ROTT's Bonus Bonus

[Nes]

I'm sure you guys have heard stories about people getting the Bonus Bonus in Rise of the Triad. The one guy who made a map just to get the bonus, only to have his computer crashed.

The requirements for each bonus are very vague in the documentation. For Republican Bonus 1, you're not only supposed to get all missile weapons, but you're supposed to make sure there are no missile weapons left on the playfield. (Wasting ammo in the process) For Ground Zero Bonus, you're supposed to run forward while firing the Flamewall. (Cassatt with full health only, since the girls are too weak for the blast and the other guys are too slow to catch the blast) Extra life items do not affect any bonus and some secret walls need to be pushed more than once.

After hours of testing, reading the source, and planning, I've managed to get the Bonus Bonus on the "Wall to Wall" level of the Shareware episode. Pistol start and no cheats. This is the only level in the Shareware episode that allows a Bonus Bonus with a pistol start. (Must be proud, Joe) I've also documented it as a video, so now you get to see what it's like to get a Bonus Bonus.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XW-oVKLFf4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_KMgWyjw4g

Enjoy.

[PimPamPet]

Amazing!

[Player Lin]

Great video! So, Bonus Bonus = 100000 score, not 1000000 score by its displayed...oh dear... :3

[Phayzon]

Wow, talk about extreme measures!

Good job!

[Joe Siegler]

I recall there being a lot of knashing of teeth over the bonus bonus. Nobody wanted to playtest it to make sure it worked, given how hard it was to get.

[peoplessi]

Nice video! I've never even tried to get it, since it's bit too hard

[Rapture_Rising]

Nice work,

I tried to get the bonus bonus but i either died trying to get it or i became bored and quit ROTT

[packrat79]

I came across this thread while searching for info on the Bonus Bonus, and thought I'd add a bit more info for your amusement. I'm probably one of the biggest fans of this game out there; I bought my copy in 1996 and over the next 5-6 years I must have played it through at least 10 times. For some reason this game helped me through some difficult times.... hard to explain I know, but games tend to help me take my mind off troubles. The biggest part of this games atmosphere, for me, was the terrific music - without that I don't think it would have had nearly as much appeal. I think Lee Jackson should have won an award for his work! But I'd also like to thank the other people who made this game possible, and I'm sorry this game didn't get the recognition it deserved.
But back to the topic at hand. I also managed to get the bonus bonus, but in E1L4 of the registered version instead ("Too Much Room"). Someday I'll have to post a video on Youtube, since this is the kind of thing people pretty much have to see to believe. I spent countless hours trying to get the BB in virtually every level of Dark War, and so far I'm only aware of that one level where it's possible. If I discover any more, I'll be sure to post back.
There were several problems that got in the way of the BB. The most frustrating was the inability to get the Curiosity Bonus (found every pushwall etc.). There are many levels where it seems some pushwalls cannot be accessed, and at least one level (E1L5 - Two Key Return) where you can find them all but not be credited for it. Another problem occurred when playing on difficulty level 3 or 4. In this mode, the high guards (green guys) carry missile launchers; this seems to screw up the Repulican Bonus 2 (got all missile weapons). So if you're aiming for the BB, you have to play it on one of the less-challenging difficulty modes. And also, some levels are so large and/or detailed, that trying to get the BB would simply drive you nuts. E3L8 (Eight Ways to Hell) is great example - one room has over 100 Elasto powerups!
The BB wasn't the only bonus that was bugged. The Genocide Bonus (killed all of one type of actor in the game), for example, is mentioned in the manual but I'm not aware of anyone ever getting it.
Really though, the Bonus Bonus was just one of this games many creative touches, and creativity was what Apogee's games were all about. Too bad it's all over now......
Anyway that's just a bit of advice from an old Apogee fan - if I discover anything more BB-capable levels I'll be sure to let you guys know.

[moron]

in Eight Ways to Hell if you swap the shrooms and elasto power ups you dont have to wate the full time for each powerup ....... but that would still be a huge pain to try to colect them all not it menchon the grand vomitorium that would be pure hell

[packrat79]

EWTH also has an area with tons of random powerups (near the bottom of the map, if I remember correctly). Then there are other things, like the the complex pushwall maze etc.... this has to be the largest and most complex level in the game.

[Shockwav3]

Heh, I've stumpled upon mentioned youtube videos recently and found it quite impressive someone took the effort on themselfes to see if it really works
As for the genocide bonus, it shouldn't be more than getting the adrenaline bonus for every map right? If so I'm on a good way with the shareware and having beaten the first 2 maps already. I'll keep you updated if I get a result.
I just hope it doesn't count the additional 2 maps which make up a second episode, which can only be accessed by warps as traditional levels as well.

[Shockwav3]

Well, as for the shareware, I can say, the Genocide Bonus is a lie ... or at least impossible to get. Got an adrenaline bonus for every map which can be accessed from the game without cheating ... and guess what? You get nothing
Would be fun to see if any of the sourcecode hackers could look through the source, if it's even implemented as code and simply doesn't work ... or if it's something found in the manual/faqs which doesn't exist.

Update:
Just took a look at the sourcecode ... and guess what? The genocide bonus is a lie. The word "genocide" can't be found a single time in the whole game, and if you check the end of level/end of game bonus section in RT_GAME.C (under the subpoint "Level completed" in the middle of the file), you'll find all bonuses in the game, including the Bonus Bonus, DIP Bonus, Extra Life Bonus and so on ... but no genocide/unknown bonus. Funnily enough, I checked the manual only to notice they're not mentioned.

[packrat79]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I may be wrong, the genocide bonus may not be mentioned in the manual. But it is mentioned in the official FAQ - I wonder how the rumor got started?
I wish I'd known that years ago, before I spent many hours trying to get that bonus.

[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by moron

in Eight Ways to Hell if you swap the shrooms and elasto power ups you dont have to wate the full time for each powerup ....... but that would still be a huge pain to try to colect them all not it menchon the grand vomitorium that would be pure hell

Both of those levels were mine. I anticipated that, and in the two Vomitorum levels, I placed powerups specifically to try and defeat people who used the powerups to stop another one.

[Flaose]

I'm really surprised that you were able to get the Bonus Bonus without your machine crashing. I remember I worked so hard one day to get all the bonuses and...it crashed. Of course I was playing shareware instead of registered, and there's a good chance that it was version 1.0 which was probably pretty buggy anyways.

[Dopefish7590]

Holy crap... Amazing.

I've tried (and failed) at getting the Bonus bonus numerous times... Also, interesting you did Wall to wall, that was the level I tried on most since it was my favorite level in The Hunt Begins.