Don't look directly at the chopper
November 17, 2006 9:04 AM   Subscribe

 
My best so far is 1120.
posted by Mister_A at 9:07 AM on November 17, 2006


These click and release flash games are my favourite, thanks.
posted by fire&wings at 9:07 AM on November 17, 2006


OK, I have a lot of work to do. Please stop.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:08 AM on November 17, 2006


1215 first try, but I'm driving drunk.
posted by dreamsign at 9:10 AM on November 17, 2006


Huh, I've played this game before on someone's myspace page, although it was much smaller.

The basic problem is that you sometimes encounter situations that are impossible to get through. I don't mean "hard" I mean they are mathematically impossible.

The game needs some tweaking in its random generator.
posted by Paris Hilton at 9:10 AM on November 17, 2006


949. I suck at this.
posted by sveskemus at 9:15 AM on November 17, 2006


I Had forgotten about this game. DAMN YOU!
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:17 AM on November 17, 2006


Oh god it's back. So much for my day.
posted by The Bellman at 9:23 AM on November 17, 2006


This reminds me of the episode of The Unit that I just watched where after a helo crash in a remote area of Russia the main character tells his fellow survivor from the moment we took off in it it was looking for a way to crash.
posted by srboisvert at 9:31 AM on November 17, 2006


It's old, but it brought back memories.

/1140
posted by whoshotwho at 9:32 AM on November 17, 2006


Well, crap. This is fun, but I'm terrible at it. Maybe I need to try the drunk 'copter driving technique too.
posted by skilletfish at 9:39 AM on November 17, 2006


I remember a version of this game on the TRS-80, only you used the spacebar instead. Can't recall the name.
posted by grabbingsand at 9:39 AM on November 17, 2006


Ok, 1517 and of course I crapped out nowhere near danger. I'm done, too. Off to sleep.

Not to be played while delerious from lack of sleep, with Bob Marley "Three Little Birds" playing in the background.
posted by dreamsign at 9:43 AM on November 17, 2006


Ah, a classic. I have such fond memories of this little bastard, from back in the day. I didn't do any work then; now, I suspect this will eventually get me fired.

Yay for the little helicopter and its mysterious green environment.
posted by flashboy at 9:44 AM on November 17, 2006


1131 and if I don't stop I may well be fired, and they'd be right to fire me.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:42 AM on November 17, 2006


Otherwise known as SFCave.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 10:52 AM on November 17, 2006


SDProbe
posted by stirfry at 10:59 AM on November 17, 2006


Augh, I lost days to this game a few years back...DAMN YOU MISTER_A!!!
posted by sharpener at 11:12 AM on November 17, 2006


Ok, there goes the rest of my day.

/1634
posted by josingsinthehall at 11:38 AM on November 17, 2006


Heh, I've been playing this for years, it's one of the few I keep coming back to (here's where it came from originally). I think my best was around 2400, though playing the full-screen version now seems harder, for some reason.

It's weird, as games get more sophisticated, I find myself drawn to ever simpler gameplay. And you can't get much simpler than click=up. I think it's kind of a zen/trance thing, for me anyway.

The basic problem is that you sometimes encounter situations that are impossible to get through. I don't mean "hard" I mean they are mathematically impossible.

I've played this game tons, and I've found these situations pretty rare overall - some situations I initially thought were impossible turned out to just be a really tight squeeze, requiring a specific angle or arc. But I do agree, it's a real bummer when you're on a good run, and you get squished because of a design mistake.
posted by MetaMonkey at 11:39 AM on November 17, 2006


/988

i would like to read the strategy guide

...um, really i would
posted by django_z at 11:57 AM on November 17, 2006


i would like to read the strategy guide

My preferred strategy turned out to be to kind of zone out. Play it enough so that you seem to control the copter by thought alone, eliminating the clumsy mind->finger element, then stop thinking and just let the copter move itself out of the way, keeping a small portion of you consciousness focused on it's safe passage while you daydream about random shit.

Did I mention I played this a lot?
posted by MetaMonkey at 12:25 PM on November 17, 2006


Just to make everyone feel better about their scores: my best is crashing into the SECOND wall rather than the first wall or the floor/ceiling BEFORE the first wall.

IANAHP!
posted by easternblot at 12:54 PM on November 17, 2006


SFCave is easier, I think, because the collision area is not at all ambiguous.

Playing this thing I crashed many more times than I thought I should. Playing SFCave I actually made it through near-collisions that surprised me.
posted by Foosnark at 12:58 PM on November 17, 2006


Ya SFCave is way easier.
posted by Mister_A at 1:22 PM on November 17, 2006


1291.

As in previous iterations (and postings) of the game, you can go down faster than you can go up - take your finger off the button and you drop like a stone, whereas there's a slight lag to break inertia when trying to suddenly pull up. Therefore, it seems like your best strategy is to try wherever possible to stay in the top half of the tunnel and go over the barriers instead of under them. Of course, this isn't always possible, but it seems (to me, at least) that you can swoop under things quicker in a pinch than you can pull up over them.
posted by yhbc at 1:54 PM on November 17, 2006


And for a truly vertiginous experience, try the 3-D first-person view.
posted by yhbc at 1:56 PM on November 17, 2006


Old SFcave is OLD
posted by tehloki at 3:34 PM on November 17, 2006


2260 first try. But I read the comments first, so...

plus I am a young, alert, un-drunk videogame EXPERT
posted by mistermoore at 4:09 PM on November 17, 2006


1068 after 20 minutes, argh.
posted by Vindaloo at 6:23 PM on November 17, 2006


SFCave for PalmOS is very like this game, and it's great for passing time while waiting for the Metro

(On preview, what the SFcavers said.)
posted by brownpau at 6:34 PM on November 17, 2006


3050 on the first try. My best score ever!

As others have said, this game is very old. But thanks anyway because every other time I've played it the screen was very small. I've always wanted to play a full screen version.
posted by jahmoon at 6:53 PM on November 17, 2006


1481 after about 20-30 attempts. Never played this (or other assortments linked here) before. When I started I was consistently hitting anything between 5-10th walls. It's much better now. I think it just takes some time to zone in.
I second ynbc's tactic. Try to stay near the top half as much as you can. Taking a sudden dive is easier than making a sharp upturn.
posted by forwebsites at 7:06 PM on November 17, 2006


welcome to t'interweb
posted by Frasermoo at 7:55 PM on November 17, 2006


(here's where it came from originally)...
As others have said, this game is very old.

I first read about the copter game way back in the Early Middle Ages (i.e. May 2002) of a little site called MetaFilter. And then wasted much time flying around, until I got up into the mid-2000s. Whereupon I retired.

Thanks for the memories, Mister_A.
posted by LeLiLo at 8:18 PM on November 17, 2006


I just wasted 20 minutes and I think my average was about 200. I was never any good at Joust, either.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 8:28 PM on November 17, 2006


I donated so much of my life to SFCave...only donated about ten minutes to this...I'm thankful that I got away. 2720.

OR DID I?!
posted by pinespree at 9:26 PM on November 17, 2006


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