Pterattack

Pterattack is a top down arcade flyer/shooter. Your objective is to shoot everything that moves. Use the space bar to shoot, and the arrow keys to move. That's everything for controls.

Weapons

After shooting an enemy pterodactyl, there is the chance it will leave a power-up. There are four different varieties of these: PterShot (the blue one, which you start with), FireBall (the red one), PterPod (the green one), and PterBoom (the purple one). I like to go for the FireBall.

Your starting weapon will not work well later on, so whatever comes along, take it. If the first power-up you get is blue, go with it until the red power-up comes along.

The only way you can switch weapons is to get a different coloured power-up. If you go from one weapon to a different coloured one, you'll start at the first level for that weapon. You can upgrade your weapon by getting more of the same coloured power-ups.

PterShot

1: A beam
2: A faster beam
3: An even faster beam
4: An even faster beam

PterPod

1: One ball going straight, one going directly left, one going directly right
2: Two balls at slight angles off-center
3: Same as 2, but faster
4: A single large, forward beam

PterBoom

1: A boomerang going straight
2: Two boomerangs at slight angles off-center
3: Same as 2, but faster
4: Same as 2, but much larger

FireBall

1: A ball going straight
2: Two balls at slight angles off-center
3: Same as 2, but with a third ball going straight forward
4: Same as 3, but with large waves

The best choice is FireBall because of the spread of the highest level, which provides both good offense and good defence. The PterBoom is second-best because it has the weakness of no shots going straight forward, which is a liability on later levels.

The PterShot and PterPod are the worst choices, as later in the game pterodactyls start coming in denser clusters, and it becomes difficult to stop the advancing wave without taking out a life.

Collecting a power-up is worth 10 points. This is a small treat during level 1, but later in the game it's not worth it to switch weapons just for the points. However, if there's a power-up that's the same kind as what you have, and you won't get hurt getting to it, go for it.

Enemies

There are basically only two enemies: the giant Grarrl and the pterodactyls. Getting touched by either of those will cause you to lose a life. You start with three lives, though you get an extra one at the start of level 4, and another at the start of level 6.

Grarrl: This enemy comes stomping along from the bottom of the screen. For this reason I would avoid being near the bottom of the screen, because if he is not visible then he is liable to come up right behind you and take a life away. He can be taken out with a single shot, which will daze him and he'll move back down off the screen. Early on, when you only have a forward shooting weapon, you have to wait until he is far enough in, fly behind him, shoot, and move on. Later on, you can use a weapon that shoots at an angle and you should be able to get him. Also, you can just leave him alone; he'll leave after a few seconds. He is worth 10 points for each hit, though he never actually dies and just keeps coming back.

Pterodactyls: your primary threat throughout the game. Each colour has a certain defence value which tells you how many times they will need to be shot with each level of weapon. For example, the blue pterodactyl has a defence value of 3, so it needs be hit three times by a level one weapon, twice by a level two weapon, or once by a level three or higher weapon. All pterodactyls are worth 5 points, regardless of their colour.

There is sort of a third enemy: the walls! Just like the Grarrl and pterodactyls, they will take one of your lives if you touch them.

Pterodactyls

Pterodactyls come in tan, green, blue, golden, and red. There is also a white one, which flies in from the left side to distract you; it cannot harm you, but has a very high defence, effectively functioning as a block between your shots and the other pterodactyls.

First level: 1
Defence value: 1

First level: 1
Defence value: 2

First level: 4
Defence value: 3

First level: 6
Defence value: 4

First level: 7
Defence value: 5

First level: 5
Defence value: double the level

Levels

You advance to the next level once you reach specific point thresholds. There are only seven levels; once you reach level seven, you stay there through the end of your game.

General Tips

The game is fairly easy in the beginning, if a little slow. You have the tan and green pterodactyls to deal with. The tan ones take one hit with level one weapons, while the green take two. You will also have to deal with the Grarrl, but he is generally not a problem. As time goes on, tougher pterodactyls come along with more frequency.

At the very beginning, focus on tan pterodactyls over green ones. The reason is that green ones are more points, which will cause you advance levels faster. You actually want to delay advancing levels as long as possible while you focus on upgrading your weapons instead.

Start near the middle of the screen. During the late game, I generally stay near the top of the screen to the right. With the level four FireBall power-up, it is easier to survive. Not too close though, since once the gold and red pterodactyls start coming, you are going to need room to move. So to clarify, if the game screen were divided into four squares, I usually stay in the center of the upper right square.

The main thing to remember is to keep moving, and if a flyer is coming down and you will not be able to take it out, move to the side if you can, since the flyers move faster than you do.

For the Grarrl later in the game, if he is on the left side of the screen, I generally do not bother. When he is to the middle or right of the screen, he creates too many problems, though.

When you have earned a fully leveled weapon, make sure that you are careful not to grab any other weapon besides the one you have. By grabbing another weapon, you will reset your weapon level to one, which will have game-ending consequences in the later part of the game.

The Grarrl stomping on the huts does nothing to your score, so don't worry about it. If you have morals against him stomping on huts, just pretend the inhabitants are out eating at a barbecue or something, far away from the pandemonium you are in the middle of. Better? Good.

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Game Info