VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+
Version 1.0 10/13/03: A guide is born.
+======================+
| 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+
The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:
My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
Atari for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ
+=============+
| 4. WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+
Welcome to my FAQ for Millipede. Since the game is just a shooter that goes
until all your men are killed, there is no walkthrough per se. Instead it will
be broken up into the game itself, strategies for survival, and some in-
teresting quirks in the game. Input is appreciated along with constructive
criticism. If you wish to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing
things, other strategies, etc., feel free. Make sure you put Millipede as the
subject. If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam.
+==============+
| 5. OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+
Sequels to arcade games can be a "hit and miss" thing. Taito was able to make
a successful sequel to its Space Invaders game by releasing Space Invaders II.
Atari also attempted to make a sequel to its hit Asteroids called Asteroids
Deluxe. Unfortunately, the sequel was not received well and Atari took a loss
with it. Atari had another runaway hit in 1980 called Centipede. The game
basically involved having the player take out insects and mushrooms that dotted
the playing screen. Taking another chance, Atari released a sequel in 1982
called Millipede. Fortunately, Millipede received a better reception then
Asteroids Deluxe did as a sequel and it did fairly well at the arcades. Other
games that Atari released such as Dig Dug, Gravitar, and Pole Position may have
also helped the sequel along. The game play was essentially the same as the
original. It was the addition of more enemies and a few other gameplay changes
that made Millipede stand out on its own. Good luck surviving the bug
invasion.
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******************************** U N I T II **********************************
***************
+==============+
| 6. THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+
Millipede is a two-dimensional shooter. You use your shooter to take out the
insects and the mushrooms. Your job won't be easy, though, since you will have
to deal with multiple enemies. In addition, each of these enemies has a
certain pattern of attack that you must know to successfully get through each
round. Your dream of being an exterminator is now a reality.
____________________
/ 6.1 The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------
In order to become a master of this game, you must be familiar with the
controls. The controls are pretty easy to work. You just have to play the
game some to get used to them.
- An optical track-ball
- A fire button
_________________________
/ 6.2 The Playing Field /_____________________________________________________
-------------------------
The playing field consists of your shooter and all the different enemies. The
screens change color with each round. I have included an example of what the
playing field looks like (a little larger then normal):
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SCORE #SHOOTERS LEFT |
| /\ _ ____<-MOSQUITO |
| || / \ / |
| |DDT|<-DDT BOMB |
| \_/ |
| /\ \---\<-EARWIG |
| \/( )\/<-DRAGONFLY /---/ |
| |
| /\ /\ |
| || ||<-MUSHROOM |
| |
| /\ |
| || /\/\- \0/ |
| BODY->\/\/-<-HEAD 0<-BEE |
| |
| MIILIPEDE |
| |
| /\ |
| __/ \__<-INCHWORM |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| _ |
| /\||/\<-SPIDER (_)<-BEETLE |
| /\||/\ | //\ |
| / \ |
| \_/<-PLAYER'S SHOOTER |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
You control your shooter through these screens.
_______________
/ 6.3 Scoring /_______________________________________________________________
---------------
Scoring in this game is pretty simple:
Millipede (Body) : 10 points
Millipede (Head) : 100 points
Spider : 300, 600, 900, 1,200 points (Points increase the closer
the Spider is to the
player's Shooter when shot)
Earwig : 1,000 points
DDT Bomb : 800 points
Dragonfly : 500 points
Mosquito : 400 points
Beetle : 300 points
Bee : 200 points (Takes two hits. First hit speeds it up,
second hit destroys it)
Inchworm : 100 points
Mushrooms : 1 point (Takes four hits to destroy)
Poisoned Mushrooms: 5 points (Takes four hits to destroy)
Raids : 100 points per insect which increments 100 points per
additional insect to a maximum of 1,000 points per
insect.
You start the game with 2, 3, 4, or 5 Shooters.
Depending on the machine set up, you will earn a free Shooter at the following
scores:
Every 12,000 points
Every 15,000 points
Every 20,000 points
___________________________________________________
/ 6.4 Differences Between Millipede and Centipede /___________________________
---------------------------------------------------
Although gameplay is much the same between the two games, there are some major
differences. Millipede can be though of as the challenging version of
Centipede.
- Instead of the Centipede and three enemies, you now have to deal with the
Millipede and seven enemies.
- In addition to the Bee dropping mushrooms, the Dragonfly also drops them.
The difference between the two enemies is that the Bee goes in a straight
line from top to bottom while the Dragonfly zig-zags across the screen from
top to bottom.
- Beetles turn mushrooms into flowers which can only be destroyed with DDT
bombs or by Spiders.
- On some screens, some of the mushrooms will disappear while others grow in
other random places.
- The Shooter now shoots arrows instead of laser-type shots.
- The screen advances down one level after each round is completed or for each
Beetle that is hit. This will reveal other things when a new top level is
revealed. Mosquitos cause the screen to advance up by one level.
- Different events are based on how many segments the Millipede has (a segment
is defined as not being the head).
- DDT (a chemical that was banned in the 60's for pest control) bombs have been
added to help you take out areas of bugs, flowers, and mushrooms.
- A new bonus setting has been implemented. It works depending on what the
machine is set at for gaining bonus Shooters. Once you cross that threshold
multiple, you can start a new game from that score minus the original bonus
score. The score tops out at 300,000 points. You have 30 seconds after
your game ends to choose to do this. It works like this:
- The maximum level a player can start at is one level lower then the last
free Shooter they received. For example, you receive a free Shooter
every 20,000 points. If you achieved a score of 50,000 points, then the
last free shooter you received was at 40,000 points. Going one level
lower, you can either start with a bonus of 0 or 20,000 points. It works
the same for free Shooters awarded at 12,000 or 15,000 points.
- The player will also be allowed to start a new game at a bonus level.
Again, depending on what the machine settings are for free Shooters will
determine this bonus. The bonus will be 0, 1, 2, or 3 times whatever the
score required is for a free Shooter (i.e. 0, 12,000, 24,000, or 36,000
points to name one). You will have ten seconds to make a decision.
- There are more score dependent settings for the game. This means more
enemies will do different things depending on the player's score.
- Millipede cycles back and forth with head to body ratio instead of just
having heads like Centipede does.
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******************************** U N I T III *********************************
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+======================+
| 7. PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+
When you start the game, you will be put in the middle at the bottom of the
screen. You have an area five mushrooms high (about a fifth of the playing
area) to maneuver your shooter in. The game will start when the Millipede
enters the screen.
- Know your enemies: This is the single most important aspect of this game.
If you don't know how each of the enemies behave, you won't last long. The
enemies are:
- Millipede (Body and Head): Goes back and forth across the screen. Will
drop to the next level when it encounters a mushroom, flower, DDT bomb,
another insect, or the side of the game field. It will go all the way to
the bottom when it hits a poisoned mushroom.
- Spider: These appear from the top left or right of the player area.
They will either bounce across the player's area at 45 degree angles or
bounce in at a 45 degree angle, bounce up and down a couple of times, go
to the middle at a 45 degree angle, bounce up and down a couple of times,
then finally go to the right side (at a 45 degree angle), bounce up and
down, then exit the area. They destroy flowers and mushrooms they pass
over.
- Dragonfly: These appear when the Millipede has less then ten body
segments. It goes in a zig-zag pattern from top to bottom leaving a
trail of mushrooms in its wake.
- Bee: These appear randomly. They will usually appear when you have
cleared out most of the mushrooms in the player area.
- Earwig: These appear when the Millipede has less then eleven body
segments. They go across the screen and poison all the mushrooms in
their path.
- Beetles: These appear randomly after round one. They enter from the
side of the screen, then go to the bottom. They travel at least halfway
along the bottom before going up to their original entry level. They
then exit from the side. All mushrooms in their path are converted to
flowers.
- Mosquitos: Randomly enter the screen and fly in a diagonal pattern from
the upper left or upper right corners. Hitting them causes the screen to
go up one level.
- Inchworm: These appear when a Millipede has less then eleven body
segments. Hitting them causes all enemies on the screen to slow down for
about three seconds.
- The Millipede will start out as a head and eleven body segments on round one.
Round two will be a head with ten body segments and a head that enters from
the opposite side. Round three will be a head with nine body segments and
two heads that enter from opposite sides. This progression keeps going
until round twelve where you have twelve heads. It will then reverse this
progression on round thirteen. This cycle occurs every twelve rounds.
- Shooting the Millipede can have two effects:
- If you shoot the head, then that part turns into a mushroom and the next
segment becomes the new head and the Millipede will travel in the
opposite direction (since it hit the new mushroom created).
- If you shoot the middle of the body, then the segment hit will become a
mushroom. The old Millipede will continue in the same direction. The
new Millipede will develop a head at the next segment after the break and
head off in the opposite direction.
- A good strategy to ensure you destroy the Millipede's in one stroke and to
keep the Bees at bay is to create "mushroom corridors". Mushroom corridors
are basically corridors between two rows of mushrooms where you can funnel
the Millipede down and destroy it when it is moving head-first at your
shooter.
- In reference to the above "mushroom corridors", keep in mind that on random
screens, some mushrooms die while others take their place. This means you
may have to clean up the area since some of your corridors may have been
affected by this change.
- Watch out for the Spiders. They enter at either the top or bottom corners.
Your shooter may be in the way if this happens. In addition to collisions,
the Spiders wipe out all mushrooms that are in its path. This can create
problems when you are creating mushroom corridors. It can also cause the
Fleas to appear since you won't have many mushrooms in the player area. In
later rounds, multiple Spiders may appear in the player area.
- At the beginning of a round, take a quick look to see how many segments the
Millipede has. This will determine the behavior of enemies on that or
subsequent rounds.
- On rounds where the Millipede has an odd number of segments (i.e. one,
three, five, etc.), be prepared for the next round after clearing out the
current round. The next round will have a "raid" of bees, dragonflies,
mosquitos, or a mixture of the three. When you shoot one of these you get
100 points. For each insect hit thereafter, you add 100 points to the
previous score. This will reach a maximum of 1,000 points per insect.
- On the round where the Millipede only has four segments, the screen will
scroll down once every two seconds. The only way to stop this from
happening is to set off a DDT bomb or destroy the Millipede. Of course this
can work to your advantage when you need to get more DDT bombs or a
different configuration of mushrooms in a hurry.
- You can have a maximum of four DDT bombs on the screen at any given time.
Wait until either the Millipede is right next to one or there is a heavy
concentration of enemies before setting it off.
- Beetles can cause a lot of problems if they aren't dealt with quickly. Of
course, if you have your mushroom corridor set up, they may be a blessing.
Since they create relatively indestructible flowers in their path, this
would help prevent you from shooting them accidently. Of course, you still
have to worry about the Spiders and DDT bombs.
- Keep track of where the Earwigs move across the screen. As soon as the
Millipede hits a poisoned mushroom, it will immediately head for the bottom
of the screen. The only way to stop this headlong plunge is to shoot it in
the head. In the later rounds, it is not uncommon to have multiple Earwigs
going across the screen. They also provide the most points in the game.
- Another way mushrooms get poisoned is if they grow next to a DDT bomb.
Again, watch the screen for new growth.
- If you get unlucky and let the Millipede into your area, you need to destroy
it before it gets to the bottom of the player area. Once it reaches the
bottom, it will ascend again and remain in the player area. If it does
reach the bottom of the player area, another head will come out from the
opposite side to start its back and forth march across the screen. This
will continue until you destroy all the Millipede parts in the player area
or until your Shooter is destroyed.
- If your Shooter gets destroyed, all partially shot up mushrooms are re-
generated and you start at the beginning of the round you got killed on.
- Depending on the difficulty the machine is set up at, the following events
occur:
- At easy, the Spider moves slowly up to 10,000 points. At hard, the
Spider moves slowly up to 5,000 points.
- At easy, the Beetle moves slowly up to 400,000 points and four Beetles
appear in each round after 500,000 points. At hard, the Beetle moves
slowly up to 300,000 points and four Beetles appear in each round after
350,000 points.
- Regardless of setting, the Inchworm will move faster after the player
reaches 80,000 points.
- All other enemies move at their same speeds
****************
******************************** U N I T IV *********************************
****************
+================+
| 8. CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+
I've never been one that is big on sequels. Granted, I enjoyed the sequel to
Space Invaders and I was probably one of the few that actually did play
Asteroids Deluxe. This, however, didn't mean I enjoyed all the sequels that
came out. This was probably due to the fact that many of the popular games had
a lot of clones running around. When I saw Millipede, I figured it was just
Centipede with a few things added in. Of course, once I started playing the
game, I thought differently. It was a challenge enough keeping track of a
couple of enemies in Centipede. Millipede multiplied that challenge and had
the player constantly watching everything on the screen. If anything, it
definitely developed one's peripheral vision. Another nice feature was the
fact you didn't have to start at the beginning if you lost all your Shooters.
It was nice to continue a game close to where you left off from your last game.
The pace, though, was much faster and this in turn made the game a lot harder
then the original. Again, one had to be good at using the track-ball if they
were going to survive for any length of time in this game. Unfortunately, it
is very rare to find this machine anywhere. However, through the miracle of
emulation, a whole new generation is realizing what we "old" folks enjoyed
those many years ago. I hope this guide helps you in being able to get the
most amount of gameplay for this game. If you do have other ideas or thoughts,
please e-mail me and share them. Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in
this guide if enough people ask the same questions. Anyway, thank you again
for reading this guide.
To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html
~~~ No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~
