OK, I think I figured out what I was doing wrong on geometry wars #29. Maybe stotch and pancakes already knew this.
The gates spawn with the mobs, so if you just run willy nilly through gates you'll start to run out fairly early on. So the goal is to conserve gates for when you either:
- need to defend yourself from greens/pink diamonds/little orange
- have a big group herded up
- have two gates close together where you might run into the edge of one if you're in a hurry
Yellow gates are freebies since they vanish, just use them whenever you feel like it.
I have a video uploading now where I was experimenting with it if anyone wants to watch. You'll notice that I get to a point where I'm waiting for enemies. I still blow it though.