| Web of Vernax - A
Guide to Spinning |
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OK, so you're an arachnophile?
That means you like to file racks, yes? What? Scroll Racks? Toast racks?
Ah, no, it means you like Spyders. Well then, my friend, you'll feel right
at home in Web of Vernax. Walk with me a while and I will see if I can
explain the game to you.
In this game you are a Spyder,
and a very handsome one, I might add. Your aim is to survive! To do this
you must catch the bugs (Vernax) that scurry around so that you may feast
on them later. Web spinning is simple for we Spyders. Just point to where
you want to start the web, click and hold down the left mouse button and
move the mouse in the direction you want the web to go. Once you see an
arrow pointing in the right direction simply release the button and away
it goes. You will need to trap the Vernax within a square or rectangle
of webs, however the corners of your webs don't all have to meet. You
can run a longer web in one direction and then cut across the middle of
it to make the trap (see figure 1 below). For the purposes of the guide,
I will call a single strand a web, and the four-sided web a trap.
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Whilst you are constructing your traps
be very careful not to let any Vernax touch a web as it is being spun or
you will lose a life. You can also lose a life if the timer runs out, so
keep an eye on the beautifully decorated grandfather clock on the right
of your screen. On the subject of lives, you can get an extra life by running
webs through the little Spyder Bites that appear randomly on the screen.
A Spyder Bite is a little fellow with big red glowing eyes – you can't miss
him. Be sure to get him quickly though, he doesn't stay around for very
long. You need ten of the little fellows to gain one extra life.
To get maximum points your
traps should be as small as possible. However there's no point in trying
for a teeny trap if you lose a life in the process. You will just have
to find a happy medium between getting a big score for your capture and
making sure you don't lose a life. As the Vernax get faster your traps
will have to be bigger so the little darlings don't run into the web as
you are spinning it, thereby costing you a life.
You can get a bonus score
if you only use 1, 2, 3 or 4 webs to trap all of the Vernax on any 1 level.
This is usually only possible when you have just 1 or 2 Vernax to catch.
Use the corners of the screen to catch them, preferable using only 2 webs
per Vernax (as in the Figure 1 above). To only use 1 web you will need
to start your web just before the Vernax moves into the trap area, so
it has time to run across (or down) the whole width (or length) of the
screen. This one is quite tricky, but you get 75 bonus points for it so
you may want to try it. At least, if you miss, you can always restart
the game.
You can also get a bonus
when you catch more than 1 Vernax in the same trap – so if you see 2 or
3 heading in the same direction, get spinning! You will even get a little
tune if you catch 4 or more in one trap. Score-wise it is better to catch
multiple Vernax in slightly bigger traps than just individually in smaller
traps, although, of course, catching multiples in a small trap is really
good!
In Level 6 you will be introduced
to the evil red Spyder. He's a nasty creature who removes your webs, usually
just as you are about to trap a Vernax, of course. The only way to be
rid of him is if, when he is removing your beautifully spun and strategically
placed web, he ends up away from the edges so he has no webs to travel
along. You can set up some traps for him by spinning a few webs that go
nowhere and hoping he will choose one of these webs to remove. As you
move up in levels you will encounter more and more red Spyders. It is
also a good tactic for trapping Vernax too. Have
four or five webs parallel to each other about and evenly spread along
one side of the screen. Then as Vernax enter an area you simply have to
run the final web between two of them, making the trap as small as possible.
By the way, the Vernax will bounce off any webs you have spun (including
the ends), but I am sure you have noticed that already.
In figure 3, below, the red Spyder came down and removed the left
vertical web and I was able to finish the level without his interference.
At level 8 you go back to
having just 1Vernax to trap, but he is moving considerably faster. Now
you will find that your traps have to be bigger so you don't lose a life.
One big downside to playing this game is that there are no breaks. There
is no pause button and you don't even get to pause in between levels,
the next level just starts automatically. This can be a bit of a pain,
especially when you are trying to write a game guide and you time keeps
running out! If you are playing for Neopoints only, then you can stop
when your score reaches 2500, this will give you the maximum 1000 NP.
If you are playing for glory and a very cool looking trophy, then just
keep on playing. I myself have only managed a bronze trophy so far, but
I will keep trying. I would really like a gold one.
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Third place at
Web of Vernax!! |
One
big downside to playing this game is that there are no breaks. There
is no pause button and you don't even get to pause in between levels,
the next level just starts automatically. This can be a bit of a pain,
especially when you are trying to write a game guide and your time
keeps running out! |
Sadly,
there are no codes or other tricks that I know of to aid you in this game.
Please, if you find one, let me know and I will include it in a later
edition of this guide, with due credit of course. Good luck, my friend.
I hope you find this guide useful. Feel free to drop me a Neomail if you
have any comments or extra hints to offer, I would really like that gold
trophy!
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