Heli-Cats News

With Novice Mode added to version 1.2, I can now showcase one of the bonus helicopters, Cat C (unlocked by getting Ending A). I am not as proficient with this more technical helicopter which allows altering the firing pattern between Cat A's and B's, but the much easier difficulty lets me achieve that 1CC, albeit with some silly mistakes that the commentary will highlight. Try out Novice Mode or Cat C if you haven't played the game in a while!

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Heli-Cats's second major update adds Novice Mode and increases the amount of user credits earned!

[h3]Novice Mode is an easier difficulty that is tuned for those new to shoot'em ups.[/h3]
Press up at Arcade Mode to select it. It is much easier than Arcade Mode and does not have a rank difficulty increase, but players still cannot sleepwalk their way through in the later missions. It cannot access Mission 9, secret items. nor qualify for the 1CC achievement. There is also no leaderboard for Novice Mode. Players can still earn credits for every mission cleared, although these missions won't show up in Training Mode. Only Arcade Mode mission clears count for those. Use it to learn the layout of the 8 main missions and enjoy the dual-elevation gameplay.

[h3]User credits earned has been increased based on difficulty.[/h3]
Players can earn more user credits based on the difficulty selected and ending attained. Endings A and B earn an additional 3 credits on Arcade and above, while endings C and D earn 5 more. Also, Another Mode doubles the amount of earned credits. Players should find the ramp up in earned credits helpful in pushing towards the higher difficulties. Together with Assisted 1CC, everyone can definitely get every objective in the game!

If you haven't played Heli-Cats in a while, give Novice Mode a go! And if you have it in your wishlist, perhaps it's time to get the game!

I attempted another 1CC run, this time with Cat B using the alternate "Cave-like" bullet colors of blue and pink... which I am not familiar with. So expect many mistakes. Although, there are some useful tips for those who prefer using this faster, straight-shot helicopter. Turn on captions to see them.

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Now that more players have broken through and completed mission X, it is time to explain the new Armor Mod option that can be accessed at the Select Heli screen.

Whenever a Cat Type has this option (by beating mission X with that Cat regardless of continues), players can increase the amount of starting armor by 1 for every USER credit in stock by pressing up. This is the secondary function of those USER credits that have been accumulating. Why is this useful? 1 credit for 1 armor is much more expensive than continuing which gives 3 armor instead, but this armor boost qualifies for all criteria requiring a 1CC (one credit clear), including achievements and entry into mission 9! This is known as an "Assisted 1CC".



How does this work? For example, assuming a USER credit stock of 50, if a player knows that it takes on average around 10 continues to beat mission X, that equals 10 x 3 = 30 additional armor to do it with the Assisted 1CC. Simply increase the armor during the Select Heli screen until it reads 33. Mods can only go as high as there are USER credits. In Team play, both players share the same USER credits pool.

However, what if the game goes wrong and the player runs out of armor before mission X? Continuing will start with the default 3 armor and the 1CC is no longer valid. Perhaps using another 10 USER credits to get a starting armor of 43 is safer. Perhaps it's better to stock up more USER credits before attempting this. Do note that should the player end up completing mission X with armor mods remaining, they are not refunded as credits. Also, just like infinite armor in Trial or Training mode, there is no visual indication what the armor amount is except for the green armor color that appears when total armor is above 3.

Thus, it is up to the player's confidence and risk tolerance to add more armor using Assisted 1CC. Everyone will be able to get all the achievements using this feature. Similar to Auto Bomb, using an Assisted 1CC disqualifies the run from online leaderboards. There is also no mission clear bonus when armor is above 3. Players should turn off these assists when they are skilled enough and play the high score end game.

Now go get that 1CC!

Watch me attempt a 1CC run with Cat A, screw up a LOT, and hang on for dear life towards the end. Auto bomb was used so this doesn't qualify for leaderboards, but it shows that under the seemingly high difficulty is a flexible shmup that allows many chances for recovery.

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Looking forward to more of you posting your runs!