L7Ace

One of the most frequently asked questions is: "How do I kill the level 7 boss?" Since pictures are worth thousands of words, I have recorded a demo that shows one way to do it. There are other ways, but this is the best I've ever encountered. It is reliable (works every time) and -- best of all -- simple.

I first learned of this technique on CompuServe, in their Action Games/Descent forum. It was "invented" by a regular there -- Jim "Shooter" Reed, but others may have independently arrived at this solution. At any rate, Shooter calls it the "Shoot and Scoot."

Using this technique is amazingly simple, but you must have slide keys -- not just "slide on." Enter the room and start circling by holding the accelerate key and either the slide left or slide right key, whichever would push you toward the outside wall. Then aim and fire at the 'bots as they pass. It's probably best not to aim much more than "halfway in," as this might alter your flight path too far toward the center. The key is to hug the outside wall. The red hulk's homers and the tracking plasma balls from the boss's smart missiles will not be able to negotiate the curve and will pound harmlessly into the wall behind you. (Might be interesting to look out the back window every now and then! :-) That's all there is to it.

The demo, recorded at ACE difficulty and thus called L7Ace, begins just outside the red door. In order to demonstrate to excess the effectiveness of this technique, before getting serious about taking out the Boss, I first destroy all of his minions.

Fred Scheifele
www.Scheif.net