Funspot Forum: text archive

 

We're Back!

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Admin (Admin)
Wednesday, April 04, 2001 - 11:10 am
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Hey Everyone, We're Back!

That's right, a few days ago, our message board provider decided to "pull the plug" with no notification. We really appricated that! But now we're back up and running with a brand new message board system. This one is completely hosted on our own site, so no one can take it down but us! Pretty cool, huh? We think so.

We do need your help though. Since we had no time to realize what was going on with the other board, all of the messages contained within that board were lost. We know it's the pits but that's the deal.

So we need you to get to work and post some messages! Get some serious discussion going! Let's get this board off to a rockin' start!

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Sorry For the Temporary Downtime

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Admin (Admin)
Thursday, April 12, 2001 - 12:13 pm
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Down because of a minor glitch in the system. Everything's fine now and it won't be a regular occurance. Keep those posts coming!

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Next tournament?

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jdllama
Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 01:24 pm
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Just curious as to if there are any plans for the next Funspot tourny. Still want to go there someday just for a game of Burger Time

- J.D. Lowe

Gary Vincent
Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 12:59 pm
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Hello J.D.,
We will be having the 4th annual tournament on May 30th through June 2, 2002. At this time I am working on some additions to the event such as having an official resort where the players can stay during the tourney. Stay tuned for more details. After Labor Day goes by, I'll be able to get back into the tournament planning. Hope you can attend next year, we have some great players displaying some incredible gaming skills.

Take Care,
Gary

Richard M.
Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 04:21 pm
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I recall posting back in June asking when the 2001 tournament results would be posted on this website. Gary said that he was waiting for the results from Walter Day.

So at the risk of saying what everybody else knows but hasn't told me, here is where you can get that info over the Internet:

Go to Twin Galaxies' site (www.twingalaxies.com). On the left panel (white lettering on gray background), you will find "News Center" in bold, and "Current Breaking News" right under that. Click on "Current Breaking News" and scroll down to 6/6/01 for the World Championship results, and to 6/11/01 for the other video and pinball games of the Funspot tournament. You will need to click one more time to get a spreadsheet detailing the results.

The classic video game scores can be found at:
http://www.twingalaxies.com/2001Funspot-TG_140.htm

One anomaly of this particular speadsheet is that there are two columns dedicated to Gyruss; columns 11 and 37. The -real- Gyruss players get to be on column 37. ;-)

I would still like to see the tournament results posted on the Funspot website soon, but until then the scores can be accessed over the Internet.

-- Richard M.

Richard M.
Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 04:28 pm
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For the 2002 championship, six of the games will be Arkanoid, Crystal Castles, Elevator Action, Donkey Kong Jr., Carnival, and Tempest.

I thought the seventh game was supposed to be Galaxian, but according to Twin Galaxies the last game is Berzerk.

On my last trip to Funspot (back in July), Crystal Castles and Elevator Action were not there; I don't recall Berzerk being there either although I was not looking for that particular game. What are the plans for acquiring those games prior to next year's tournament?

-- Richard M.

Ken Sweet
Monday, October 15, 2001 - 08:40 am
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Are we sure those are the correct scores? I know I had many of my scores logged at Funspot this last year, and I have 0.00% and no listed scores. A lot of people seem to have the same listing as me... no scores. Maybe this link is to a partial listing? Also, the monochrome scores are listed at the following site: http://www.twingalaxies.com/2001_monochrome_results.htm , but they don't figure out to their percentages and I noticed some of my scores are wrong. For an example, my Sea Wolf score of 7,900 was 62.96%, while Jason Cram's score of 7,000 earned him 64.81%. Some scores didn't earn a percentage at all, like Cameron Feltner's 3,290 points on Space Invaders, listed as 0.00%. Hopefully, these score listings will eventually be corrected for the record.

Ken Sweet

Gary Vincent
Monday, October 15, 2001 - 05:11 pm
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The above statement is why I have not posted the scores on the Funspot site yet. I will contact Twin Galaxies again and offer to pay for photocopies of the original scores sheets so that I may enter them onto our site without percentages and so on. I did not forget about it, I was merely awaiting a reply from TG. It may have slipped Walter's mind since he runs everything himself so I will call again.

Gary

mspaeth
Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:14 am
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Unfortunately, the link to the spreadsheets is far from complete... my world-record setting game of Pickin' isn't even included... (but my game of meteroids is... -- and neither score appears in the TG database).

Alas... I guess I'll have to bring the boards again next year... and maybe with my own cabinets to play them in

Perry Rodgers
Friday, November 23, 2001 - 10:18 pm
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I too thought Galaxian was to be the 7th game (in reference to Richard M. 10/14 post.)

Will FS have an Elevator Action and Crystal Castles for the tourney?

Also, Gary, do you have a working Galaxian there? I recall that the one you had there two years ago was on loan from Apollo and broke down near the end of the tourney.

Richard M.
Friday, November 23, 2001 - 11:42 pm
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Perry,

Funspot does have Galaxian. (I realize you asked the question to Gary, but I thought I'd answer anyway.) The game worked perfectly the last time I played it in July. I didn't play it on my visit last Saturday, but I'm sure it works.

Gary responded to a much more recent posting of mine stating that they have Crystal Castles in storage and are working on the other games (Elevator Action and Berzerk). The subtopic was "Classically speaking (and other column) archives" - so we drifted a little off topic. ;-)

I'm curious when Crystal Castles will actually be on the arcade floor.

-- Richard M.

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Video game & pinball movies!

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Keith K Smith
Sunday, August 05, 2001 - 12:42 am
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I have these movies on tape, among other "regulars":

Tilt (1h51)--1984 VHS release of the '79 film with HUGE box

The Last Starfighter (2h)--TV tape courtesy of WTBS

Video Wars (about 1h)--obscure 1984 release; contains nudity, though

Super Mario Bros. (2h25)--TV tape courtesy of TNT

Dave O.
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 12:56 pm
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How can I get a copy of TILT?

-Dave

Texas Jim
Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 08:32 am
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Dave,
You should be able to go to your local video store and order it. I've done that with other movies. They can order anything you want as long as it isn't out of print.

"Texas" Jim

Barry Jones
Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 11:29 am
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I'd like to get a copy of Tilt also. I'll give the video store a try.

Barry

Dave O.
Friday, August 10, 2001 - 08:41 am
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I tried Amazon.....no luck there.

Dave

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Missing Messages

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Gary Vincent
Monday, August 06, 2001 - 06:40 pm
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Some of you are probably wondering where several of the messages went on this board. As you have noticed in the past few weeks there has been some abuse of this board and many messages posted that are off-topic. I have removed all messages that do not relate to this forum. Here are some simple rules to follow:

1. All messages will be about classic game playing.
2. If you have a gripe with someone and cannot post your own name, then please keep your comments to yourself.
3. All off-topic messages will be deleted.

Please enjoy this forum and let's keep it on-topic.

Gary

Rick Peterson
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 07:34 am
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Thank you for deleting the garbage that was starting to collect here.

Mike Hunt
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 02:21 pm
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Is MK4eva and TOMMY one in the same?

The world may never know (or care for that matter).

Gary Vincent
Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 12:53 pm
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Sorry Mike, I don't know the answer to that one. Although MK4eva claims to know Tommy, they certainly seem to have opposing viewpoints. Must be fun when they get together.

Gary

Gary Vincent
Wednesday, August 08, 2001 - 01:14 pm
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Oops, I just noticed that I accidentally deleted some messages that should have stayed. My apologies to the people that posted them.

Gary

MK
Friday, August 10, 2001 - 10:40 am
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I do know the one and only "Tommy Tutalige" and we've even played pin together. He's wrong in his ascertions, of course. But that doesn't make him a bad guy. I'm glad I started that new discussion. It was the funniest thing out there and had more responses than any other topic. Like it or hate it, everybody was readin' and thinkin'.

Okay, not planning another retort here so be well you poor misguided pinfans.

Pin is dead,
- MK4eva

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Questions

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Anonymous
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 09:37 am
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Questions that I would like answered:

Question 1: In the latest issue of Classic Gamer there is a story about Funspot trying to build a classic museum and is looking for donations to build it. Why can't you pay for it yourserlves? Please enlighten me.

Question 2: Also on the Classic Gamer site there is a notice about a Twin Galaxies Classic Gaming Championship at CGE this week. Wasn't there a Classic Video Game Championship at Funspot with a completely different set of games recently?

Question 3: How can you have two classic game championships using two different sets of games? I detect some confusion here.

Question 4: So, who is the real champion then, the winner at Funspot or the winner at CGE?

John S
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 09:55 am
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I truly hope that nobody responds to the questions of this obvious troll.

Please folks, this is a potentially excellent and interesting forum. The only way that children and nitwits who are looking for attention will go elsewhere is if no one gives it to them.

John S.

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 10:06 am
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Dear Sir,
I am a troll? How so? The questions are "on topic," (classic game related), so Gary shouldn't be too upset and delete them on me. Are my questions offensive? No. Are they legitimate? Yes. Am I anonymously flaming someone? No. I am curious and would like some answers. What is wrong with that? Please notice that I have refered to you as "sir" rather than the name you called me.

Please don't be hypocritical about me posting as anonymous either since you haven't posted an Email address, I might point out. I am not looking for attention, just an explanation. Are you not the slightest bit curious as to the answers to these questions? I am.

Gary Vincent
Tuesday, August 07, 2001 - 06:06 pm
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Hello Anonymous,
I can answer some of your questions but not all. I'll answer them in the order you asked. The answers may be long but they need to be:

#1. The Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot is a project I am thrilled to be a part of. The reason we have asked the public for support on this is because there is really no other way to make the project happen. Conventional bank financing is out of the question since the source of revenue for the project, the classic games, will not generate enough money to cover the payments on a $450,000 mortgage. Add in electricity, maintenance, taxes, payroll and other hidden costs and it soon becomes apparent that the building really needs to be paid in full before we open. Analyze the operating costs for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

You may be thinking, "Why not write a check for it and build it" as was mentioned to me a few months back. This isn't 1982 anymore, the arcade industry is not what it used to be but we have survived where others have not by being very careful. The Classic Arcade Museum project is a labor of love and a desire to preserve arcade history for all to enjoy, but it cannot be the straw that breaks the camel's back. As we all know, MANY arcades have closed since the mid-80's and the games have found their way into the hands of private collectors. This is fantastic since a lot of other games found their way into the trash dumpster. The only drawback is the general public cannot play them now. Unless you know someone with a Tempest or Space Ace, you are going to be hard pressed to find one in an "arcade."

That brings me to the subject of "arcades." There are not many left. Yes, there are kid oriented entertainment complexes and themed restaurant/entertainment facilities but very few locations where coin operated games are the main attraction. We have tried to maintain that at Funspot and the Classic Arcade Museum is one more step to further that goal.

As I mentioned earlier, the museum project is a labor of love. I've heard comments to the effect of, "Oh yeah, it's not a labor of love, you'll make a fortune." If this is such a great money making adventure, wouldn't everyone be doing it? This is a dedication to the history of arcade games whether it be video games, pinball machines or electro-mechanical entertainment games. Other attempts have been made in the past to do the same thing and have failed. The failure was usually the result of a major financial backer pulling out. Left with mortgage costs that were insurmountable, these ventures closed. We are approaching this project with caution and careful scrutiny as to not fall into the same fate as previous attempts have. In my opinion, Funspot is the logical and most practical location for a venture of this magnitude. We are dedicated to preserving the classic games. This addition will also include a 3,000 square foot area for use as convention space to hold larger classic game related events. Also, we will have a full restoration center for future game aquisitions.

I sincerely hope that this clears up some of your concern as to the reason behind asking for public support. We want to develop a first class museum where people can come and play games that have not been available to them for years, but not get into a dangerous situation by overextending ourselves.

#2. Yes there was a Classic Video Game Tournament at Funspot during the FTG2001 Classic Tournament. Dwayne Richard of Grand Prairie, Alberta was the winner.

#3. You'll have to ask Twin Galaxies for this answer

#4. Again, you'll have to contact Twin Galaxies for this answer.

Due to the last minute changes being made to the Funspot History Book, which will be a part of the commemorative coin, our webmaster has not had time to post my August edition of Classically Speaking. I have an idea in there for a classic contest that you may like. I hope to see it up tomorrow and would like some input on this idea from the players.

Warmest Regards,
Gary Vincent

MK4eva
Friday, August 10, 2001 - 10:35 am
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I hope we're not gonna have to sit through another Atari Pong contest at the next "classic" tourney. I'm glad this stuff is leaning in the direction it is, but let's put some real effort into it this time...

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 14, 2001 - 07:08 am
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John S,
MK4eva's post looks like trolling to me. I asked questions, he just insults.

Rick Peterson
Tuesday, August 14, 2001 - 05:36 pm
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Anonymous,
I can see you asking the first two questions here but why the second two? Clearly these should be asked on the Twin Galaxies forum www.twingalaxies.com since they make the final decision on contests they sponsor.

Rick

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 14, 2001 - 09:10 pm
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Rick,
Before I answer, I want to make it clear that there is no disrespect toward Twin Galaxies with this response: I do not post on their site because of the information they want from you before you're even allowed to post. Name and Email, that's OK with me but address, phone number, date of birth??? What do they need that for and what do they do with it? What if they have some dishonest employee working there who takes my information and does something illegal with it?

I figured one of their employees must scan the other message boards to see what's happening around the internet and respond to my questions. If you have a user name there and want to post my questions, go ahead. If I was the guy from Canada who won the first championship, I'd be curious as to why there was another, similar tournament so soon after my victory. Let's say you entered the Iron Man championships and won. Two months later, Iron Man announces another championship very similar to the one you just won and says the winner will be the new Iron Man. Would you be perplexed?

If anyone knows the answers, post them. If not, OK, they were just questions.

Anonymous
Thursday, August 16, 2001 - 08:48 pm
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MK4eva,
What was wrong with the Atari 2600 tournament at Funspot? It was fun and different. What kind of effort would you like to see them put into it?

Gregory Erway
Friday, August 17, 2001 - 07:39 pm
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I thought it looked pretty cool myself from what I saw. But the down side was that I got there on Friday (2pm or so) and never heard about that competition or was asked if I wanted to participate. By the time I saw what was going on the final games were being played. I guess I hid over in the corner with Tapper a little too long. So my only suggestion would be a little more advertisement either before or at the tournament. I was however told about and asked to show up at the film festival so I'm sure I wasn't missed on purpose. For all I know the 2600 tournament might have started on Thursday and it's my own fault for not being there on opening day.

Paul Anderson
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 01:28 pm
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Did that classic contest ever happen in Vegas? Who won?

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - 11:38 pm
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I do not believe the contest happened. My step-brother went there but didn't see or say anything about a big classic game contest. There does not seem to be any chat on the net about it that I can find.

LarryM
Monday, February 25, 2002 - 11:24 am
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ALTERED BEAST

Does anybody know what program I can download to use this game? I keep trying to run altered beast but keep getting message saying the program to run this type of file is missing. And I do have directX. I don't think it has anything to do with directX

These are the extensions of many copies of altered beast that I have tried.

.rar
.smd
.lzx
.pce
.d64
.gcs

Please help.

Thanks,
changintimeslmc@aol.com
larry

Mk4eva
Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 01:00 am
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MK4eva,
What was wrong with the Atari 2600 tournament at Funspot? It was fun and different. What kind of effort would you like to see them put into it?

What's wrong eith it? Let me count the ways:
1. Pong sucked.
2. Pong sucked, but it was all we had.
3. See number two, above.
4. This is brilliant stuff. Why can't the Garster see that?
5. Bloop. Beep. Bloop. Beep. Need I say more? Would you pay a quarter? Classic? I think not.
6. I'm having more fun than you are.
7. C'mon, real pin is Eight Ball Deluxe (EBD). Anything wihtout it is not a classic tourney...
8. Any non-fully functional mahine needs to go. There's no prizes usually, so hear me now...
9. I'm goin' to Pinburg 2000 beacuse they give out $6,000 in prize money, also in June. (Not a comemmerative coin.)
10. High stakes bingo, bingo, and a triple!

Hey Annonymous, You call me a troll and yet you don't even give me the courtesy of a fake name...

P.S. Larry is right. Altered Beast is a great game, and a classic. It somehow sucks less than Golden Axe or Pleidese, but I think that goes without saying.

"I think we can save your husband's arm. Where would you like it sent?"

I know you don't all agree, but that's one American expressing his fisrt ammendment rights.

Ken Sweet
Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - 11:40 pm
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Hello,

Maybe I can help clear a few things up. Mike Stulir of Back In Time ran a Combat tourney (not Pong) at the last tournament, of his own choice. The prize was a Pong poster autographed by Nolan Bushnell. I thought it was a cool thing to do, and had a lot of fun participating in it. Thank you, Mike. I hope you won't be at all discouraged from running future contests by this thread.

If you had read the most recent press release, you'd know that there are small cash prizes being offered this year. This contest is still growing, and with the sort of participation and growth it has experienced, I'm sure there is more to come in the future.

Also in the press release, I made mention of an Atari 2600 aspect to this event. I will be bringing in my Atari 7800 this year (I have a library of over 200 games), and we plan on finding more Atari consoles to play on. This should be good news if you're looking for some Atari competition, especially if Todd Rogers, who I consider to be the greatest Atari player of all time, shows up this year.

I hope you have fun at Pinburg 2002 (I assume you meant 2002, not 2000). Can't wait to see everybody else again this year.

Ken Sweet

Silverball
Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 07:34 pm
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I'm sure the Steel City Pinball Association will be thrilled to have you at Pinburg. With your award winning personality and tremendous ability to flame everything and everyone, you'll be a huge hit! Let's pray they get a message board so you'll go there and whine about not winning because the flippers didn't work right. Have a good time.

MK4eva
Friday, March 01, 2002 - 08:36 pm
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Hey Sliverballs,
I'd no more cut the pin manufacturers a break for letting my favorite passtime march into the stone-age than I would not lance you with my rapier wit in front of eveybody here while they laugh at you with me. Got sumthin' for ya. It's called humor, and I wouldn't want to... no... no... I do, I do want to make you the brunt of it. I can't lie in front of my constituants. So give me a break. When the pin makers/users do right (like when they came out with Gorgar or Xenon or created the squawk & talk board) I'll call it like it is. But when they insist on changing things like going to DMD graphics or naming themselves after a classic Bally - shame on you for that - I say so. I don't mix words on my opinions and don't really care if you agree with me. Here's another: go redorkulate yourself. If you LIKE putting a quarter into a pin only to find out you're winged on one side, great. Go spend your fortune (undoubtedly earned the hard way on the streets of San Fransisco) any way you want. I won't be joining you. I'll save my money and rebuild another classic pin/vid to perfection. Hear that? It's your mother calling. Go to bed. And shut-up, will ya? (Do you hear a few chuckles out there? Yes, they're at your expense.) Ha. I kill me.

Silverball not the game
Saturday, March 02, 2002 - 11:28 am
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Your acidic response just confirms what I said in the previous message. If you truly believe your self perceived wit is making me the butt of your jokes, fine. Was the San Francisco remark intended to be a round-a-bout way of calling me GAY? Grow up. You have no class, add nothing to this board and I can't understand why Funspot still allows you to post. Were the decision mine, I'd switch to a registered format and ban you for life. I might add that I've noticed many of your posts get nuked soon after they hit the screen.
Silverball. That offends you? It was a reference to the game of pinball itself, not a particular machine so you can calm down now.
What is your problem? Looking at this board, it seems like you have some sort of grudge against Funspot or this board. Almost everything you write either takes a stab at someone who posted something intelligent or ridicules Funspot itself. Did you get fired from there and this is your revenge? I can't speak for the others here but I have not seen a message posted that could have provoked your uncontrolled wrath.
Take a look at the response to my very simple posting above. You must have been pulling your hair out and screaming all the while you typed it. Go take some anger management classes, you need them.
Broken pinball machines bother me too. It's sad that pinball has died but that's life. What happened to pinball is basic economics; if it costs more to run than it makes, it has to go. I'm sure you'll have some witty comments to add when you see this but I really don't care and I'd guess no one else does either.
Calm down, stay in the basement with your games and have a wonderful life.

Anonymous
Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 02:00 am
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"You must have been pulling your hair out and screaming all the while you typed it."

Actually....no....I was giggling to myself uncontrollably...

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Tournament idea

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Gary Vincent
Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 10:11 am
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Hello Everyone!
My Classically Speaking column for August is up on the Funspot site. I'd like to hear from you about my idea for the National Classic Video Game Tournament. Pros, cons, let me know.

Regards,
Gary

D_Harris
Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 12:52 pm
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How about classic game owners willing to host the one day tournament in their basements, if enough arcades with the required games cannot be found? :-)

How about making sure that there is one sanctioned judge at each location to make sure game play rules are adhered to, and difficulty settings are correct?

Just some ideas.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

John S
Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 02:01 pm
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First of all I think that any video game competition is a good idea. Once again its great to see Funspot promoting classic games so well.

The main problem will be the verification of scores achieved in other then tournament conditions but that topic has been covered in other threads and I’m sure you have given some thought as to how to handle it.

One other point; although it seems most people like these multiple game tournaments I would like to see more focus giving to single game champions. It sort of happens automatically I guess but maybe it could be more explicit. Possibly by not requiring a score to be submitted on all the titles. I have never been able to take part in one of these combined championships because while I love playing some video games I can’t stand others.

When I look at the classic game championship that just took place at Funspot or other decathlons etc. I am looking only at the individual scores (some awesome performances by the way). The overall champion is meaningless to me.

It seems like I’m almost alone or at least in the minority on this view but for me personally a contest which combines scores on such different games to find an overall winner would be exactly the same as having a “Racquet Sports World Championship” which averages scores from tennis, racquetball, squash and maybe handball and lacrosse thrown in for good measure.

The recent debate in this forum over the relative skill of pinball versus video game players is brought to my mind here. I did not take part in that debate because as far as I’m concerned it is one of the silliest arguments I’ve ever heard of. Who has more skill Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods? The argument is whose skill do you personally respect more, their relative skill cannot be compared.

Although I don’t like playing Pacman I have never said that Pacman players have less skill than Tempest players. I wouldn’t even try to compare them. I can only say that I personally don’t look at a perfect game of Pacman as even in the top 100 video game accomplishments. Does that mean I could do it? No. Pacman is a pattern game. Asteroids is not. A championship that combines scores from Pacman and Asteroids may as well include scores from Firepower (my favorite pinball) and whack-a-mole.

Kasparov could practice for 8 hours a day for thirty years and still have no chance of beating Yi Ch’ang-ho in a game of Go. I personally respect Chess skill more, maybe because I grew up with chess, but I do not say one is harder than the other or requires more skill. A great pinball player will always beat a great Tempest player on a pinball table. The great Tempest player will always beat the pinball player on a Tempest machine.

The only thing you can say about pinball, is that there is such a thing as a “pinball player” and that there can be a meaningful “pinball champion”. All pinball games require comparable skills. There is no such thing as a “video game player”. A Pacman player uses completely different skills than an Asteroids player, as an example a good memory is of no help to an Asteroids player , while a Pacman player obviously could not play without one. Imagine comparing classic video game skill with skill on the games the kids are playing today? Unfortunately these travesties are still called video games. At the least every genre should be viewed as differently as Asteroids is from Firepower or archery.

Anyway I would be interested on hearing from people who like the combined game format to tell me what I’m missing.

All this said I’m all for the contest and if it happens I will enjoy watching the individual scores.

John S.

mspaeth
Wednesday, August 15, 2001 - 02:18 pm
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Given the popularity of wheels, wheels2 and sprint 2, how about a "bad old driving game' tourny next year... I just got my monacp GP and turbo going, so I"ll be ready ;)

For fun, you could throw in stuff up to pole position, and maybe high speed, the getaway, corvette, viper, etc...

Could be a lot of fun.

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Galaga/Ms. Pac Man

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Barry Jones
Friday, August 10, 2001 - 11:07 pm
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Does the new Galaga/Ms. Pac Man combo have the identical program as the original two games? A friend says no, but I think it would have to or the people that really know the game would complain. I have not played one yet and was never that good a player to tell the difference so I'll throw the question out here.

John S
Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 12:44 am
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Barry,

I don’t know all that much about either game but I do know there are at least some differences.

The attract mode bug on Galaga is different.

All 3 games allow the player to buy back in and continue.

I’m told the behavior at the end of both Pacman and Ms. Pacman is different, specifically there are more screens. (Don’t quote me though, I’ve never seen them)

I’ve also heard that the timing on Galaga is very slightly different.

Pacman and I believe Ms. Pacman can be played in fast mode.

The board hardware is of course different.

The new game has a 25” monitor.

The new sideart is ugly.

I think you are right that only good players could tell the difference.

John S.

Barry Jones
Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 09:28 am
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It would be safe to assume then that scores obtained using this game, as opposed to the original, must be tracked separately if the software is different. Makes me wonder why they would change the programming when they already had a successful one in place. Big business, go figure.

Barry

John S
Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 12:25 pm
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As far as I’m concerned there is absolutely no question that this game should be tracked separately. I actually think every ROM version of every game should be separately tracked, or at least have the revision number noted. This game certainly qualifies as being more different, compared to the original, than some others.

John S.

Barry Jones
Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 03:57 pm
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Here is a new one I just heard about, Centipede, Millipede and Missile Command all-in-one game. Should be interesting to see how that works since two of them were vertical games and one was horizontal.

The feature that bothers me the most about the Galaga-Ms. Pac Man is the larger screen. It doesn't look the same as the old 19" monitor. Bigger monitors are the trend but if you are trying to recreate a classic, keep it the same. There was a crowd gathered around the one I saw so I couldn't play it, but it just didn't look right to me.

That would be like Volkswagon re-issuing the beetle but it's now the size of a Cadillac. Bigger isn't always better.

Barry

Rick Peterson
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 09:08 am
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I played the new Galaga/Ms. Pac Man. Personally, I find the larger monitor more difficult to play. Maybe it's the added eye strain of following a larger image over a larger area. Or I stink at it.

The Centipede/Millipede/Missle Command sounds interesting. Who is making it? It certainly can't be Atari.

Rick

John S
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 11:36 am
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Atari's arcade division became Atari Games which was purchased by Midway. I believe that Midway licensed the Centipede/Missile Command rights to a small company who is making the Reunion 2 game.

What I would like to now is which trackball are they going to use?

John S.

Barry Jones
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 01:10 pm
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I checked with a vending friend and found out that a company named P&P Marketing is going to make the Centipede, Millipede, Missle Command combo. He says the game looks like a Centipede but has a 27" monitor in it that is set up vertical. That should be interesting for Missile Command. The size of the ball looks to be mid-way between a Centipede and a missle Command, but he really couldn't tell from the picture he saw. Let's see if they alter the program in this one too.

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Stupid Car! (Why I didn't go to CGE)

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Paul Anderson
Sunday, August 12, 2001 - 04:58 pm
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What beautiful timing. The transmission let go in my car last week forcing me to cancel my plans to attend CGE for the first time. That was a tough choice, fix the car, go to CGE? IF anyone on this board went, please give us a recap of what we missed.

Anonymous
Wednesday, August 15, 2001 - 07:00 am
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Some pictures of CGE,

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/arc00081.htm

There was the largest showing of arcade games yet this year. About 40 of them. The place was packed all weekend with crazy classic game nuts. Sorry you had to miss it.

Paul Anderson
Wednesday, August 15, 2001 - 10:02 am
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Thanks for the pictures! I can't believe I missed out on that. Grrrrrrrr....

Paul

Barry Jones
Wednesday, August 15, 2001 - 12:54 pm
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There is always next year. Those pictures will give you the motivation to make it happen! I went in 1999 and it was good then, it can only be better now. Looks like they really added some new and exciting events, guest speakers and booths to the show.

Barry

Rick Peterson
Thursday, August 16, 2001 - 06:15 am
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While looking at their site I found another recap for you, Paul.

http://www.cgexpo.com/recap.html

and the link to the hotel where it is held,

http://www.plazahotelcasino.com/

Barry Jones
Friday, August 17, 2001 - 04:36 pm
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Hey Paul,
Not to rub it in that you didn't get to go, but here is another link to a CGE story. This one leans mostly toward laser games. It appears there was a LARGE showing of laser games there this year.
http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/community/cge/
I heard all the laser games belonged to ONE guy! He sure was generous to bring them there and let the attendees play them. Too risky for me.

Barry

Paul Anderson
Friday, August 17, 2001 - 07:20 pm
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Stop, Stop STOP already, your torturing me!!! JK, LOL! I should have skipped the car and gone there. Thanks for all the links.

Paul

Barry Jones
Friday, August 17, 2001 - 10:15 pm
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I'm sorry Paul, I just couldn't resist. This one even has video!!
http://www.techtv.com/extendedplay/videofeatures/story/0,23008,3342578,00.html

Barry

Anonymous
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 06:45 am
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The guys who created Dragons Lair were there.
http://www.geocities.com/bluthie/CGE2001.html

Rick Peterson
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 09:04 am
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Maybe make him a shirt that says, "Everyone went to CGE and all I got was this lousy shirt." LOL.

Rick

Barry Jones
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 10:57 am
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Sorry bud, found another one:
http://www.videogameconnection.com/cge2001.htm
This show gets some major coverage all over the 'net.

Anonymous
Monday, August 27, 2001 - 11:39 pm
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You know, ever since MK4eva left this message board, It's been fu--in' dull...

Barry Jones
Friday, August 31, 2001 - 05:11 pm
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I don't think so. It's actually been a pleasure NOT having him around.

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Pac-Man patterns work!! (on new Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine)

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vgmc
Thursday, August 16, 2001 - 10:19 pm
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Yessirree...I tried the patterns on the machine in Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, MI...and they worked on the new Ms. Pac/Galaga machine. Even the "9th Key" pattern executed flawlessly...this might not be a bad revival after all.

(I can see the arcade owners now...wondering how the "Ž��‡ÞŒ@%&$#" I manage to play "regular" Pac-Man on a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine!)

Anonymous
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 10:40 am
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Very strange indeed, I'll have to try that.

Donald Hayes
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 09:34 pm
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What's the sequence to make the machine play regular Pac Man? I know someone posted it before either here or maybe on Twin Galaxies, but I can't seem to find it (okay, I haven't looked that hard :-)

Les Martin
Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - 01:09 pm
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It is a sequence of 11 steps as follows:

U,U,U,D,D,D,L,R,L,R,L

This done immediately after inserting the coins.

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2002 Tournament - T-Shirts????

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Gregory Erway
Friday, August 17, 2001 - 07:46 pm
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The one thing that I thought was missing from the great 2001 tournament was t-shirts. Is there any possibility that some may be created for future contests? I don't know a lot about costs for creating things like this but I would be more than happy to pre-order one if that is what is needed to make them a reality.

How many others out there wished they could have had a t-shirt from this years event?

Is there anyway the sale of them could be used to help raise money for the museum project?

Barry Jones
Friday, August 17, 2001 - 10:01 pm
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T-Shirts are OK but you always run into a problem with sizes and colors. We sold shirts as a fundraiser for the youth group I volunteer for and we ended up with a bunch of kids sizes no one wanted and had to make a second order for more adult sizes we didn't think we would need. Since we didn't order a large enough quantity of shirts for the second order, we didn't get the price break we received on the initial order.

Your particular situation may be different from mine, but I wanted to pass that experience along to you before you get into it and find out the hard way. Mr. Erway has a great idea but maybe a one-size-fits-all baseball hat would be more practical and help you avoid having sizes left over that you can't get rid of. I'm surprised you do not have a store on your site selling Funspot Museum related items. The Internet is a great way to reach those who would like to help but may live too far away to buy in person.

Peace,
Barry

Rick Peterson
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 09:01 am
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I think it could be done with the classic tournament. I understand the problem you had with the youth group Barry, but I can't see too many kids wanting classic tournament shirts. Don't go with color shirts, like red, blue, green, etc.. Stick with a basic white shirt with a nice logo and keep the sizes to medium, large, x-large to minimize the chances of being stuck with a bunch of odd sizes you can't sell. Just my 2 cents...

Rick

Richard M.
Saturday, August 18, 2001 - 05:32 pm
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Yes, I realize that you want to sell T-shirts to raise money for the museum, and you should concentrate on the popular sizes that fit most people. But the "odd-sized" people are out there - me being one of them, and some of them play video games.

Therefore, it should be possible (perhaps at extra cost) to special order different sizes, or you might keep a few "odd sizes" in stock for those of us who simply can't conform to S, M, L, XL. This is especially true if you plan on selling over the Internet.

In addition you should consider selling souvenir items like pens, keychains, or coffee mugs that one doesn't need to try on first. Basically the stuff that you would find in a gift shop, but where the theme is on things related to Funspot.

-- Richard M.

Bekka
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 05:22 pm
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Great ideas guys!!! Like Greg said, what if we had the chance to pre-order with the sizes we want (even colors if you wanted to do the old baseball shirts that had colored sleeves). Then you could order more shirts in Med, L, XL for sales at the tournament itself. Most of the players who would want one I think would be reading this anyways so you should be able to get a large enough order. I also like the idea on the mugs, keychains and such. Weren't there mugs the first year of the classics event? What happened to doing that again??

Bekka

Gregory Erway
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 08:19 pm
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Twin Galaxies hooked up with some sort of web based deal to do their t-shirts I think. I don't have experience with this but it seems as though you come up with the artwork, send it to them, and they will make the shirts for you 1 at a time. Sort of like the stores you see at the beach with tons of iron-on stickers all ready to be put on the shirt of your size. I ordered a Twin Galaxies t-shirt months ago and fairly decent price and the whole transaction went very smoothly. At one point TG offered t-shirts with the logo from the 1983? Iron Man Tourney on there. Now whether TG gets any $$ from sales of these shirts might be another question. Seems as though the cost of artwork and setup wouldn't be more than a hundred or so. If so it seems like this could be a good fundraiser.

For that matter I would be willing to buy a t-shirt specifically mentioning that I support the museum project.

Rick Peterson
Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - 02:35 pm
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Gary??? Where are you? You talked to me about an Internet store back in January when I brought up the pin parts. What happened?

Rick

Gary Vincent
Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - 06:03 pm
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Rick,
The store is still in the works. There has been so much going on this year that it was placed on the back burner for a while until things calm down. Not to worry, we'll get it on the site.

Gary

Gregory Erway
Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - 06:38 pm
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The site TG uses is www.cafepress.com. They have all the info there for how they offer shirts for sale. Looks like a couple hundred bucks to get setup with an image you want put on a shirt and to be ready to sell t-shirts online.

mspaeth
Friday, August 24, 2001 - 03:09 pm
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Tshirts? Bah.

I think we all need to get American Flags to wear ;)

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What was the name of this game?

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Barry Jones
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 10:46 am
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There was a game I liked playing back around 1982 or 1983 that I can't remember the name of. It was side-scrolling, similar to Scramble but I think your character was on stilts or legs that went up and down. It was in an odd looking cabinet if I remember correctly. This has been driving me nuts for a week now.

Anonymous
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 03:21 pm
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You sure it wasn't Scramble or Super Cobra?

Barry Jones
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 08:04 pm
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No, I'm sure it wasn't those two games.

Barry Jones
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 08:07 pm
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I meant, YES, I'm sure it wasn't those games. Long day today, need sleep.

Stu Colson
Sunday, August 19, 2001 - 10:23 pm
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Barry, are you talking about Snap Jack? Snap Jack came out around those years, and it had this funky little character with stretch-legs. It was made by Universal.

I found it on the Killer List of Video Games, here: http://www.klov.com/S/Snap_Jack.html

Does anybody else actually remember this odd game? They had one in my local bowling alley back in the day.

Barry Jones
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 07:30 am
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That's it! Thanks. Too bad they didn't have a picture of the game so I could see that cabinet again. Nice screen shots though. How do they get those shots? Every time I ever tried to take pictures of the screen they came out terrible.

Stu Colson
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 11:07 am
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Hey, glad I could help! They probably used the MAME version (http://www.mame.net/) for the screenshots. MAME is a front-end program that lets you download & play almost every classic videogame that ever existed.

Anonymous
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 12:50 pm
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The mysterious Stu Colson has returned. From the lack of "STU" high score initials around New England, I wondered if you had left the area. My quest to best your scores is back on. Certainly you must remember me? Of course you do. I will give you a hint in case your memory is failing, 12/7/1986. Can you find out where I have played, Stu? You will know when your scores fall. Mhahaa, Mhaaaha MMMMMHAAAAAHAAAHAAAHAAAAA!!!!

Stu Colson
Monday, August 20, 2001 - 09:59 pm
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Yeah, go for it, bud. But remember... the greatest warrior IS S-T-U.

vgmc
Sunday, September 02, 2001 - 10:42 am
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Yes, I remember "(Let's Play) Snapjack!" That was a weird game. It was at Stargate Arcade on Michigan Avenue (1981-83) in Detroit...between Martin and Livernois on the southwest side. [The arcade building has since become 3 other businesses...one just down the street, Space Arcade, on Michigan near Livernois, has since closed also and has not been converted into anything...some games may still be in there!!!!!]

Universal also made the 3 Mr. Do! games...and what else?

mspaeth
Friday, September 07, 2001 - 03:45 am
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4 Mr Do Games... 5 if you count the unreleased laserdisc Mr Do Game...

Add in ladybug, jumping jack, kick rider, a bunch of space invaders clones, cheeky mouse, anything with galaxy or cosmic in the title...

Keith K Smith
Saturday, September 08, 2001 - 10:45 pm
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What do you mean 4 Mr. Do! games? There was Mr. Do!, Mr. Do's Castle, Mr. Do's Carnival (Wild Ride?), and what was the other one? Huh? Hmm? Huh?

Keith K Smith
from southeast Michigan

Gregory Erway
Sunday, September 09, 2001 - 05:03 pm
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Legacy:

Mr. Do!
Mr. Do's Castle
Mr. Do's Wild Ride
Do! Run Run
Neo Mr. Do!

per http://www.klov.com/M

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Trak 10!

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mspaeth
Friday, August 24, 2001 - 03:20 pm
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I just stumbled across a dead 1974 Atari "Trak 10" game in cleveland. After wasting to many tokens on Wheelz, Wheelz II, and Sprint 2 at funspot, I decided I had to have it and wasted $100 on it.

Heh.

I hope to have space in my car to bring it back to boston on this trip (I and the game are in Ohio right now), and will probably be making it my top repair priority, since I've been looking for a game that's older than I am for quite a while.

In any case, does anyone have a source for some of the unique hybrid ICs and 93xx series logic that's on this board? I'm hoping this effort doesn't end up being futile due to lack of parts

Rick Peterson
Saturday, August 25, 2001 - 12:40 pm
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Try this guy http://home.neo.rr.com/ayeckle/

He repairs a lot of the old Atari games.

mspaeth
Saturday, August 25, 2001 - 07:04 pm
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Bah... I don't pay others to fix my games

Maybe he has some parts to sell me though... heh.

mspaeth
Friday, September 07, 2001 - 03:41 am
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Trak 10 Lives!

Trivia, according to KLOV:

It's the first driving game
It's the first game to use a PROM!

Nifty.

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Omega Race

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Rick Peterson
Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 10:07 am
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I loved playing Omega Race as a kid and wondered if anyone has seen one in any Mass/NH/RI arcades? I don't want to buy one, I'd just like to play it again, preferably the sitdown (much more fun). I know Funspot does not have one, I already checked. Any other arcades still have one?

mspaeth
Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 12:40 pm
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Oh come on,you know you want to buy one...

I certainly don't need 2 cabarets... I used to have 3 minis and an upright, but I trashed one mini since it was moldy, and was stinking up my living room, and then traded the upright to appolo.

I haven't seen any omegas in location in a long long time unfortunately. Last one I saw was at a chuck-e-cheese in the early 80's. Due to the battery problems, they probably died soon after losing popularity, and ops didn't want to go to the extreme (!) effort of cleaning up the battery acid damage and repairing the board.

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Classic Game Players in NY

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Gary Vincent
Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 04:11 pm
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I am trying to find out if all of the classic tournament players from New York City are OK. I have been in contact with most of them but have not heard anything about, or from the following people:

Robert Mruczek
Abdner Ashman
Jon Dworkin
Stan Loo

Any info would be appreciated as I am very concerned about these people.

Gary

mspaeth
Friday, September 14, 2001 - 11:48 am
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I talked to collector Peter Freeman (who lives in Gramercy) tuesday night, but I don't know any of the guys you're listing... I'd expect since much of manhattan has no power, that phone lines and ISPs will likely be down too...

Gary Vincent
Monday, September 17, 2001 - 10:38 am
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Tommy,
I thought I made it VERY clear that you were not to post here again.

Gary

Richard M.
Monday, September 17, 2001 - 01:01 pm
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Gary,

Just delete Tommy's posts whenever he has anything to say. It won't be any fun for him that way.

I hope all the New York players are okay. Given that eight million people live there, the chances are good that they are.

-- Richard M.

Gary Vincent
Monday, September 17, 2001 - 01:13 pm
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Richard,
Please check the message I apparently posted at the same time you posted this one. It should shed some light on the situation.

Richard M.
Monday, September 17, 2001 - 01:23 pm
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Gary,

I've read your comment and completely agree. I just think that people like Tommy get too much fun out of these posts. Just delete his posts whenever he has anything to say and don't let it bother you.

I realize that some people were likely very offended at his prior posts. IMO, this jerk isn't important enough to be offended at. He isn't important enough to even be mentioned for that matter and I will not mention him in any future posts.

-- Richard M.

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Oldest Pac Man Machine?

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Paul Anderson
Tuesday, October 02, 2001 - 07:34 pm
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A group of us were sitting around last weekend talking about arcade games and had an unusual thought. All video games have serial numbers so where is the oldest Pac Man machine? Oldest meaning, lowest serial number.

Gregory Erway
Tuesday, October 02, 2001 - 10:53 pm
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Do you mean what is the lowest known Pac-Man serial number still in existence? Or do you mean what was the first serial number they used?

I'm pretty sure Bally Midway started at #1 on the Pac-Man release.

There have been a few attempts over the years to track serial numbers of all different titles. But most attempts were given up once it was realized not all companies wished to have their production number known and therefore created serial number series that made it almost impossible to determine. I believe I heard Atari was the most notable of these companies. Bally Midway however did not ever practice this technique to my knowledge.

I wish a good site would be setup to track this information. Even if it didn't produce evidence enough to make any unknown determinations it would be interesting to look at serial numbers of other collectors machines compared to my own. And I think it would be kind of cool to track a game by serial number as it travels from collection to collection over the years.

Paul Anderson
Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - 05:10 pm
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Yes, I would like to know where the lowest serial number Pac Man is. It's not so important to me that I'll lose sleep over it, I'm just curious as to it's location. Many of them were probably converted over the years and are no longer Pac Man machines so they wouldn't count. Just a list of the Pac Man machines still in existance. Wouldn't that be interesting?

Gary Vincent
Thursday, October 04, 2001 - 04:06 pm
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I talked with our webman today and we would be willing to start a Pac Man Registry. People can e-mail me at with the location and serial number of the Pac Man machine they have seen or own. We'll put a special section in the Classic Games Central for the registry. The Pac Man here at Funspot is #42810.

D_Harris
Friday, October 05, 2001 - 02:40 pm
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If those are the numbers located at the top/left/rear of the games, etched into the plywood then...

My Pac-man cabinet = 33374
My Ms.Pac-man cabinet = 11162

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Les Martin
Friday, October 05, 2001 - 06:33 pm
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I have a Super Pac Man Cocktail with a serial
number of 686.
It is also the first Super Pac Man Machine to have 10,000,000 + Points put on it.
Super PacMan Cocktail #686

mspaeth
Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:09 am
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My MsPac Cabaret is #188

I haven't checked my pacman cocktail... or any of the 3-4 pacman UR's I've sold.

Gregory Erway
Monday, November 19, 2001 - 10:16 pm
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47186 - Regular Upright Pac-Man machine
3839 - Cabaret or Mini Upright Pac-Man machine

Both in my collection in my basement

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Tommy Tutalidge garbage

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Richard M.
Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 05:27 pm
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Frankly, I am starting to get tired of this thread and would like to see more postings on classic video games.

I don't know (and don't care) who this jerk is. If Gary unwisely chooses to publicly post this person's name he had better have either excellent proof or an excellent lawyer, preferably both.

More discussion on video games, PLEASE!

-- Richard M.

Gary Vincent
Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 09:17 pm
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Hello Richard,
Consider it done. Yes, I have 100% proof of this person's identity since he was foolish enough to post from a static IP registered in his name. All future messages from him will be deleted without response.

Gary

Wayne Masterson
Friday, October 12, 2001 - 07:54 am
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People need to realize that everything sent by a computer can be traced even if you do your best to hide your trail. I won't get into specifics, but every computer leaves it's own identifying mark wherever it goes. How do you think the Police always catch idiots who send things over the Internet? I'm ready for some classic game conversations now.

WAM

mspaeth
Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:21 am
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Oh, come on Wayne... didn't everybody use to hack internet access from public access library terminals when they were kids? Unless they've got a camera pointing at the terminal, nobody would know who's telnet to SMTP ports and having fun sending fake emails, etc [I always liked to use the handicapped access terminal right in front of the circulation desk, with the nice big 21" monitor, so the librarians could see what I was doing, and wonder how the hell I did it]

Hell, plop down in a cybercafe, pay in cash, and post anonymously to your heart's content.

...heh, or just use AOL

--MS
(posting from a dynamically allocated IP, that surely at&t broadband could easily trace back to him ;)

[and yes, my mailserver requires ident, so you can't spoof mail through it... heh]

Ronald
Friday, October 19, 2001 - 10:18 pm
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Sounds like this place is becoming more and more a police state comrad. What happened to the friendly Funspot of yesteryear?

Dash Rip-Rock
Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 01:50 am
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Friendly Funspot? Um...I don't get it. There was such a thing?

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Which machines are hardest to find?

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Paul Anderson
Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 07:59 am
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I notice that Funspot has a Joust 2 which is a rare game with a low production count. What would be the top 10 rarest classic games ever made? Does anyone know for sure or have a good guess?

Gregory Erway
Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 07:15 pm
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I am certainly no expert on this. Over time however I have heard rumors on different games. There are plenty of games with low production levels. But I guess the main question is whether they were popular or not. Probably what you are looking for is those games that are now thought of as great games but for some reason or another were not produced in high levels. This might also include games that where produced in high levels in one type of cabinet but in very low levels in other types of cabinets. You could certainly make some valid arguments for games like Clone that was only a prototype and never released. It had a camera on it that took a picture of the person getting a high score to display on the screen. However when people started exposing themselves the idea was quickly dropped. Or you might consider games like BattleZone which had a couple machines specifically designed for the military. But I don't think you are really looking for those. So here is my best guess of some rare finds in no particular order.

Begas Battle
Cube Quest
I Robot (dedicated not conversion)
Missile Command (cockpit)
Quantum
Tapper (full color side art)
Joust II
Joust (cocktail)
Q*bert's Cubes
Krull (not real popular but I liked it!)
Discs of Tron (non-environmental version)

Not a super low production level but around 1,000. Timber was a great game that was made by converting some left over Tapper machines. That lowered the Tapper production level to around 2,500. Rootbeer Tapper was around 1,500. Tapper cocktail tables are rumored to only be a couple hundred. These are rare to me but then again I'm a Tapper freak.

Wayne Masterson
Friday, October 19, 2001 - 12:24 pm
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There are many obscure games that have low production numbers. Yes, it would be interesting to see some actual numbers but I doubt you'll ever get them all since there were so many small, independent companies that are only a memory now. Universal, Techmo, Memotron and Centuri are a few that come to mind. Others like, Cinematronics and Exidy probably had low production numbers also. Someone, somewhere may have kept production numbers from these now defunct companies but you'd be hard pressed to ever find them.

Rick Peterson
Friday, October 19, 2001 - 03:05 pm
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Wayne, I agree with you on ever being able to locate production numbers from these companies but this entire topic opens up many additional questions such as:

1. What constitutes a "low" production count? Less than 1000, less than 500, less than 250?

2. By rare, do we mean "popular" but few produced or the game stunk, therefore resulting in a low number produced?

3. Gregory brought up an interesting aspect also. Is a popular game such as Missle Command considered rare if it is in the cockpit cabinet?

This is a very interesting topic which deserves some exploration, I believe we would have to set some criteria for the term, "rare." I'll take a shot at it and throw out some ideas for determining "rare."

1. Less than 500 units produced.
2. Can be a popular game, such as Missle Command, but in a rare cabinet such as the cockpit.
3. Shouldn't include prototypes. There were probably many "one-of-a-kind" games made that failed in the test market and never made it to production.

How does that sound? It's a start anyway.

Paul Anderson
Friday, October 19, 2001 - 10:53 pm
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Here are a few games which I believe to be rare since I can't recall seeing many of them. Wacko, Mystic Marathon, Lost Tomb and Lady Bug. Maybe someone out there used to work for one of the long-gone game companies or knows someone who did. It would be interesting to get some production figures. I heard rumor that PacMan had a run of almost 100,000 machines. Any way to verify that number? Also heard that Joust 2 was under 300 games made. Is that true?

Barry Jones
Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 10:21 am
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I don't remember Lady Bug. Who made that game? Lost Tomb? That was an old Stern game, correct? Stern was one of the few companies that produced both pins and video; Bally/Midway, Data East and Gottlieb were the only others who did that as far as I can tell. This is bringing back some memories. Anyone remember Gottlieb's Mad Planets? People used to call it Rasteroids since it was similar to Asteroids but with a raster monitor instead of vector. With the exception of maybe Q-Bert, I can't imagine that Gottlieb's production counts were very large either. Wish I was 16 again. Those were some good times.

D_Harris
Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 04:22 pm
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Rare games: "Freeze"(the original), and "Mazer Blazer".

I was really good at those two.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Rick Peterson
Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - 08:07 pm
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Was talking with my co-workers today about this topic and my office manager mentioned Computer Space, the first coin operated videogame. Never played one, what were they like? The collector market has driven the price out of site for a game that I would imagine isn't that spectacular to play.

Les Martin
Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 12:57 am
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The rarest games from my memories of the arcades from the 1980s are the dedicated cabinet,large marquee, Junior Pac Man. I have only seen two.
The second was the game Thief by Pacific Novelties; one which I recently found and bought for the record holder, Mike Ziara. Mike played 23 hours and 37 minutes and scored 9,456,120 points eclipsing the old record of 1,4xx,xxx.
He was 14 years old at the time of this feat.
I haven't seen a Thief any where in my travels which cover now nearly 41 states, Japan and South Korea.
But I am sure there are games seen by other gamers that are as rare if not more rare.

D_Harris
Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 09:38 am
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From what I know, the "dedicated" Jr. Pac-man cabinet was actually a Mappy conversion.

And I only saw "Thief" one time. We had gotten so good a it so quick that it became boring to play.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Carnival_Fred
Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 10:46 pm
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Hi again everyone.

As for Paul's Joust question, according to the Playstation Williams Arcade Classic game history, the Joust Cocktail was less than 500 and Joust 2 was less than 1,000.
Oh, and Joust was either 25,000 or 26,000.

Carnival Fred

Billy Roberts
Monday, March 04, 2002 - 12:41 pm
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This is my first time checking out this message board. I love the old classic games and it's nice to be able to hear about them and know that they are still popular.

As far as rare "classic" games, it would be hard to decide which ones would be the rarest. My definition of a classic game is just pretty much any game that came out from 1986 or earlier. Here is a small list of rare games. In fact, I never played any of these. I found out about it when I decided to make a list of nearly every classic game that came out (I got the list from the KLOV web site).

Here are some rare games: Balloon Bomber, Beezer, Blue Shark, Caveman, Cluster Buster, Dazzler, Disco No. 1, Dommy, Dream Shopper, The End, Eyes, Fishing, Freeze, Heart Attack, Juno First, Lazarian, Manhattan, Nebula, Ozma Wars, Pig Newton, Pop Flamer, Radar Scope (the first Nintendo game), Rock Climber, Satan of Saturn, Swimmer, Tunnel Hunt, Vampire, Warp & Warp, and ZZyzzyxx to name a few. These games may not actually be any good but I think they can qualify as rare!

Mickey Glore
Monday, March 04, 2002 - 01:39 pm
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How much is a Missle Command Cockpit game worth?
A friend of mine has one and hasn't used it for over a year.

Angry young man
Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 01:14 am
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Hey mickey.......hey lucy.........

Sell the freakin game if you don't want it!
There's plenty a vidiot here who would actualy leave their mom's basement to just PLAY that machine.....

Sniglet
Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 01:45 am
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The hardest machine to play is the ones that don't work..........(read all).

WMAIDEN
Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 09:51 pm
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MC cockpit is going for around $1,500 on ebay right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1081075025

Gregory Erway
Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 11:19 pm
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Squid Search

SQUID SEARCH
Friday, March 08, 2002 - 06:38 am
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SQUID SEARCH was the best game ever!!! Would love to own it!

DHarris
Friday, March 08, 2002 - 10:49 am
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Yeah, but can you beat Gary's world record on it?

I've been practicing for a go at it myself. :-)

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Gregory Erway
Friday, March 08, 2002 - 09:02 pm
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I heard Walter Day had a video tape of a higher score but was waiting to send it in.

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Funspot's 50th Anniversary. Coin

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Bekka Johnson
Monday, October 29, 2001 - 06:23 am
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Hey Gary--

That new coin looks great!! It is a great deal too! Buy the coin for $100 and get $140 worth of fun-bucks to exchange for tokens! Awesome. That will last me a little bit. How big is the 50th ann. coin? Same as the token?

So they are available now to order? How long is shipping?

Thanks for you time, Gary. I can only imagine how busy you are up there right now.

Bekka

Gary Vincent
Monday, October 29, 2001 - 09:18 pm
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Hello,
I'm going to assume that you have bookmarked the message board into your "favorites," bypassing the home page. If you go to the Funspot home page first, there is a pop-up screen that has the latest information on the coin and how to order. We ship as soon as payment arrives here. The coin is 1 5/8" in diameter which is larger than a standard token and it also is a completely different design than the game tokens.

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Astro Fighter

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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, May 23, 2003 - 09:21 pm
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Hi:

Last year at Funspot 2002 an interesting event happened at this title (witnessed).

Tim McIlroy did something no one had ever seen before. Either Fred Pastore or Greg Bond saw this happen, I forget which. He got a 10K bonus for shooting the stage 1 mother ship !!

To date I have only seen 300 points or, depending on the shot you make, 950 points, but this was an absolute first. I haven't a clue what could have caused it, but I'm very curious how to intentionally do it as, in theory, you could pull it off in perhaps 2 or more stages and set a new world record in the process on those points alone.

My colleague Mark Longridge did some investigation and it seems that there are at least two different ROMsets out there. One issues 60 points per fireball, and that is the one that seems to be at Funspot, and the other awards a fixed number of points based on shooting (I think) five fireballs, where the points, perhaps 180, are awarded each 5th fireball shot...though I'm not sure if the counter carries over into the next wave.

Anyway, the 10K award is intriguing and I was wondering if anyone else experienced that. The game is so hard that few people manage to reach stages 5 and beyond, so a 10K bonus is a major discovery. And since the game is at Funspot, a few key shots on command could easily produce a new world record.

Thanks for any info or experience you might have.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Saturday, May 24, 2003 - 09:57 am
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Actually I think you ment Fred Pastore or myself (Greg Erway). I didn't actually see it in Tim's game. However I have since witnessed it. We have a theory as to how to get it. In theory you can get it on every final boss stage. However it is very difficult to duplicate consistantly. Perfect timing is needed. Since Tim is the main man on this I prefer not to give away the secret at this time unless he tells me otherwise. But rest assured an attempt at getting the 10k will be tried this year by at least Fred and myself. Fred did the major investigative work and I put my knowledge in to figure out why it happened. However I have yet to duplicate it myself on MAME. It appears as though it is a trick that can be done in either ROM set.

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 05:53 pm
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Greg:

Sounds good...don't let me know how it's done. I'm guessing it MIGHT have to do with a count of how many shots are taken at the stages leading up to the end, but that's just a guess based on certain other titles. If so, then considering that the enemies "shift" in stages 1-2, and "bounce" in stage 3, reaching the last stage with a fixed number of shots is not an easy guarantee.

Let me know if anyone manages to do it twice in one game. Besides being a minimum of approx 26K, it might be a new world record even considering MAME results.

Robert

mspaeth
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 02:17 pm
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I tried posting a couple of times last night, but posting was apparently down...

Anyways, after seeing the 10k point posts, I disassembled the code for the game (mame revision 1, 60 points per fireball, which I think is what funspot is running) and took a 10 minute peek through the code...

It wasn't too hard to find the spot where the score for the mothership was added to the player's score, and the 10k point bonus is definitely intentional, and should not be considered a bug or trick...

I know exactly now to get this now, and verified it by writting a cheat file for MAME which enables you to get the 10k every time...

With that said... it is VERY VERY difficult to get the bonus once, let alone twice in a game, and I'd be really impressed to see someone pull it off, especially given that the game's collision detection is pretty buggy... You have to either be very very good to get it or very very lucky... It will work on any level, (at least as far as I've played), and not just on your first ship...

If you're serious about scoring high in this game, buy me a beer at the tourney, and maybe I'll spill my guts ;)

--MS
(game h@x0r)

mspaeth
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 02:18 pm
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Oh, and as a side note... the other rom revisions score 300 points every 7th fireball (according to the mame driver).

Gary
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 05:07 pm
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Last fall I took a road trip up north and stumbled upon an indoor flea market on Route 3 in Woodstock, NH. They had an Astro Fighter for sale in there that looked a little rough but seemed to be complete. I didn't bother to ask what the price was since it was a consignment item and I figured the attendant wouldn't know the price. I do remember them having a Xenon pin by the front door with a $700 pricetag on it. It had to be the worst looking Xenon I have seen in a long time and half of the playfield had peeled off.

Gary

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 07:19 pm
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Mark:

The 10K shot definitely sounds like an allowable technique after hearing from you and Greg, and he also said that Fred did some investigation and based on that outcome, it definitely is an allowable tactic.

Like you said, the execution is exceptionally difficult, so twice in one game is a good 26-27K in total when you factor in the other enemies hit to end of stage 2, and on top of that at least a few K more. Definitely a world class score awaits whoever pulls this one off even once, let alone twice (or more) in one game.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 10:25 pm
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Hey guys, I had no idea that game had anyone's interest other than the mystery game deal. When I hit the 10k bonus shot, the ship was just coming down on the second round, and it was a one single shot for the 10k. I may be picking up an astrofighter game to play at home; if this happens, I'll have more than a day to practice on it and figure out how to get that 10k consistently(if possible). I had a blast at the tourney. I met many players that were cool, although I suck with names, Fred Pastore(sp?), Greg Bond, and the Cram gang(Jason, Shawn, Anna, Christian(sp?) and their nephew), Roy, Darrin, Steve, and about twenty others who's names escape me now. Take care everyone; hope to see you next year. Mark Boolman

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 10:49 pm
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Mark B,

Yeah, Astro Fighter is one that I remember from way back and was happy to see it as a new addition to the Funspot collection. It had gotten a lot of play last year and I am looking forward to playing more again next year and hope you'll be there too.

Oh yeah, you spelled my name correctly.

Carnival Fred

Mark Boolman
Monday, June 09, 2003 - 02:01 am
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Hey Fred, I just topped 20k w/out the 10k bonus. I've yet to see the 10k bonus appear in about 100 or so games(using mame). There aren't any difficulty settings on Astro Fighter are there? I'm going to be adding an upright and a cocktail(package deal) to my collection soon. I tried playing carvinal; I suck at it--hats off to ya. Mark

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 09, 2003 - 11:26 pm
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Mark:

Your 20K is among the highest scores I've heard of...what stage did you reach ? If I had to guess I'd say that if you played conservatively you were between 7-2 and 7-3, and if you were aggressive that as early as stage 5-4.

My best (MAME) is approx 17.7K reaching stage 6-3 w/o the 10K bonus. I believe I nailed the 950 4 of 5 times on that one.

Robert

Carnival_Fred
Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 10:57 pm
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There are difficulty settings on the game, but I think we need to check with Tg an/or Mark Longridge (for Mame) to be certain.

Let me know if want a copy of an inp file for Mame, I can send it to ya.

Mark B, don't give up on Carnival just yet. I found it seems a little harder on Mame, although I haven't played that many times on Mame. It may just be getting used to the screen and/of keyboard.

I've played a few AF lately and noticed that the first hit on the ship scores 950.

Carnival Fred

Mark Boolman
Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 02:30 am
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Yeah, I guess getting used to it's playstyle and controls, but those ducks sucker me every time. On the AF, I noticed that to get the 950 vs 300 depends on whether the first hit to actually contact the mother ship is a kill/score shot 'vs the second or later contact/non-scoring hit to the mother ship. I've still to see the 10k bonus on mame. I've been experimenting with timing the kill shot on the first shot in conjunction with being almost hit as well as timing for drop downs(still not convinced if this is a factor). I thought someone here had/has the programming break-down; must be keeping it under wraps??? Mark

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 04:40 pm
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Hi:

Just a thought to getting the $10K. After analyzing the speculation here, and playing myself, check out the following possibility.

The mother ship descends at the beginning of the last stage, and is usually over one of the columns of fighters from stage 4 of each level.

It might be important to monitor whether there's a correlation here between the two, meaning if you are in the right column in stage 4 and get several shots off, meaning rapid firing while under the last enemy so that the 2nd shot goes up and past it, then if you chose the right column that the mother ship descends from, perhaps that has something to do with the $10K...you would, if you get lucky, either get the $10K right there or at least hit it while descending, possibly necessary for the $10K shot thereafter if you miss the first one.

If this is the case, then it would make sense to next analyze the patterns of exactly where the mother ship descends from in relation to the yellow enemies in stage 4...perhaps it's descent point is predictable, either based on the wave or the pattern of the yellow enemy formation.

Just a thought.

Robert

David Nelson
Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 07:32 pm
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Hi all,

Hey Robert, I was thinking of that exact strategy to get the 10K shot. When you're playing that stage with the yellow ships (5 colums of 3 ships), you can get a shot off after you kill the last ship and that shot continues upwards on the mother-ship stage. I was thinking...what if it hits the mother-ship? Will it kill it? What will it score? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do it yet on MAME.

There is ONE other thing I've been studying, and I haven't heard it mentioned here yet. Since I'm a firm believer in sharing information on games, I'd like to open it up for discussion and see if we can all crack this case together. So here's the thing...

Has anyone noticed the little red lines that appear on your fuel bar as it depletes? I've seen them all the time when I'm playing but was having trouble noticing what caused them. So I started watching some .inps to try and figure out what they're there for and what triggers them. They seem to appear just after shooting a comet/meteor/bomb (whatever those little yellow things are)...but this theory might not be 100% accurate. I was thinking it might have something to do with counting shots, or counting hits, or counting hits on meteors only, I don't know...but my thought is that perhaps the 10K bonus is awarded if you destroy the mother-ship ON a "red-line" shot.

Also I've watched some .inps that I downloaded from MARP, and sometimes it looks like the player is intentionally trying to kill the last yellow ship, then shoot a meteor before the stage switches, and then deliver a kill-shot on the mother-ship. Could this be it?

Let's keep the discussion flowing, I'd love it if someone figures this out. If I can figure it out, you can count on me posting up here for everyone to see.

Carnival Fred
Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 10:52 pm
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Hey all,

I will start with a copy of my posting from a different thread where I went back and forth with Mark S as he had read the code........

***********************.... I know that I also have it on an inp file. The similarity is that the mother ship gets hit as it is dropping down. It then took me about 12 shots or so to get the bonus but only 3 on the inp. I originally thought that the key was to hit the mother ship as it was dropping, but I did hit that mother ship one more time as it was dropping and I'm fairly certain it was still dropping... surely a close call. That time I did not get the bonus. The only other guesses I have is the mother ship has to be hit in just the right spot, but I don't think that's it cuz I think we'd see more of them. The other guess is your location when you fire at the mother ship.

Was the first guess correct???

Then, Mark S's response was....

Nope
(and neither was the 2nd ;)

********************************

Dave, I too have noticed those red markings but don't know why yet, haven't really looked into it just yet but I will.
As you can see above, hitting the Mother ship with that bullet that is shot at very end of round 4 does not give the 10K.

Since I found an inp with the 10K, we can check your red line theory.

If I remember I will send it to you tomorrow.

Again, my memory from the Tourny was that I did hit the Mother ship as it was dropping and got the 10K 10-12 shots later. A second time, I hought I hit it as it dropped but I may be wrong as it was really close to call. I then got a 300.

On the inp, the Mother ship is hit as it drops and then the 10K is on the 3rd shot, I think.

((OT Note to Mark B ... If you get to point where you want to Give Carnival a good workout, let me know. I'll be glad to forward some tips..))

Carnival Fred

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 10:54 pm
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Hello David:

Long time !! Sorry I missed you at Funspot.

I guarantee that one of us in this thread is on the right track, or very, very close to it. Regardless, getting into levels 5 & 6 is hard, so assuming someone can pull off the 10K shot thru end of level 4, I estimate as follows based on my own skillset...

Level 1 - I've reached (maximum) 5,030 or 5,040 on my 1st man in this stage. NOT impossible, but dependant on the 950 pointer. Without it, that would be approx 4,100 pre-mother ship. My average is low-mid 3K range now pre-mother ship.

Level 2 - Typically I try to survive level 2, skipping one set of yellows due to the fuel and shot speed. I will average in the 2.5-3.0K range for the stage.

Levels 3 & up - I won't get too greedy here...especially when a good game is underway, so don't go for extra yellows, though occassionally I have no choice but to re-do a blue, purple of green stage if I messed up big time.

Averages here are minimal with a couple of comets thrown in for extra measure. About mid-2K range at most.

Thus, assuming the above for at least the 1st 4 levels AND a perfect 10K shot each, that would be...

Level 1 - 14K
Level 2 - 12.5 to 13.0K...cume = 26.5-27.0K
Level 3 - 12.5K...cume = 39.0-39.5K
Level 4 - same...cume = 51.5-52.0K

After level 4, which I rarely complete, the bullet speed is very fast...level 6 is quite fast. But regardless, even 2 10K shots just about guarantees a WR.

Will have to check your theory on the red line when time permits. Right now any theory is plausible. I still haven't bothered to determine for a fact what triggers the 950, but I haven't the time just yet.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 01:22 pm
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Hey Guys, I just got 18590 and while I was recording the input. I just sent the inp file to Mark Longridge. I still haven't seen the 10k bonus in mame first hand other than the inp file sent to me by Fred Pastore. Anyone have any updates on this? Still waiting for the machines to get here. Mark

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Game Name?

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oldespringfield
Friday, May 23, 2003 - 11:24 pm
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I remember playing a console back in the early 90's and then it went into the boardwalks. I'll describe it. You were this super hero and there was a big orange circle that you had to punch to defeat the different (boss'). The first level was to rescue a lady from a mugger in an alley. And there was a different level where you have to fight this giant crab in the ocean, and I am pretty sure there is a level where you have to fight a semi-truck and a buliding too. I really need the name of this game, please help!

Zotmeister
Saturday, May 24, 2003 - 12:17 pm
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Sonic Blast Man, from Taito. - ZM

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Scoreboard Idea

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D_Harris
Saturday, May 24, 2003 - 06:45 pm
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What about a big scoreboard on the wall at Funspot?

One that contains all of the records that were/are achieved there(along with the names of the players who established the records).

It shouldn't be difficult to make up something that has removable block letters/numbers.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Richard M.
Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 04:28 am
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Not sure why Funspot would need this. Also wonder what the cost of erecting such a scoreboard would be and if Funspot would be willing to pay for it. (Obviously these are Gary's concerns and not mine, but I can still wonder about this.)

Another concern, with anything containing removable objects as you're suggesting is the possibility of vandalism.

Is this scoreboard going to be up permanently? Or just for tournaments? And if the scoreboard is just going to be up for tournaments, why not just list the high scores in effect for that tournament itself? You seem to be in favor of an "all-time" high score list, which would make more sense if the scoreboard will be displayed permanently.

Also, this list would be a pain in the rear to maintain. Many/most of the high scores would require turning the machine over to achieve the score. Many of these machines, like Defender or Gyruss, would need to be turned over multiple times. Which means that a good player on those games would have to notify Funspot personnel before the first turn-over so that they could accurately assess the player's final score. Which is fine for tournaments, but probably not for day-to-day operations.

Great idea if Funspot is willing to accept the cost and the maintenance of the scoreboard.

-- Richard M.

Gregory S. Erway
Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 08:05 am
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Actually at one time I thought Gary mentioned an idea of having plaques made and attached to the games that records were achieved on. Of course this probably turned out to be WAY too expensive. But I still thought he was working on a variation. I also remember Gary taking pictures of all record achievers at the 2001 tournament for use on a "Wall of Fame".

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 05:55 pm
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Greg:

There might be a "marquee value" added to a game within the Funspot collection if a world record was set on the machine in question. For example, if Billy Mitchell's perfect Pacman was set on a machine still there, I have to believe that this does add to the market value of the machine in question.

Robert

D_Harris
Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 07:31 pm
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"Not sure why Funspot would need this. Also wonder what the cost of erecting such a scoreboard would be and if Funspot would be willing to pay for it. (Obviously these are Gary's concerns and not mine, but I can still wonder about this.)"

***I didn't say that "Funspot would need this". It would just be nice to be able to look up on the wall a note what world records were achieved there. And all numbers and letters can be drawn on oaktag squares, and put up on a board made of a wooden backing and wooden strips.

"Another concern, with anything containing removable objects as you're suggesting is the possibility of vandalism."

***I don't see that as something to worry about. This is the Funspot we're talking about, and not some arcade in the heart of Manhattan. :-)

"Is this scoreboard going to be up permanently? Or just for tournaments? And if the scoreboard is just going to be up for tournaments, why not just list the high scores in effect for that tournament itself? You seem to be in favor of an "all-time" high score list, which would make more sense if the scoreboard will be displayed permanently."

***The idea is for the scoreboard to be up all the time a display world record scores achieved at Funspot. This would not be just a tournament scoreboard. A tournament scoreboard would have to be much larger and too much trouble for posting up and maintaining for just four days.

"Also, this list would be a pain in the rear to maintain. Many/most of the high scores would require turning the machine over to achieve the score. Many of these machines, like Defender or Gyruss, would need to be turned over multiple times. Which means that a good player on those games would have to notify Funspot personnel before the first turn-over so that they could accurately assess the player's final score. Which is fine for tournaments, but probably not for day-to-day operations."

***None of that has anything to do with the scoreboard idea. But as far as maintaining the "Funspot Scorebaord", that is a none issue. I don't think world records are being broken at Funspot on a daily basis.

"Great idea if Funspot is willing to accept the cost and the maintenance of the scoreboard."

***There is no major cost or maintenance to worry about.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Richard M.
Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:29 am
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Darren,

Thanks for the clarification.

So this scoreboard would be a listing of all world record scores set at Funspot. This listing could expand as new records are set there, and contract as Funspot records are eclipsed in other places. It would not be sufficient to merely have the highest Funspot score on a given game; that score must be a world record.

I'm not willing to discount the possibility of vandalism completely. But with inexpensive equipment - oaktag squares on a wooden board - it may not be more than a nuisance if it occurs. But the scoreboard is enough of an investment of time that I hope that some sort of rudimentary security is in place.

Laconia may not be New York, but you can't be too careful either.

-- Richard M.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:46 am
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Hello Richard:

A more economical solution which would be less affected by vandalism would be if Gary maintained a computer file with the scores, and then periodically printed on high-quality paper what they were at the time.

Funspot could have perhaps a framed copy of this which would be replaced/updated whenever necessary, thus the actual text/document is protected by the frame, which could be a practical (i.e. low cost) model, and the only other damage, to the score paper/printout itself, is always recplaceable.

Think of it as the next best thing to having a kiosk where you type in the game at Funspot and the highest score set there pops up. That, in fact, would be a good idea in and of itself.

Robert

Richard M.
Monday, May 26, 2003 - 11:41 am
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I like the idea of the scoreboard displaying the highest score set at Funspot, with a special mention if that score is a world record.

Robert, how many frames would be used, and how many scores would be listed on a sheet of paper?

-- Richard M.

Gary
Monday, May 26, 2003 - 06:28 pm
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We've been working on this for some time now but always seem to get distracted so the project ends up on the back burner. We are going to have photos of the player, the game and a brief story about their accomplishment and start what we originally dubbed the Wall of Fame a few years back.

This past year has been very difficult for me due to a lack of other full-time managers at Funspot. I accept most of the blame myself since I was holding out for one of my part-time employees who was graduating from college this past weekend. He will start full-time next week. We have also hired back a manager who worked for us back in the 1980's so now I will have the time to get back to the projects I love the most, one of which is the Wall of Fame. Maybe I'll even have time to keep the Classically Speaking columns up to date. Heck, they're only a year old now

Gary

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Tournament Games?

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mspaeth
Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 01:12 pm
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Gary or others:

Is there any chance you guys can post the names of the games involved in the tournaments here each day after they're decided?

Might save some of us a long drive, to play games we hae no chance at winning on ;)

Thx.

Gary
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 12:45 pm
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TOURNAMENT GAMES ANNOUNCED: 12:00pm Thursday

Monochrome Challenge: Space Invaders, Lunar Lander, Depthcharge, Battlezone

Color Challenge: Spectar, Berzerk, Ghosts n' Goblins, Domino Man

Pinball Challenge: Joker Poker, Spooksville

mspaeth
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 02:40 pm
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Thanks gary...

Didn't know you guys had a lunar lander... way cool... I guess we know who's going to win on depthcharge and battlezone and spectar, but the rest may be wide open...

...and wow... those are some old and obscure pinball titles... heh... I guess all my work on TZ, ToM, BoP, WW, HS2 were off by a couple decades

Zotmeister
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 11:40 am
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As noted elsewhere on this forum, Depthcharge was the subject of quite the upset, being the year's token Lawton family showoff. Sure enough, Joel Hedge dominated Battlezone, and although I won Spectar, it wasn't as given as I'd have liked it to be: Jason Cram had 68k to my 64k for far too long, and it wasn't until late Saturday that I managed to get 75k. My hands were never so sore before in my life - I must have played at least 40 games of Spectar on Friday trying to top his score.

As for pinball, I was greatly honored by the participation of my high-school friend and former world champion Bowen Kerins. Man, it had been a decade since I'd seen him last. I'm glad he's doing well.

Okay, TZ is Twilight Zone, WW is White Water, and HS2 is High Speed 2 (but isn't that the subtitle of the game?). I give: What are ToM and BoP? - ZM

mspaeth
Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 02:48 pm
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High Speed 2 = the getaway

ToM = theatre of magic

BoP = bride of pinbot

...and actually in this case, WW = whirlwind, not
white water...

On a sad side note... no more BoP for me... appolo just sold it on ebay

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Token Request

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Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 08:53 pm
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Hello all:

Can't remember where this was originally posted, by Ron Corcoran was interested in obtaining at least a nice specimen or two of the Funspot gaming tokens for his collection or major arcade tokens.

As I will not be attending this year to obtain one for him, can someone please save Ron one or two ? Thanks !!

Robert

Richard M.
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 07:57 pm
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Robert,

I'll be happy to mail the tokens to Ron if nobody else will.

I will be in Funspot tomorrow. I was unable to make it today due to losing a tooth filling; this afternoon I was at the dentist.

-- Richard M.

RCorcoran
Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 12:40 pm
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I want to say THANK YOU! to Fred Pastore for sending me several very cool tokens.

Thanks Fred! You're AWESOME!

Ron

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 10:53 pm
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Ron,

No Problem, but I must let you know that you may be hearing from Tapper Greg Erway's attorneys as he had trademarked "Awesome".

Carnival Fred

Gregory S. Erway
Monday, June 09, 2003 - 07:10 am
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Note that "Awesome" was the fraternity nickname given to me (Alpha Chi Rho) during the 80's. I just kinda got used to putting in "AWE" for my initials on everything after that. "Mister Awesome" is Mr. Shult's (Missile Command fame) nickname I guess. However I don't wear any special outfit to tournaments like Mister Awesome does.

Ron is free to use "Awesome" in conversation. When talking about a great C-ah-nival player like yourself it is most certainly fitting.

Did Ron get one token of every year from Funspot? I believe Gary told me there were two years that Funspot didn't produce a token. I think one was either 2001 or 2002. The other was back in the 90's I think. I might have any Ron is missing.

Richard M.
Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:30 am
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Going through the 134 tokens remaining from Funspot that I have, there is nothing from either 2000 or 2001. (I do have a NH Turnpike token that somehow got in there, complete with picture of the Old Man - R.I.Ps.)

About the only year from the '90s that I am missing is 1990. I also have one undated token, which I understand to be 1980 or earlier; unfortunately that token is a little too worn to be very useful to a collector.

-- Richard M.

Anonymous
Monday, June 09, 2003 - 05:38 pm
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In some games the NH HWY tokens work as well as the Funspot tokens. Good for people who have run out of Funspot tokens and happen to have some NH HWY tokens bad for Funspot. Rumor I heard was that NH is going to do away with the tokens and go with the Speed-Pass, EZ-Pass, what ever it is called.

RCorcoran
Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 09:17 pm
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The tokens that Fred sent are great (anyone here named Great?) :D

There were two years missing, 2001 & 2002. That's cool though. I can't thank Fred enough for remembering my request and acting upon it.

Not sure about the NH HWY token thing though... Doesn't sound like a moral thing to do to the fine folks at Funspot... Just an opinion...

Richard M.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 10:25 pm
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Ron,

I share that opinion on the tokens. But then, the tolls for the New Hampshire Turnpike cost 35 cents (last time I paid the toll; usually I travel to Funspot in such a way that I avoid tolls.) The tokens at Funspot are 16 cents each on a $20 bill. Given that fact, why cheat?

But this is not the first time I've seen thruway or subway tokens in an arcade. I'm sure that I have a couple of NYC subway tokens from one of my many arcade visits. But unless the transportation tokens are stolen, wouldn't it be much cheaper to just pay for the arcade tokens?

Ron, are you quite sure that you have 2000 tokens but no 2002 tokens??? I am in the opposite situation - no 2000 tokens but plenty of 2002's.

-- Richard

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 06:55 am
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I got around 6 toll tokens mixed in with my Funspot tokens in 2002. I just used them on the way home to take them back where they belonged. I thought about using a couple of my thousands of Funspot tokens I have left over on the way home this year. But then I decided to do the right thing and use quarters. It was a $.75 toll which required 3 quarters or 3 tokens. So I would have thought the tokens would be sold for $.25 or less.

Ron,

"Great!" is ok I think!

Zotmeister
Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 09:15 am
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NH toll tokens cost 12.5 cents when bought in a roll. So do Funspot tokens, when purchased with a $50 bill. It's because they're the same price that they don't have a major shifting problem; of course, the roll is less to spend in one shot than a Grant, so some NH tokens at Funspot is bound to happen. If one token were actually cheaper than the other, though, I'm sure we'd see a LOT of people using tokens at the wrong place. - ZM

RCorcoran
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 10:53 am
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Richard:

I'll check again this evening and report back which years I do have.

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Tournament Update 5:00pm

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Gary
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 09:42 pm
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Funspot Classic Arcade Player of the Year:

A special announcement was made at 5:00pm today introducing the first Funspot Classic Arcade Player of the Year competition to be held annually during the Funspot Classic Game Tournament. Players will compete on a varied selection of color and monochrome video games as well as pinball. The winner of the contest will be crowned the Funspot Classic Arcade Player of the Year and will hold that title until they have to defend it the following year. A framed certificate will be presented to the player and they will receive special recognition in the game room for the year.

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New world record scores

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Gary
Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 01:27 am
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Here are the latest record-setting score updates from the tournament:

Burgertime: Bryan Wagner 7,960,050
Depthcharge: John Lawton 4,420
Zookeeper: Shawn Cram 21,849,650
Tapper: Greg Erway 9,100,175

Chris Long
Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 11:26 am
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What's the highest value Zookeeper jump
achieved so far? How far did Bryan get
in his Burgertime game?

-Chris Long

mspaeth
Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 06:09 pm
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What?

Nobody going for 10k shots in astro fighter after all the hoopla?

Gary
Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 08:05 pm
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Saturday 5/31/03 Update:
Today saw more exciting game play from the contestants as they demonstrated their amazing skills and tumbled existing records. Here are the new record setting scores as of 8:00pm:
Mark Boolman (Illinois): Astro Fighter 17,530
Phil Hubbard (New Hampshire): Dragon Spirit 615,950
Rob Barrett (Oregon): Tutankham 622,040
Pat Laffaye (Connecticut): Frogger 427,940 (Almost a new world record)
Shawn Cram (Maine): Donkey Kong 3, 4-man, 358,500

Gary

Gary
Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 11:36 pm
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Mark Boolman of Illinois just logged a 3,947,108 point score on Star Wars.

Gary

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 10:55 pm
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Mark,

On Astro Fighter, I was surprised (and happy) to see that it was selected as a "Game of the Day", so it got a lot of play.

I know that Mark B (and myself) both got the 10,000 bonus, but I think my final score was 16,XXX.

Many of us were awaiting your arrival so that we could buy you the required beer to reveal how to get the 10,000 point bonus, but never saw you. So, reluctantly, we had no choice but to drink it as we proudly toasted current Astro Fighter World Champion Tim M (as Mark B did not videotape his game.)

Carnival_Fred

mspaeth
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 12:05 pm
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Strangely, I was actually working in Salem NH thursday nad friday, and was helping Mike Appolo demolish his chicken coop in derry on saturday, so I was in the state for most of the tournament, just never made it up... heh.

So, did you guys actually know what to do to get the 10k, or did you just luck into it?

I've only been able to get the bonus once in mame, but I'm pretty sure I could pull out a 20k+ game if I ever did it on the real machine... It's a shame that all the games have to be recorded now, instead of just being refereed, as I might otherwise do a funspot run just to try to crank out a good game... heh.

Carnival_Fred
Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 04:06 pm
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Mark S,

I believe I speak for Mike B also when I suggest that we will reveal how we got our 10,000 bonus points on Astro Fighter for the mere fee of two beers (one each)!

Actually, I didn't see his. Mine, I can only guess as to why. I know that I also have it on an inp file. The similarity is that the mother ship gets hit as it is dropping down. It then took me about 12 shots or so to get the bonus but only 3 on the inp. I originally thought that the key was to hit the mother ship as it was dropping, but I did hit that mother ship one more time as it was dropping and I'm fairly certain it was still dropping... surely a close call. That time I did not get the bonus. The only other guesses I have is the mother ship has to be hit in just the right spot, but I don't think that's it cuz I think we'd see more of them. The other guess is your location when you fire at the mother ship.

Was the first guess correct???

Carnival Fred

mspaeth
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 11:45 am
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Nope

(and neither was the 2nd ;)

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 05:16 pm
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Fred:

Try counting the shots up to that point and see what results you come up with. There are a fixed number of enemies in each wave assuming you don't max points by repeating stage 4 prior to the mother ship. Perhaps the shot counter is significant...after all, it is for "Astro Invader" as you know so well !!

Could also have something to do with firing, or not firing, on the fireballs, but I doubt that simply avoiding fireballs is the answer.

I'd also suggest it may or may not have something to do with whether you allow any enemy ship to go below the screen....when the 10K shot was made, to your recollection, was your ship pushed upward due to prior waves ?

Another possibility could be the precise position at which your shot contacts the mother ship vertically speaking, meaning in the central area, or directly on top of a vertical line, etc.

Could have to do with whether you hit the mother ship on shot 1, 2, 3, etc, but I'd suspect that all of us have hit it at varying shot counters, so either this theory is wrong or it is correct when in conjunction with another requirement.

I've been thinking about the shot placement and count and suspect that this is what yields the 950 versus 300 value, but do not know if this practice/theory can be applied to the 10K bonus value.

Lastly, another doubtful possibility would be the fuel tank gauge, reaching the ship before it is running low.

Could be a combination of the above, but once the key is cracked I'm sure we will see 30-40K scores materialize soon thereafter.

Robert

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Great tourney!!!!

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Jenn Sweet
Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 08:00 pm
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Well, another year over with! It seemed to go real smooth this year and everyone seemed to have had a lot of fun. If any of you have any good pics you wouldn't mind sharing, I would love some copies!! I can never get enough of pictures, and I didn't have a camera this year. Thank you in advance to anyone who can send some along to me!!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this event so great. Thank you Ken and Gary for putting this all together for our enjoyment, thank you Anna for helping initiate the Player Of The Year idea, thank you to Steph who got the scoring system together to help the refs... thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this a great year.

Lots of high scores were broken, other real close (next year for sure Pat!!) Congrats to Donald, Player Of the Year!!! You deserved it! Great job Greg E, Shawn, Phil, and all the other world record breakers I can't think of right now. (It has been a long weekend I hope all of you had as much fun this year as I did!! I'll see you all next year hopefully, and those of you who couldn't make it this year, hope to see you next year, we missed you.

Jenn

Greg Bond
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 12:17 am
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Jen. I took alot of pics I'll get together with you and ken and you guys can look through what I have, your more than welcome to any ones you want.

EXCELLENT TOURNAMENT!!!! Mark Alpiger is a RIOT!! fun to watch on castles, marble (that darn trackball) and road runner.Congrats to all the new record holders. NICE JOB!!!

Adrian M
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 10:52 am
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This being the third Funspot Classic games tournament I've attended, I was quite pleased with how the event turned out this year. The one thing I definitely noticed in this year's tournament was the fact that many of the games had their difficulties turned up considerably over the previous tournaments...1942 and Bosconian immediately come to mind.

With that said, it was an enjoyable tournament and I look forward to competing next year.

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 11:23 pm
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Definitely another excellent tournament hosted by Funspot again this year! Many thanks to Gary, Ken, Jenn, Anna, and all the other referees for all the hard work putting this together. It was good to see many of the familiar faces from previous years and also the new faces of the first-time attendees.

I also want to congratulate all the new world record holders, and the other competitors for the Player of the Year, especially Dave Nelson. It went right down to the wire again, and I feel fortunate to have pulled it out. I'm sure next year will be another close contest, and I'll be proud to defend the championship!

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Thinking about next year

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Zotmeister
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 12:34 pm
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Cameron noted that we didn't "vote on what games not to play next year". So, in the interest of piquing a few interests - or at least generating a few laughs - here's a pseudoserious list of what I'd like to see played at next year's tourney:

Choplifter: I figure that of all the games Funspot had on the floor, this may be the only one NOBODY would want to see in the tournament. But when you think about it, it's the logical successor to Domino Man - it's the game where you have to choose whether to play it safe or risk it all to get a larger bonus. You may be happy to know that Ken informed me that their Choplifter machine is malfunction-prone, so that alone disqualifies it... but should it ever be repaired....

Rally-X: No other video game in history has elicited more "Oh yeah - THAT game" reactions than Rally-X. It's a great mix of reflex and forethought, it's a short game, it's difficulty is legendary, and it'll give people an incentive to compete against the Lawtons. There have only been about, what, a dozen recorded 100k+ games? Maybe we can add to the list.

Quartet: I'm still not convinced that I hold the world record for this due entirely to my skill; I believe the main factor is simply lack of opponents. Okay, so maybe I do have some skill at platformers (I thought I was terrible at Ghosts 'N Goblins until this past weekend), but I'll never know the truth until others try. Putting Quartet in the tournament knowing I'll be there would be no worse than putting Depthcharge in the tournament knowing Dave Nelson would be there.

Baby Pac-Man: Funspot had one of these once upon a time. They still may, hiding in their workshop somewhere. The real beauty of this game is economy, as it could be used in the Pinball and Classic competitions simultaneously. (Of course, it only counts as one game for Player of the Year.) Caveman also fits this niche, but I've not known the Funspot to have one of those.

Sky Shark: I think 1987 games can be considered 'classic' now, don't you? This game was one of the running gags in the early years of the Funspot tourney, and I'd love to see it make a big-time comeback. The scrolling shooter genre has yet to be represented at these tournies, and Sky Shark would be the perfect choice among them: bombs are NOT life-savers, extra lives are hard to get, your ship powers up very slowly (and loses it all on getting shot), and enemy bullets are FAST.

Paperboy: It's the most unique video game design ever. Enough said. Let's see if anyone can get the big bonus on Hard!

Whac-A-Mole: Stop laughing - I'm serious! For the Player of the Year competition only, I think the entire arcade should be represented - and that includes the redemption games. I don't think anybody would argue that Whac-A-Mole isn't a classic. Besides, moving Skee-Ball up to the tourney floor would be a nightmare. Of course, a strict mallet-only rule would need to be enforced. It doesn't need to dispense tickets during the tourney, and of course it wouldn't need to be played by anyone pursuing cash prizes (since it would only count towards Player of the Year and none of the other competitions).

Note that none of these suggestions are (strictly) pinball. That's because I don't consider myself qualified to select them. I think the inclusion of pinball was the best part of this year's tourney, and I hope to see it expanded in the future. I will make this comment: in this day and age, most ANY pinball machine, of any age, could be considered 'classic'. Saddening, perhaps, but true. We have had video games in the tourament as recent as 1986; I see no reason why pinball machines should have an even more restricted age minimum. What I'd really like to see - in all the competitions - is a range of ages, a sort of Challenge of the Eras. For example, appropriate to the Classic competition would be a late-seventies game, an early-eighties game, a mid-eighties game, and a late-eighties game. (Note that what we had this year was close, with two 1980 games, a 1983 game, and a 1986 game.) For pinball, four tables could literally result in a challenge for the decades: fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties. - ZM

mspaeth
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 04:25 pm
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I literally have a PILE of choplifter boards... every 'unknown' sega board I seem to buy turns out to be a damn choplifter...

Why not play 'new rally-x' instead of rally-x for the added spice?

...and how cal you call a pin competition a battle of the decades and stop pre-DMD?!

On a side note, I dropped a 3 billion score on bride of pinbot this weekend... heh.

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 10:11 am
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Ah! So BoP is Bride of Pinbot! I know that table. I still don't know what ToM is, though.

New Rally-X is perhaps a more fair game, but for the tournament I thnk the prestige and shortness of the original are preferable. Not to mention that the Funspot doesn't have a New Rally-X but has two Rally-Xs (one upright, one cocktail).

I can stop pre-dot-matrix-display because the Funspot runs classics tournaments. I think of Addams Family, Twilight Zone, and Jurassic Park fondly, but even I would hesitate to call them classics. To me, they still feel too new. Besides, I'm not sure Gary wants to have *five* machines in the tournies (although I heard others saying that four was just a bit too crowded). However, I'd LOVE to see something like Banzai Run in there. That's a great table. - ZM

ztm
Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 10:16 am
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Wait a minute - I think I answered my own question. It's Theater of Magic, isn't it? - ZM

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My top ten hardest (still in construction)

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Zotmeister
Monday, June 02, 2003 - 12:45 pm
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I was reminded at the tournament that I never finished my top ten hardest games list. At this point I'm not ready to present it - I haven't even really decided upon how I'm defining "hard" for the purpose of this list - but in the interest of giving people something to talk about, I'll note that Ghosts 'N Goblins will not be appearing on my list, and that two games I haven't heard mentioned here that likely will make my top ten are Targ and Bionic Commando. - ZM

Scootie
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 09:07 am
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Sorry I missed the tournament this year. Unfortunately I put in for my Vacation back in January and didn't find out until April From Shawn and Jason. (I was up visiting my family for a "long" weekend).

Anyway , I will be up in the area for 2 weeks in late June / July and I was wondering if I could officially "register " any high score that I get .I will be focusing on beating my high scores at ZooKeeper(1,273,000), Mario Bros.(135,000), Berzerk (24,390) and Dig Dug (320,400)

Thanks
Scootie

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 05:48 pm
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Hi Scootie,

I'm not sure if you are referring to registering your scores with Twin Galaxies or with Funspot. Twin Galaxies will always accept your scores with valid proof. Contact Robert Mruczek for specifics on what is needed for your games. You can find many posts from Robert on this forum that when his name is clicked you will be able to send an e-mail. Or e-mail me and I'll send you his e-mail address (to avoid posting it here where a bot can grab it and send Robert even more SPAM than he probably already gets). Lately submissions usually require continuous video tape of the whole game and game settings. I'm sure it is much more stringent for record games.

I'm not sure if Funspot is continuing their scoreboard of highest scores achieved at Funspot or not.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 11:42 pm
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Greg:

Thanks. I get anywhere from 150-200 spams a day, about 25-75 TG-related, sometimes more, and then my business messages, all of which I take care of by day's end if possible.

Walter gets close to 2,000 messages per day spam & TG combined, so I can't complain.

Robert

artz
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 12:06 am
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Come on Adam, let's see that list.

By the way, I was the one that reminded you about your top ten. You may want to include Crazy Climber in your list. Insanely difficult.

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 10:45 am
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I'm working on it - it got temporarily shelved due to other projects. I'll try to get it finished off as soon as I can. - ZM

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Jr Kill Screen Scores

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The Oil Zone
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 11:07 am
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If it was played did anyone reach 3.5 million?

Get to the kill screen, you can.

12 hours, play you must.

Eat your chubby pills for nutrition.

permafrostrick
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 02:47 pm
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There are rumors that Abner Ashman has reached this twice for Jr Pac. That's all I know though. I have no idea what score he had or if he really has reached the kill screen etc. It would be nice if one could be taped so official for the TG record books.

What score(s) did he get at Funspot this past weekend?

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 05:06 pm
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Hello all:

Darren Harris himself informed me that Abdner had previously reached the kills twice, but I do not remember if either attempt was recorded, although most likely one has been but was not yet submitted to TG for verification yet.

I am fairly sure Darren said Abdner's game was between the 3.4M and 3.7M range.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 07:28 pm
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Darren told me this last weekend that Abner does in fact have one of these games on tape. It was a kill screen game if I remember right and I believe both games ended with in 20k or so score wise. Gary didn't have a Jr. Pac-Man boardset for this last weekend so I brought one to lend him for the entire tournament. With multiple Pac-Man titles it was an easy swap in to add yet one more title to the tournament. Abner did play but only got one chance at it (Saturday) and I never saw the final result. I think I heard it was over his previous 1.5 million Funspot score but it wasn't in the 2 million area.

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Congratulations to the New World Champions

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Walter Day
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 02:28 pm
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Greetings:

On behalf of myself and the staff of Twin Galaxies, we wish to extend our congratulations to the many fine gamers who set incredible new world records and performances at Funspot this past competition.

Friendship,

Walter Day
Chief Scorekeeper of Twin Galaxies

Carnival_Fred
Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 10:30 pm
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Walter, Walter, Walter!

Your presence was surely missed at this year's Tourney and hopefully you will be there at next year's.

Hope all is well

Carnival Fred

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Thanks to Funspot

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Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 07:46 pm
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I need to publically thank a few people at Funspot for going above and beyond the call of duty to help me in my quest of breaking the Tapper marathon record.

Thank you Nancy for allowing me into the building around 8:45am when the official opening time wasn't until 10am. And for searching high and low for the correct circuit breakers to get the game on. You extra effort got me started by 9am and that gave me a much needed hour head start.

Thank you Gary Vincent and Ken Sweet who not only took the time to witness my nine one-million point rollovers, but also allowed the arcade to stay open a couple extra hours to allow me to to finish near 1am. Also thanks to Gary who nervously checked on me from time to time to make sure I didn't pass out or anything from playing so long.

There was one ref that I didn't catch the name of. He filled in for one of the million point rollovers when both Gary and Ken were not available. Thanks very much for filling in.

Thanks to Fred Pastore who took time out to film each of the times (with his camera) that I needed to swap video tapes of the game in progress. That will surely fill in any missing holes.

Thanks for the many people that succesfully dodged me as I ran through the arcade on my single 1 minute and 36 second bathroom run from the far back corner of the 3rd floor down to the second floor bathrooms. (which Fred also recorded for me. That's the game and not me actually in the bathroom )

Lastly thanks to the many players that cheered me on and actually stayed until the record was officially broken around 1am. That along with heading down to Laconia House of Pizza to finally get some food was a great show of support.

Final score was 9,100,175 and that game lasted approx. 16 hours.

Carnival_Fred
Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 10:23 pm
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Greg,

Not a problem with taping the game while you swapped tapes and did that restroom run. As you mentioned, you now have one continous 16 hour time span (with no gaps) on tape... I was glad to help out. I was getting worried for you when your points per hour seemed to be slipping and you realized you'd be going past 11 Pm, then 1130 Pm and then Midnight, etc.

I'm glad I stayed to see the final score.

Another "thank you" to Funspot for staying the extra time.

Congrats,

Carnival Fred

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Bandido...Score & Purchase Query

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Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 04, 2003 - 10:42 pm
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Hi:

A gamer contacted regarding this really ancient B&W title from either the very late 1970's or early 1980's. Two questions...

1st - does anyone know where I might find this title (real working unit) ?

2nd - the game has a point doubling feature which occurs in stage 3, then 8, and then every 8th stage, whereby your entire score up to that point doubles upon completion of the wave.

The gamer claimed a score which is beyond comprehension...4Q...but I have no knowledge of whether this title goes to 7 digits or beyond.

Does anyone know what the score capacity on this title is ? Thanks.

Robert

Derek
Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 09:20 am
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Not sure about Bandido but this brings up a topic I have been thinking about for the tournament. I loved the color , B&W and overall tournament but the B&W challenge leaves something to be desired as the variety of titles is so small. There are very few games to choose from at Funspot and I already have an inclining that next years titles will be Seawolf, Asteroids, Breakout and either Deluxe Space Invaders or Wheels. What we need are more B&W titles... Gary are there any in the warehouse that could be dusted off for next year? There are so many color titles to choose from that anyone has a chance, with only 8 or so B&W titles the winner (no offence Dave) is almost predetermined...

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 02:17 pm
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Derek:

About 2 years ago Gary showed me a vintage but non-working title that was quite popular...it was a 2-D game in which you had a motorcycle throttle controller and picked up speed as you launched the cycle over some buses. Can't remember the title at all, however. Reminded me of the days of Evel Knievel whose exploits I think inspired the title.

I wish Gary had "Death Race"...a really vintage one from 1976 by either Exidy or Gremlin. This one is so old it's not available for MAME for technical reasons I can't remember. Something about that game being a custom chip. The record would be small, like 20-30 points, but meaningful.

Another great BW he should consider getting is classic "Canyon Bomber". I play it all the time on MAME, as well as classic "Night Driver".

Lastly, there's "Bandido", sort of a combination of classic "Space Invaders" and a bit of "Outlaw" meshed together.

Those are my favourite BW titles...they are just hard to find.

Robert

artz
Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 02:21 pm
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Here's the game your talking about Robert. I believe it's called Stunt Cycle.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9854

Zotmeister
Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 04:01 pm
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4Q?! As in four quadrillion? As in 4,000,000,000,000,000? The only games I know of with 16-digit score capacities are the two Gigawing games. Four quadrillion is a disgustingly high number - even if it held eight digits, keeping track of the rollovers would be a nightmare!

Okay, I'm done. What was it that you *meant* to type? I figure if you meant 'quadrillion', you'd know to use the proper suffix, 'P'.

I've done my research, and here's the scoop: there are two versions of this game, one called "Bandido" with an Exidy copyright and one called "Sheriff" with a Nintendo copyright. My instincts tell me that the game is a Nintendo original and was licensed - or ripped off - by Exidy, if for no other reason that I can't imagine the Nintendo of the time borrowing a game from another company. Nintendo considers the game one of their own classics; in fact, it joins cameos of many other Nintendo alumni as both a microgame and minigame (the minigame being the original arcade game in its entirety, score doubling and all - albeit with different graphics for the protagonist and some cutscenes) in "WarioWare, Inc. Mega Microgame$", a Game Boy Advance title released last Monday. In utter defiance of the KLOV, Nintendo claims the game is from 1979, not 1980.

I've played it once or twice in MAME and once on the GBA - I've yet to get a seven-digit score. It's harder with buttons for rotation rather than a knob, I figure, so the arcade machine may be easier. - ZM

Chris Long
Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 06:09 pm
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You probably don't have to count the rollovers
per se - all you have to worry about is what
your score was before each doubling (this
doubling is why the claimed score is so high).
The claimed score probably corresponds to around
40 doublings.

-Chris

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 08:12 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Chris:

As you're excellent in the field in mathematics, here is the statistics as provided by the claimer of the 4 quadrillion score, as well as the analysis provided by current MAME record holder Robert Griffin.

Robert believes this is possible, but not in the timeframe the person claiming the score indicates. Here goes...

ORIGINAL CLAIM

Robert, Have you ever heard of a arcade game called Bandito. I used to play it in 1983 -84 at JJ's arcade in Rancho Cucamonga.Ca. and to my knowledge it is the highest video game score ever posted. I scored in a 7 1/2 hour period 4,774,120,903,188,530
we had two witnesses and a scorekeeper at the time and had written the time of each rollover.
the game after every 8 screens cleared will double your score. it took just under 2 minutes to clear a screen (on average) and then a short cartoon would play. I was told by the arcade owner Joe DeNery he was going to submit it to the national scoreboard in Ottumwa Iowa. I have searched your records and cannot find it. please let me know if I am just looking in the wrong place or did it not get posted.

(Also, later...)

Robert, Your total score is multiplied by two after 8 screens thus 1million becomes 2, 4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024 etc. so in 170 minutes 1 mil became 1.024 bil without adding the points that were scored each round ontop of the original mil.
I forget how many points were scored per round but it varied greatly depending the number of advancing mexicans ans buzzards.
Joe of JJ's arcade used to post each machine high score on brown plaques with removable white letters and the score barely fit on the plaque.

ROBERT GRIFFIN'S ANALYSIS

Dear Gentlemen,
Here is my take on the 4.7q claim on BANDIDO:

The men you shoot are worth:
30 pts. for an “outside perimeter” (OP) kill
60 pts. for an “inside perimeter” (IP) kill.

On the first 2 rounds, there is a possibility of hitting 8 buzzards each. If
you count the shots correctly, that is 8 x 500 pts., or 4,000 points each
round.

As the game progresses it gets faster, so fewer buzzards have a chance to
appear. Round 3, for example, only has 5 buzzards possible. By my
calculations, round 7 and up only have enough time for 3 buzzards each, and
I believe that to be generous. That is 1,500 pts. per round.

I will give the benefit of the doubt and assume he killed all the men on IP
shots up though the first 6 rounds. After that, I only believe it is
possible to get HALF the men, at best, on IP shots, the rest need to be OP
shots. They just move too quickly and shoot too much to just run around and
wait for the men to enter the IP. You need to clear some space to move. I
would have to see otherwise to believe it.

That would be a total of 8 x IP kills (8 x 60 = 480 pts.) + 8 x OP kills (8
x 30 = 240 pts.) = 720 pts. Add to that the 1,500 pts. for the buzzards, and
that gives you a maximum of 2,220 points per round. Again, I believe this to
be WAY MORE than generous, and should relieve the benefit of any doubt.

My rounds from round 7 & up equated to about 45 seconds apiece.

So, that being said, by my calculations, here is the numbers breakdown:

1. A perfect score after 3 rounds, including the 2x score is 26,760 pts.

2. The possible achievable score after 8 rounds, including the 2x score is
197,840 pts., according to the guidelines I listed previously.

3. After every 8 rounds, the possible achievable score is 17,760 pts. Add
this to the score from the previous 8 rounds, then double it. That is what I
am working with. If anybody thinks I am being anything but generous, let me
know.

4. By using this system, it would take until round 280 MINIMUM to reach a
score of 4,009,094,272,742,720 pts. So that would mean he would need to
reach the next doubling level to reach 8,018,188,545,520,960 pts., which
would be level 288 MINIMUM.

5. Assuming he did not have a “perfect” game and missed some buzzards along
the way, you could drop the 8,018,188,545,520,960 pts. down to
4,774,120,903,188,530 pts., however the levels would still have to be the
same as 4,009,094,272,742,720 pts. is the MAXIMUM points by stage 280.

6. If you divide the minimum number of stages (288) into the 7 ½ hour
playing time he claimed, that would equate to 1.56 minutes per stage or 1
min. 30 sec. per stage. That is SUBSTANTIALLY under the “just under 2
minutes per stage” that was claimed.

These are the numbers I came up with based on my own WR on Bandido. I hope
this helps.

MY OWN INFO

Chris, the game first doubles in stage 3 after completion of that stage, and then doubles in stage 8. I only reached stage 9, but Robert kept going and experienced additional doubling effects.

You are correct, the points achieved in that stage are added to your score before the doubling occurs. So, in theory, if you make 1000 points in stages 1, 2 and 3 then the final stage 3 score is 6K. If you then make 1000 points in each of stages 4 thru 8, then you should have (6K+5K)x2=22K after stage 8 doubling is over.

Let me know what you think. I am mostly concerned with the person claiming a 7 /2 hour game at 2 minutes per stage...that's what threw me for a loop. At that pace, you can only accomplish 225 stages, whereas Robert Griffin at a maintained pace of 45 seconds per stage can accomplish a lot more...I believe 600 (600x45=27K is same as 225x90=27K seconds)

Let me know what you think. I am trying to find a real Bandido for the claimer so he can do this. Personally, I'm not sure how, if a score rolls over at the 1M stage, a proper tally with the doubles getting larger and larger could be handled by the program.

Robert

Chris Long
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 03:48 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let M be the maximum per round. If you double
after stage 3, then after stage 8 and every 8
stages thereafter, the maximum total score T
after stage 8n+8 would be:

T(8n+8) = 2*(T(8n)+8*M) = 2*T(8n) + 16*m

This is a standard type of recursion which
occurs frequently in alogorithmic analysis.
We can make this recursion homogeneous by
setting U(n) = T(n)+16*m, then the above
recursion becomes:

U(8n+8) = 2*U(8n)

Then obviously

U(8n) = 2^{n-1}*U(8)

and so

T(8n)+16*m = 2^{n-1}*(T(8)+16*m)

and since T(8)=197840 we get

T(8n) = 2^{n-1}*(16*m+197840).

For 0<=k<8 finally

To determine the minimal number of stages
take m=2200 and solve

4.7*10^15 = 2^{n-1}*233040

getting n-1=34.23 and so

stages=8*n=281.85.

Thus this game took at *least* 3.5 hours.

The flaw in Robert's analysis is that this is
a *minimum* amount of time required. If
m<2200, the score will take longer.

Replace 233040 with 1 to get an upper bound;
this game took at *most* 5.5 hours.

Thus either he's scoring 0 points on most
boards (exploiting some game flaw), or he's
taking much longer than 45 seconds per board.

What's the longest time you can take per board?

-Chris Long

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 12:54 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris:

Technically, you can take as long as you wish once it's down to you and a few remaining opponents. There is no time limit...at least I never lasted more than 2-3 minutes in a stage without getting shot. I believe it's indefinite.

There is an absolute minimum that you can score per stage as well...a fixed value based on shooting only the enemies required and nothing more. I'll check tonight and find out and will post tomorrow. Thanks !!

Robert

Zotmeister
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 06:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry to be pedantic, but as it fits the theme of the thread, here's a brief refresher for the metric illiterate:

Ten to the:
third power = thousand = kilo [k]
sixth power = million = mega [M]
ninth power = (American) billion = giga [G]
twelfth power = (American) trillion = tera [T]
fifteenth power = (American) quadrillion = peta [P]
eighteenth power = (American) quintillion = exa [E]

Just as we say or write or type '10k' rather than '10t' for 'ten thousand', 'four quadrillion' is properly abbreviated '4P'. Yes, this *is* important, for two reasons:

1) Both 'quadrillion' and 'quintillion' begin with 'q';

2) The metric prefixes are universal in meaning, but the terms 'quadrillion' and 'quintillion' mean different values in different countries. In fact, the British quadrillion is 1,000,000,000 times larger than the American quadrillion! (The truly clever will note that I used digits just then because the British billion is a thousand times larger than the American billion.)

So, basically, you have to think of the guy that reads "4Q" as 4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. And that could be considered as reading it correctly, I might add. So it's 4P, not 4Q; only by using the proper suffix can all ambiguity be eliminated. Either that, or type out 4,000,000,000,000,000 every time.

And I thought Robert was pulling our collective, proverbial leg. [After all, "4Q" can be pronounced in a not-at-all-pleasant manner.] Who knew such a low-tech game would spark such an advanced mathematical discussion! I love this. - ZM

Richard M.
Saturday, June 07, 2003 - 12:22 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually, my understanding is that contemporary British usage of "billion", "trillion", "quadrillion", etc. is the same as American usage, so that one billion is 10^9, etc.

In fact, the most recent Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines a billion a "the number equivalent to the product of a thousand times a million", and then follows that by "dated, chiefly Brit., a million million."

(Although quite frankly, the "dated" usage makes better mathematical sense in my opinion.)

-- Richard M.

Chris Long
Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 03:33 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've written up this thread in LaTeX; the pdf
file is here:

http://math.rutgers.edu/~clong/bandido.pdf

I computed the smallest possible score per round,
and from this for 4.7 quadrillion in 7.5 hours
the player averaged between 86.5 and 96.5 seconds
per board (very tight bounds!).

It appears that the player is claiming 2 minutes
or so per round, but this might simply be sloppy
recall.

-Chris Long

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 04:15 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris:

Thanks...the analysis is outstanding !!

As you suggested to me earlier, the three major components are the time, score, and number of boards cleared, and I have 2/3 of the info.

I have since fowarded the gamer the link to the arcade machine for sale and do hope he gets one. I have to be honest, if he can pull this off, it will be the highest verified score on a classic arcade game...ever.

Thanks again for your interest !!

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Monday, June 09, 2003 - 11:27 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...and the "newer" metric prefixes:

21st power = (American) sextillion = zetta [Z]
24th power = (American) septillion = yotta [Y]

...and the names continue (American):

27th power = octillion
30th power = nonillion
33rd power = decillion
36th power = undecillion
39th power = duodecillion
42nd power = tredecillion
45th power = quattuordecillion
48th power = quindecillion
51st power = sexdecillion
54th power = septendecillion
57th power = octodecillion
60th power = novemdecillion
63rd power = vigintillion

...which was where I stopped memorizing them as a child, as that was where the most complete list I could find ended. Back then, the metric Z and Y didn't exist yet. Recently I've found that the numbers go at least to the 303rd power (centillion), and will have to weigh the importance of knowing them.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 12:49 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cameron:

You will be happy to know that the TG database can, once the new architecture is finalized, handle the following per Brien King...

"In the new architecture, we should be able to handle scores up to approximately:

99,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999

Well, that covers "Giga Wings" and "Bandido" for sure, but thus far no title, either pinball or arcade, has pushed these limits. In theory, "Giga Wings" could as the bonus item values seems to be exponential but I do not know if the game ever ends or if the values max out at some point.

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 12:39 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe (but cannot prove) that ALL Capcom games nine-out as opposed to roll over - I think it's company policy. I know Forgotten Worlds nines out (I've seen it done), and I'm guessing Magic Sword has been nined-out by now; I'm fairly certain I recall some gamers complaining about how Gigawing was touted as the ultimate test of skill but that it can't live up to that as it nines out at sixteen digits, which isn't enough for some players. - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Where do we send the taped games?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Boolman
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 05:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello, after taping my game for world record score on Star Wars, who and where do I send the tape to? If I tape a better game at home, do I send that one instead, or does it have to be one played at Funspot? I had a blast at Funspot; hope I can go next year. Thanks to Greg(Erway?sp) for letting me use his camera. Take care, Mark

Richard M.
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 08:15 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark,

The info you want can be found here:

http://www.twingalaxies.com/cgi-perl/submit_scores.pl

Ironically, it appears that you would send your tape to Robert Mruczek - the person whose Star Wars record you broke. :-)

-- Richard M.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 12:56 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

You can send it either to myself for verification, or referee Ron Corcoran in case you would prefer that a direct contender not watch the tape. Not a problem. And congratulations with the score !!

Robert T Mruczek
179 North 7th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11211-2905

Ron Corcoran
22008 N. 66th Lane
Glendale, AZ 85310-5707

Mark Boolman
Friday, June 06, 2003 - 08:34 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks, when I get it copied, I'll send it to you.

Mark

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, July 06, 2003 - 07:20 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

As of Saturday's mail, July 5th, the tape had not yet arrived...please confirm when it arrives, and I strongly recommend insurance !!

Wish I was there in person to see you do what you do best...next time, then.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 02:37 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I've just been super busy and haven't even had time to copy it yet. I just got through playing a quick game. I'm starting to get back the ability to use the force more often. The last few games I've played using force every wave until dead and scoring between 2.3 and 2.8million. How much time is needed for you to be able to review the tape once I send it? I also on the same tape are some earlier games of lesser score, but on one of those attempts, I had a near perfect tie-wave scoring 48/49K on wave 5 ties, before the first set of towers. I think the recall music started only 1-2seconds after letting them leave the center, coming out of the death star. I'll try to copy the tape sometime in the next week or so. Take care, Mark

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

I typically review all sub-2 hour performances within 24-48 hours of receipt (meaning from when I go home and open the mail after work)

48/49K is excellent for a tie-wave !! Keeping them in the center the whole wave is one of my favourite things to do. This becomes much harder after the 120-130M range when the speed-up occurs.

Mark Alpiger recently consulted with the real gurus of the game and provided some awesome tidbits including a possible explanation of that major speed-up I encountered. Plus they answered another age-old question I had on just how many "different/unique" levels were there. Not many at all...23-28 I think Mark was told.

PS - send taped insured, and if you have the capacity, make a copy of it first. Thanks !!

Robert

Mark Boolman
Saturday, August 02, 2003 - 11:01 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Robert, I just copied the tape and will send it off to you Monday to the above address. Thanks, Mark
PS: total game time is about 48mins.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Star Trek Settings

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D_Harris
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 01:56 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Gary and Ken.

I've been doing some research, and there may be a problem with the settings under which I was playing Star Trek.

Ken, when you put the settings on "tournament", they may not have really been on tournament. If that is the case, then Walter would not be able to accept my taped score. The only way to be sure is to open the game. The next time you are there, can you or Gary answer two important questions?(They are as follows):

1) Are the settings unchanged since the tournament?

2) If so, I assume that those 8 two-position dip switches from the top down are as follows, correct?:

(a)Left
(b)Left
(c)Right
(d)Right
(e)Left
(f)Left
(g)Left
(h)Left

If I can get the answers to those two questions, then I can figure out if the settings were correct.

Thanks a lot.

Darren

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Ken Sweet
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 04:46 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Darren,

I work again on Sunday night, so I'll make sure to crack open the cabinet and take a look.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

D_Harris
Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 01:30 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you didn't change the settings back, then I'm assuming that they are still the same.

While you are there, can you tell me exactly on which PCB in the stack those switches are located?(I think it is the 3rd PCB from the left, but I'm not sure).

If I remember correctly, the harness goes into that metal PCB box from the right.

Thanks a lot.

Darren

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

Ken Sweet
Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 06:22 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Darren,

According to the sticker inside the cabinet the settings are on tournament, and they have not been changed since the contest. However, those settings are listed as:

1- OFF
2- OFF
3 - ON
4 - ON
5 - OFF
6 - OFF
7 - OFF
8 - ON

That's what they are on. As you will notice, there is a discrepancy between your post and mine on the last switch. Not sure what this means, but it is set according to the tournament settings listed inside the game.

I didn't see your later post until now, and I can't recall which number the PCB was, so I'll check that for you later in the week.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

D_Harris
Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 03:22 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That last switch has no purpose, so that is no problem.

The 1st and 2nd switches determine at what increments the player gets bonuses. At the position they are in, the bonus is every 40,000. I know that because that is what the screen says when you put a credit in the game, and that is what I observed while playing it.

Now since I know that that is the case, the 3rd and 4th switches(which determine difficulty) would also have to be in the same positions as the 1st and 2nd in order for the game to be on "tournament". *But that is/was not the case*. They are instead "to the right", which means they are "closed" or "on". That setting is "easy" and not "tournament".

Therefore the games I videotaped are not valid.

If you want to confirm this, the following was taken from my Star Trek manual:

OPTION SELECTION

OPTION--------------------------SWITCH #1
-----------------------------------------------
--------------------------------1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

VOICE DURING ADVERTISING-----X X X X X X X X

NO VOICE DURING ADVERTISING--X X X X X X O X

PHOTON TORPEDOES:-1---------X X X X C C X X
----------------------2---------X X X X O C X X
----------------------3---------X X X X C O X X
----------------------4---------X X X X O O X X

DIFFICULTY:--------Easy--------X X C C X X X X
--------------------Medium-----X X O C X X X X
--------------------Hard--------X X C O X X X X
--------------------Tournament-X X O O X X X X

BONUS:-------------10,000 pts--C C X X X X X X
--------------------20,000 pts--O C X X X X X X
--------------------30,000 pts--C O X X X X X X
--------------------40,000 pts--O O X X X X X X

Please confirm and let me know what you find out.

Anyway, I am in search of a Star Trek machine for my collection, so I can re-establish both the "factory settings" record and the "tournament settings" record.

Does anyone have one they want to trade for a Donkey Kong? :-)

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

D_Harris
Friday, June 27, 2003 - 02:20 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any word?

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7@mail.con2.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Funspot 2003 Pictures

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gregory S. Erway
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 11:26 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was hoping we could start a thread listing websites with pictures from Funspot 2003. I would love to look through them and possibly see things I might have missed while at Funspot.

So far I have found pictures posted by Mike at www.backntime.net.

In addition I would really appreciate receiving any pictures/scans dealing with my new Tapper score. I would like to have a few high resolution pictures on hand to provide to Twin Galaxies for use in the next book or in any news releases after the score is verified by watching my tapes. I have a fairly good scanner and can scan pictures and return them to you if you don't have a scanning method of your own.

Thanks,
Greg

greg bond
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 03:55 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Greg, I have some very nice pics of you after and during your marathon game. Call me!!

artz
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 09:01 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Greg,

I have a couple of you during your marathon. One early and one a few hours later. I'll email them to you.

Greg, I'll also send you what I have.

artz
Friday, June 13, 2003 - 09:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I forgot I was writing to two Gregs. The second Greg is Greg Bond.

Gregory S. Erway
Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 07:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Art. Those are great.

Greg (Bond),

I'll give you a call sometime this weekend. Thanks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

R-TYPE SETTINGS?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark Schulz
Monday, June 16, 2003 - 10:40 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have an R-TYPE arcade game and I need to find out what the official settings should be for recording a new record. About 3 months ago I emailed Walter to find out what the settings should be but I never saw a reply. I was hoping Robert Mruczek would read this and get me headed in the right direction. Any assistance offered by anyone will be greatly appreciated though!

Regardless of whatever the settings should be, I believe I have what it takes to break the old world record listed by TG. But if the settings are what I think they should be, I see no reason why I shouldn't set a new record of 700,000+...we'll just have to wait and see though. =)

David Nelson
Monday, June 16, 2003 - 06:16 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mark,

R-Type is an awesome game, I remember playing that game at my local Pizza Hut, was like the only game they had and it was there forever. That level with the huge ship that you have to destroy piece by piece (third level?) that was cool. I never finished the game though...wonder why?

Wish I had an R-Type that's a cool machine to have. But what's up with the name...what the heck does "R-Type" mean? Good luck on breaking the record and keep me posted.

-David

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 16, 2003 - 11:04 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

Just cranked off a message to Walter, Mark, Ron and Brien and asked for clarification on this one. Mark L is the "Keeper of the Rules" for TG and ultimately makes all settings decisions so I'll await his response and post here when obtained.

Hisa Chan submitted a taping of "Super R-Type" for I assume an international game system. This guy is awesome !! He did the entire game on just 2 or 3 lives, and it is MUCH harder than classic R-Type.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 09:05 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What does R-Type mean? I should know this, but it's slipped my mind at the moment. I do know that it's in reference to the player ship - it is an 'R' class fighter ship, an R-Type - but I do not recall what 'R' stands for. I'm pretty sure I used to know, so hopefully I'll find a place I can look it up. I'll keep you informed.

I've played on a few R-Type cabinets before - that miniscule Nintendo joystick is something I'll always be split on. I really don't know if I like those things or not. Only once - and only briefly - did I ever see an R-Type 2 in an arcade. For the record, Super R-Type is, as its title implies, a Super NES/Super Famicom game; it's the console version of R-Type 2, and like most console versions of most games, it's easier than the arcade version. R-Type 2 is a challenge. The first thing someone will note when playing the home version and then the arcade version is that supershots are much harder to time properly. It goes downhill from there.

It's not officially an R-Type game to the best of my knowledge, but for the Neo Geo console/cabinet there's an homage to it called Pulstar that I'm very fond of. Pulstar has a sequel called Blazing Star, which loses much of its similarity to R-Type but is recognizable as a Pulstar follow-up, giving both games their own identity - not to mention that Blazing Star is absolutely beautiful.

Zotmeister
Monday, June 23, 2003 - 10:34 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Found it. 'R' stands for Round, the shape of the canopies of the R-Series ships. The ship in the original R-Type is the R-9; in R-Type II, it's the R-9c, or R-9 Custom. - ZM

Mark Schulz
Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:48 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert - I take it you have yet to hear back from anyone concerning the settings. Can you send me the email addresses of everyone I can contact in pursuit of obtaining the appropriate settings?

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:05 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

Certainly...my apologies for the delay. Here are the three people who can assist...

Mark Longridge is mark@cubeman.org - he is the "Keeper of the Rules" and worldwide MAME editor

Rick Carter is permafrostrick@mac.com - he works alongside Mark with the sister platform MacMAME

Ron Corcoran is mratari@earthlink.net - he is chief editor for TG and has possession of th eTwin Galaxies "grey books" (our rules) and a copy of the Guiness "blue books", and may have the info readily available.

Please feel free to advise if none of the three come thru on a timely basis, but I don't foresee such a problem. Thansk.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 12:44 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark:

Here is a quote from Mark Longridge...

Robert, I added this to tgts.txt recently...pretty straightforward

R-Type Normal 3 100,000 2nd at 200K Rtype
- 3rd extra at 350, 4th extra at 500k, 5th extra at 700k
- Allow continue: no

Okay, that is official TGTS !! Hope that helps. Sorry for the delay.

Robert

Mark Schulz
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 08:58 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is great to hear! At those settings I am able to obtain a 700,000+ score. I would like to set the record at 800,000+ though. Does anyone know the deadline for submitting video tapes in order to have my highscore included in the next edition of the record book?

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 06:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

Deadline as follows...

Sep30/03 - if you do NOT already have an entry in the TG website scoreboard for this title, then this is your deadline

Oct31/03 - if you DO already have an entry logged, then this is your deadline.

Robert

Alex Weir
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 04:49 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anybody interested in watching R-Type being completed should head over to MARP . There is a recording of a 1.1m game , although I think there was a slightly higher one which was deleted .

Either way , the game ends after two loops are completed . Some nice 'safe spots' displayed also .

Cheers ,

AL

http://marp.retrogames.com/frames.htm

Mark Schulz
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 08:25 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was not able to figure out how to view the replay. Any suggestions?

Alex Weir
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 09:23 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah ,firstly make sure you used the same version of MAME that was used to record the game , in this case Win55 . You can D/L this version beside the INP download bit ( 'get MAME' ).

Failing that , try playing with sound on/off . The score was confirmed , so it definitely playsback .

Hope that helps . If not , simply leave a message at the MARP message board , and you'll have an answer fairly sharpish .

Cheers ,

AL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lode Runner

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dennis
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 07:23 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a chance to buy a Lode Runner game. Does any player here know if this game is any good?

Gregory S. Erway
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 10:26 pm
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We played Lode Runner in the 2003 Advanced DECA contest. It was pretty cool. Our rules required the use of only 1 life. And even with that a couple players managed to max out the score at 999,990. It is very similar to the classic Apple version except for it gives you 10,000 point/level bonus for not killing an enemy and 20,000 point/level bonus for not even dropping a single enemy in a hole. Also I don't remember the Apple version giving 10k bonus for getting all the enemies "locked" into an area from which they can't escape. This game is a lot of fun. But honestly playing it on MAME is just as good as the real machine I would think. I have a space problem fitting all my arcade machines and I'm finally coming to realize that it makes a lot of sense to collect the "Absolutly must have" games of course. But besides that only get games that can't be played well on the emulators (ex: Star Wars, Defender, Crystal Castles, Centipede, etc.) do to the controls. Of course that is just my opinion.

Dennis
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 11:18 pm
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Do you know where I can find any pictures of the cabinet? The seller says it appears to be in a Track and Field cabinet but I haven't been able to locate any information that says this game was a conversion. Was it a conversion game?

Phil Younger
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 02:27 am
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There is a picture of marquee of loderunner
on klov but no cabinet picture. Might get it
because its rare. I played in 40+ arcades
and see only one. Its much more common in
Japan. Phil Y

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 08:47 am
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I share Greg's opinion. If I start building a home arcade, it would likely have more pinball machines than video games, and the video games I'd get would be the likes of Lucky and Wild, Silent Scope, and other oddball-control games. - ZM

Derek
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 02:40 pm
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I had asked about this game a few years back and the general consensus was that this game was only a conversion game. So if that's true this could come in just about any cabinet.

As a gamer that also collects games, I can attest that space is the biggest enemy, far more than money. I agree that a good majority of games can be played quite well in MAME on a PC with a Hotrod or a MAME cabinet but having a cabinet of the particular game makes it that much more enjoyable for me. A game like Solar Fox has a unique mirror and a 3D effect that can only be appreciated if you play it on a true UR, never mind the beautiful artwork that really brings me back to the period the game came out. I would like to get down to my top 25 games but I am a sucker for a cool cabinet and having a basement lit up by only the marquees and monitors is a cool gaming experience...

Derek

Scootie
Monday, July 21, 2003 - 05:23 pm
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Greg

Good point about home arcades with "limited space". however , Crystal Castles works GREAT with MAME and a gamepad. You probably tried using the mouse to play CC (ughh!!!)Try the Gamepad..you might even like it better than the arcade trackball

Games that I find the mouse ESSENTIAL FOR!!!!
1. Missle Command
2. Centipede
2. Millipede

The only game I find next to IMPOSSIBLE to play on MAME is Star Wars!!

Scootie

Gary
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 04:49 pm
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Dennis,
We have a Lode Runner in storage but it is missing the PC boards. I took a run up to storage today and from what I can tell, this is a dedicated game in a cabinet that looks like Track n' Field but is woodgrain. If it wasn't so buried behind some other games I would try to get a picture and post it here.

Gary

Barry
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 08:01 pm
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Lode Runner was a great game. If you have a chance to buy one, do it.

Barry

Scootie
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 12:19 pm
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If you people really want the true LODE RUNNER experience...download the Commodore 64 version!!!
Remember it was Lode Runner's popularity on the 64 that caused it to be ported to the arcade in the first place!! (as well as the apple/atari line of computers)

Nevertheless, I perfer the Arcade/MAME version because it's a little easier that the C-64 version(and the graphics are better too!!)

Scootie

mspaeth
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 10:30 am
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I have a lode runner pcb, (don't remember which of the 5 versions it is), but last time I checked, it had no sprites... needless to say, its a much more challenging game if you don't know where you are, where the gold is, and where
the enemies are...

maybe I'll poke at it someday... it's got a bunch of customs on it, but it's very similar to the other irems of that era (including junk like kung fu master), and i'd gladly trash something like kid niki to get some customs...

mspaeth
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 - 11:19 pm
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Woohoo!

The Kid Niki sacrifice was a success!

Lode Runner lives!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Space Invaders Scores (TG/FS)

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mspaeth
Monday, June 16, 2003 - 03:08 pm
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Just out of curiousity, are the midway and taito variants of space invaders considering to be the same game by TG? They should be almost identical, due to the licensing requirements from Taito at the time, but this isn't necessarily true for other licensed titles...

On a side note, I ended up back at my parents' place in cleveland, and flipped on my (midway) Space invaders for the first time in probably a year and a half, and on my first credit, rolled it, ending with 10250... (but of course, no videocamera was present ;)

Does Deluxe also roll at 10k? I don't remember whether Shultz rolled it last year, but I know we both came close... (neither of us rolled SI).

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 16, 2003 - 10:59 pm
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Hello Mark:

As far as I know, for this title at least, TG regards the two identical. I think the same holds true for Galaxian (Bally vs Midway) although to me they seem to have some minor differences in terms of sound (I prefer Midway myself)

Mark Longridge is a fair SI player...I'll ask him if DSI rolls.

Robert

Mark Longridge
Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 05:31 am
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My understanding is that Space Invaders Part II (Midway) and Space Invaders Deluxe (Taito) both use 5 digits for scoring, so it will display up to 99,990 before rolling over.

Gary Lee got over well over 100K on the original Space Invaders on MAME.

You can get an extra ship on Deluxe by rolling the shot counter past 255, or by shooting all the invaders without wasting a single shot.

Mark

mspaeth
Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 03:29 pm
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Sound is definitely different between the two boards, but I think the code is essentially the same (other than midway vs. taito in the title screen)

Perry
Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 01:54 am
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I recall that DSI does have 5 digit scoring as well.

What technique, if other than straight shoot-em-up, did Gary Lee use to get 100K+ on MAME SI?

Btw, TG needs to update the SI Arcade scores I think. While I'd like to claim the record (still have my eye on that one if I get some time away from work). I thought there were a few verified scores over 100K from way back. I think the record is 210K and then 2nd is 150K.

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 08:28 am
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I'm guessing it's similar to what Don Hayes taught us all at the tourney. Now I've rolled TWO arcade games. - ZM

mspaeth
Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 01:04 pm
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I heard about Hayes at the tournament from Derek Litton... I guess I need to learn the cheats/tricks for some games... heh.

I was happy to get 15k w/o saucer hunting, etc letting the invaders reach the bottom, etc...

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Donkey Kong - 900K+

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Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 03:45 pm
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Hello all:

As some of you may already know, it's official that someone cracked the 900K mark at this all-time classic.

What you may not know is that the worldwide press release just hit...even CCN.com now has the story posted in their tech section !!

Worldwide interest in the score being broken has generated unprecedented interest, and in fact crashed the TG site today once the CNN story hit.

Regardless of that, all vistors to the site also had a chance to read about the recent exploits on Mappy, Tutankham, Spy Hunter, Tapper, Gyruss, Zookeeper, and the other recent major records set, so some of the record-setters may very well be contacted by your local and/or state media outlets for interview purposes.

I am aware that the Zookeeper record recently attracted major attention in the local Maine papers, and the recent Donkey Kong story is a hit in the Washington area.

Classic gaming records broken is VERY much important news in today's pop-culture fixated society, so the next major score set will be sure to generate some serious media attention.

My honest opinion is that should anyone manage either 1M on Ms Pac or DK, that these will attract worldwide attention like never before !!

More importantly is that the interview I just did today solidifies my opinion that achievements on classic games are definitely "IN", so keep up the awesome scores, guys...the world is watching moreso than ever.

Robert

Curious
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 05:53 pm
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OK, I'll bite. Who is the someone who broke 900K?

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 06:16 pm
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Hello Curious:

A Washington-based gamer, Steve Wiebe, who also scored 1.004M on DKJr ahwile back.

I asked him if he was gonna try for a "triple crown", so to speak, and give DK3 a shot, but he's not interested at the time. I think he's instead trying for 960K+ on DK for now.

Robert

D_Harris
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 03:38 am
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Not to bust anyone's bubble, but what I am about to say will no doubt come up in the future anyway, so I might as well mention it here.

I have it on good authority that Steve Weibe has a DDK(Double Donkey Kong) game. One would have to ask him to confirm.

Now if this is the case, then this game has inside of it a Donkey Kong Jr. boardset. that has been modified with a special kit(created by Scott Brasington). Now if this is the game he gets his high scores on, then the original hardware is not being used to set the Donkey Kong records, because, quite simply, there is no original Donkey Kong hardware in his game. In fact, even the Donkey Kong jr. scores achieved using that game's PCBs would now be debatable because of the modified roms and resulting unknown effects on game play.

This of course leads into the MAME rom issues again.(But that is another story).

Nevertheless, I personally think that the accomplishment is just as valid/difficult as if done on an actual machine/hardware, but that is just my opinion.

Well, now that I've lit that fuse... :-)

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:47 pm
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Hello Darren:

Thanks for the information. I have spoken with Walter, Ron and Bill, and we are performing due diligence at this time.

Walter has authorized me to inform you that we are currently having a bonafide expert review the performance shortly, to evaluate timing and gameplay. It is quite possible that this is the canonical ROMset, to use the term that Mark favours.

In any event, we appreciate your information, and will handle accordingly. At this time, and with Walter's permission to say as much, we are performing due diligence, and will advise when our efforts are complete.

On a personal note, the timing and behaviour appeared similiar to what is expected of the canonical ROMset based on a MAME recording I had previously seen in the 600-700K range last year. But my expert will provide the most precise form of investigation, and I will share the results when done.

Robert

Rick
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:45 am
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That is a good point Darren brought up. There are separate scores for MAME since it is not an original game/cabinet so this may bring up another catagory too for hacked boards. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:51 pm
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Robert, I am in complete agreement with Darren. If this score was not achieved on an ORIGINAL UNMODIFIED boardset, the score should be scrutinized. I would take it one step further and say that it should not be counted as an official world record. There are just too many questions. This seems like a "no-brainer" so I will be VERY curious to see what the final decision is.

Does anyone have any idea if this guy got his score on an original or modified boardset? Does this mean that scores achieved on a Multi-Pac upgrade, or MultiWilliams board, or even the Tempest boards with the multiple ROMsets will be accepted.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 08:19 pm
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Hi Mike:

Like I said, we're going thru the investigative process now. By tomorrow I will have an expert start reviewing the tape itself.

As for the other issues mentioned, I'll discuss with Walter, Ron, Mark & Brien.

When more data comes in, and decisions are made, we will advise all.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 10:23 pm
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Just for the sake of putting the info out there. Check out the following link:

http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?action=url&page=prod/ddk/ddk.html

At the bottom of the page is a good description of sound differences between a regular DK board and a DK Jr. DDK board upgrade. It even has a link to listen to the differences between a few of the sounds. Seems like this can be used to verify if the sounds are correct on the DK Steve used.

I have 4 DK boards and 2 DK Jr. boards myself. I've thought about converting one Jr. to a DDK just to leave in for the ease of others to choose. But if I were to make a serious attempt at recording a score to submit to TG I would swap out the board with a regular one first. Lets hope that Steve did exactly that. Otherwise I have to agree with Darren on this one. We'll wait to hear more. Thanks Robert.

This does bring up some interesting subjects though. Take for example a part dies on a normal boardset. A replacment is found but it is not exact because the part is obsolete. The new part is equivalent but actually better. Maybe it is a chip with a faster access speed. Maybe we're talking about a clock crystal here. Whatever. I can see arguments that maybe these "fixed" boards couldn't be used!? In theory the Multi-Pac, Multi-Williams, etc. type games simply throw all the ROM images onto 1 single chip and then a table lookup is done for which game to play and the correct address is accessed to load the proper ROM image. So the game play should be exact. The other hardware is just there to support the larger ROM size to store all the games. Once the proper game is loaded then the play should be exact. It's a big can of worms this gets us into isn't it!

mspaeth
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 10:55 am
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*Snort*

"A bona-fide expert to review the performance"...
That's funny.

A well-crafted pirate romset can be devised that would easily pass the "video tape replay" test...

In any case, I can pretty well guarantee that at the uS level, timing will be different, as the interrupt service routine is different...

From the DDK webpage:

"A single PCB that plays both Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior. No special wiring or switches needed. Simply toggle between games at anytime by pressing both the player-1 and player-2 start buttons at the same time. click here for more information. "

If you can switch games at any time, then there must be code added to the interrupt service routine to check to see if both start buttons are pressed... which requires at least 3 instructions (LOAD, AND, COMPARE/JUMP), which probably adds 10 or so processor cycles to the ISR... If this code is at the end of the ISR, then there probably isn't any timing difference, since most of the game time is spent waiting for the interrupts to trigger, but if it's at the beginning, then the player has a few extra microseconds to move the controls before the code checks them

FWIW: Clay's Multipac needs no code mods (due to the idiotic addtition of a 'menu button'... Multiwilliams does have code mods to rest to menu when P1-P2 are pressed, and defender requires major code hacks to work... Multipede, multiqbert, etc are also all modified (software switch settings, menu resets, etc).

My berzerk/frenzy multigame will use the original unmodified frenzy code, but the berzerk code WILL be modified to remap the scratch ram to the same hardware location as on frenzy, but that will not affect the timing.

Rick
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 04:05 pm
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If it is true about him playing a DDK board then this boardset and its specific timings should have been verifed before the information was sent around the world proclaiming a new Donkey Kong record. How do you say you slipped up and made a mistake if it's discovered later on not to be a record?

Guest
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 08:20 pm
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"Gee, Mark, you seem to have all the answers but provide no solution. Are you volunteering to review this tape and all the hundreds of others from now on ?"

Okami
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 09:06 pm
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[Mark wrote]
(A well-crafted pirate romset can be devised that would easily pass the "video tape replay" test...)

Purely opinion, which also heavily relies upon complete speculation as to who watches the replay and their ability to judge the honesty of the playing skill and performance of the submission.

It's amazed at how people are so quick to take away or detract from a record that Steve has obviously worked very hard to get. I don't think any of you actually believe he cheated. Deep down, you KNOW he earned it, but you just want to ball and nit-pick to "burst bubbles". Weak...

I'm also disappointed the constant critical attitude some people have against Twin Galaxies. The experts there don't get paid a single red cent, yet have to devote hours a week of unappreciated hard work out of pure love for the gaming community. In fact, they actually PAY money out of their own pockets to provide such a free service. Are you willing to put that much commitment into a thankless cause and get put under a microscope while you do it? Would you like to spend just about all your free time watching countless hours of records, write reports, draft contest & rules, pay MONEY out of your own pocket, just to be criticized for your efforts? The people there do their best and don't deserve that kind of crap. You don't pay a dime for their work, so start paying up the big bucks if you want everything your way.

Walter Day
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 04:23 pm
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The only way that Twin Galaxies can keep track of the myriad permutations found in the growing gaming hobby is by receiving help from the players.

I consider this family of players a very closeknit group, one which can work together.

In this light, I thank Mark Spaeth and Darren Harris for the information they have brought to light in this message board.

If it is found that the DK record was performed on an unacceptible romset, the record will be publicly reversed. Adventures like this will always arise as long as there are areas of knowledrge that are still unfathomed.

Twin Galaxies can't know everything. In fact, the issue concerning the DDK score is the kind of problem that will surface again and again in the next few years. Its a learning experience for all of us -- TG and players-at-large.

But this is good. Its part of growth. If a player has vital information that helps us judge a record, we hope that the player submits this information.

But, Its TG's responsibility to try and act justly, using the info we are given, and then enforce the decisions that are made. And, I believe that the decisions are, hopefully, the correct ones, and that they will benefit all of us for years to come, giving an anchor to this growing hobby, establishing it as a true sport.

D_Harris
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 07:03 pm
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Has it been established with certainty what boardset was used? Hasn't anyone spoken with Steve Weibe?

I did originally think that players were now supposed to videotape the the game board/s right after the record score was acheived, buy opening up the game and zooming in on the hardware.(But perhaps I am mistaken).

Initially, I didn't realize what a big deal this score had become. Nevertheless, I don't think that publicly reversing the record is necessary, becuase it seems that all that would need to be done is to create a category for DDK-Donkey Kong.

And perhaps get a signed and notarized affidavit from the hacker that the roms are and behave exactly as the original as far as game-play is concerned. :-)

Anyway, I'm not saying that I like this idea, but T.G. has already set a precedent for tracking scores acheived on hardware that isn't the original(or doesn't have the exact duplicate parts as the original). ie: Ms.Pac-man Turbo.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Gregory S. Erway
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 08:00 pm
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Well written reply Walter. I'm glad you keep track of things going on over here as well as the regular TG forums. I agree completly with what you said. It seems more and more "Multi" type boards are coming out and it is near impossible to know everything about each possible one much less even know which exist without the help of all the gamers. There is a vast knowledge base out there and all we have to due is say something and TG will handle the matter appropriatly as soon as enough information is gathered for the situation.

Either way the score Steve put up is incredible. Whether it ends up in a new DDK category or remains where it is, he's got my respect.

Walter Day
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 10:13 pm
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You are right, Darren, Steve's accomplishment would be transferred to a new category for the DDK. His hold on the traditional DK record would be relinquished, however.

As for further embellishments on the required specs for videotape, I think we are far from the end of this puzzling problem. And, at some point, it may eventually demand game-by-game considerations.

Thank you,

Walter Day

Tommi
Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 09:16 pm
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Imho if gameplay is same, no harm done. Who knows what roms were used at some 20y old TG record anyway. If you make different categories for dk and "ddk", which is next step...different categories for all different "clonesets".

But if gameplay differs, then I think it's a matter of how much difference is there, and which way. Who knows which romset previous record was played with?

Mark Longridge
Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 09:54 pm
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" then the player has a few extra microseconds to move the controls before the code checks them "

A few extra MICROseconds, as in millionths of a
second?

Well, I'm as much a purist as anyone, but I don't
see how a few extra microseconds is going to help
any player. I bet Steve wasn't switching between
games during his record.

I agree that original hardware should be used,
but if I played a multi-game Williams machine and
it "felt" right, I'd probably say let the
record set on such a machine stand. Of course for
any serious gaming effort why beg trouble? May
as well do it on the original hardware, if
possible.

What? You said you played Joust with a blue
stick instead of the original yellow??

DISQUALIFIED!

;-)

mspaeth
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 01:51 pm
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"Guest" is a moron...

I'm not dissing the 'experts', I'm just saying that a video tape is not definitive proof that a score was attained legitimately....

Simple case and point... breakout...
With about 5 minutes of work, I could modify a breakout boardset to eliminate the control pot as an input, and instead tie the output of the ball location circuit to the pot output... the paddle would track the ball perfectly, so I'd never lose the ball, and get a 'perfect' score on 1 ball.

With a video tape of the screen, how can anyone tell I modified the board like that?

Think the paddle movement is too smooth? That's OK, I can add a little more circuitry some randomness to it, and just make sure it's in the right spot when it needs to be...

How about the records for the B&W driving games like wheels, wheels 2, sprint 2, lemans, etc? The game time is determined by the R-C time constant of a pot on the PCB... maybe one day the game's hotter inside, so the resistance goes up and the actual game time changes, even on the same machine... Does the temperature invalidate a score?

My point is, all this anal verifcation of scores by videotape (gee, we can't trust funspot to have games set on TGTS and not lie to gain all the plublicity associated with new scores now?!) seems pretty ridiculous when it's so easy to circumvent.

In the case of donkey kong, after watching Billy Mitchell play, apparently one large determining factor of performance is how often kong throws erratic barrels (IIRC, he though the machine at funspot did this too frequently, too often). How can videotape prove that a seemingly random (but essentially deterministic) component of the game like erratic barrels hasn't been modified to make game play easier?

I just think everyone's taking game scores way too seriously

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 08:32 pm
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Mark:

No one doubts your capabilities of programming a game to effectively and convincingly play itself. Convincing "bot" programs can be made for almost every game situation, if not all.

The spirit of what game verification is all about is not about who can pull the wool over the verifier's eyes...it has been and always will be about good-natured competetiveness, plain and simple.

People originally played games for their own amusement. Eventually, and you all know the history, people found great personal saitsfaction in seeing how well their best efforts compared to others in the field of gaming. Someone noticed that, and devoted some time to pursuing this. Plain and simple.

Mark, I don't think it's fair to say that every gamer "takes things too seriously". Some do, some don't, and some simply enjoy being part of it or reading about it. Personal choices, that's all.

As for the "due diligence" process for the main issue at hand, here's what I can tell you for now...

1st - The game designer has been contacted, and his opinions have been received and are on record with Twin Galaxies. Many technical specfications will soon be available for evaluation.

2nd - The videotape has been watched by two experts now. All I can say is that there are no two better people suited to watching the performance than the two selected. I noticed you being very dismissive of the term "expert", even going so far as to misquote me and categorize him as a "bona-fide" expert. That subtlety aside, I doubt you will challenge this expert's findings.

On a personal note, within this thread, I have seen calls for checking the timing of a tape, checking for a pirated or well-crafted Romset, having "extra microseconds" of time, and even requesting a signed affadavit by a designer, while simultaneously downplaying a request to capture settings on videotape for purposes of basic due diligence.

Tell me...who is now taking gaming a little too seriously here ?

I have to publicly state the following for the record. At the time that the tape was watched, and the story was written, I did not know that a "Double Donkey Kong" conversion kit even existed. My colleague Ron Corcoran was unaware of it. Walter Day was unaware if it.

Reasonable common sense was exercised during the verification process. I had personally contacted the gamer at the time of the verification. No deception was evident. If you believe that this was not serious enough of an effort, then why end your last post that gamers are taking high scores way to seriously ? That's hypocritical.

A good-faith service and recap was the result of the score verification. Had Darren not known that a "DDK" unit was in useage, I seriously doubt anyone else would have noticed, especially since I know for a fact that slightly higher has already been unofficially accomplished, tape receipt pending.

I respect Walter too much and will not say any more negative than I have already stated above. However, I have to consider why, for the recent eleven world record arcade stories that TG posted, that more less-than-positive comments are resulting from this DDK issue than all the positive comments for all the other score reports combined.

Robert

Okami
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 08:00 am
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It's because you have all these player-haters, who've got nothing better to do than to stamp their feet and look for any excuse to belittle the accomplishment. Like I said before, I seriously doubt any of these jerks actually believe Steve cheated. They KNOW they earned it, but as long as they can convince themselves their point is worthwhile, they will keep on player-hating.

As far as I concerned Robert, you needn't give these stooges another minute of your time. No matter what you do, no matter how much of your free time you put into dealing with their crap, they will NEVER let up until you DQ Steve. That's all they want and for the simple reason of player-hating. Oh sure, they can talk about such noble causes as "timing issues", but deep down its all about disrespect. It's sad really. I expected better of the older players, but they are showing themselves to royally suck as human beings.

Guest
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 10:13 am
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Hey Mark -

Kiss my rear jerko.

Take your moron comment and ram it.

D_Harris
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 02:05 pm
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I'm going to attempt to bring this thread back to a level of maturity.

Walter has always asked for help and opinions from the players in the areas of score verification and gameplay rules. He never shut the door on player input.

And since it is always in Twin Galaxies best interest to be consistent and have workable standards, many issues have to be addressed. This is always a work in progress and Walter has asked for help from all of us.

Greg, Tommy, Mark L. and I have already stated our respect for Steve's score, even if it was found to be accomplished on a DDK game, and no one has expressed any problem with a separate DDK category.

Mark S. and I are not the best of friends, but what he said was fact, and his points were on target. The only disagreement I have is that I believe that differences can be determined simply by watching a tape of a DK game versus and DDK-DK game. But only because of what Greg mentioned as far as audio differences between the two.

Rick's concern about having to retract a major score like Donkey Kong is shared by the rest of us. And it is a legitimate issue.

And Mike's note of how this would affect scores gotten on the various Multi-games is also very important because many of us have these kits.(And the last thing we need are a bunch of complaints in the future about record scores achieved on unoriginal hardware).

Accepting DDK-DK as a legitimate DK score would open the floodgates.(ie: My friend Abdner would now only have to come over to my house to break the Robotron record on my Multi-Williams game. Then there would be no way to convince everyone that the gameplay was exactly like it would be on the original game).

Nevertheless, no one here is attacking Twin Galaxies, or arbitrarily targeting Steve's score. Most in this thread have supported T.G. long before certain others knew of it's existance. We are attempting to resolve an important issue, so it'll serve as a example, and help lay down guidelines for the future when this issue will eventually come up again.

BTW, no one was "downplaying a request to capture settings on videotape for purposes of basic due diligence." But I thought that I heard(or read) somewhere that that was going to be a rule, at least for certain games.

And I don't know what is meant by the "less-than-positive comments" resulting from this DDK issue, but no one has come across any verification problems with any of the other recent records that I am aware of.(Again, this is just an important issue that needs to be addressed in an effort to keep the playing field level).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 04:41 pm
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Hello Darren:

Points well taken. Here's what I know thus far...full details to come.

TECHNICAL - Brien King, one of my fellow TG Board of Director members, was a beta-tester on the DDK project. He has been in contact with a gentlemen named Scott Brasington, whom you might already be familiar with, regarding the technical aspects of the DDK project.

I want to first make absolutely sure that I am clear with Brien as to what I can/cannot quote from the information received thus far before I post anything, but so far I do have record of his professional opinion on the unit.

VERIFICATION - You probably guessed who is disceminating the tape right now...the only person capable of catching any peculiarity, and the only person who could not possibly benefit from watching the tape. That being said, when I have both aspects of the due diligence performed, we will release all information and the final decision on how things will be handled.

Rather than jump the gun and indicate which ways things are leaning, all I'll ask is to please be patient as the 2-part investigation takes place. Thansk.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 05:17 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ach...wrong word...meant "dissecting", not "disceminating" !!

Anyway, word on the full review to come, then will inform all. Thanks.

Robert

Rick
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 06:29 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darren,
You are correct. Having to retract a score is not a good thing and causes skepticism when future scores are announced as people will question it as a genuine "record" or another retraction waiting to happen.

I have nothing against Twin Galaxies and I am not a player-hater as Okami calls them. Facts are facts. The entire thing boils down to this... Is DDK the same game as Donkey Kong? It's quite simple. It would have been nice if Steve, the player, had mentioned beforehand he did not have an original DK machine.

Surely no one here wishes to have the score disqualified, they only want to know if this is a true DK record or a new DDK record and nothing more. Some people seem to be reading more into this than there is.

Barry
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:58 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whoa, what happened here? I was reading some cool messages on fantasy game collections and world records and then WHAM, this comes up. Why does this not surprise me.

Richard M.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 10:46 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Were it not for Mark's unwise comment about "Guest" being a moron, and for Guest's very immature reaction to this, it appears that this thread would have been kept at a reasonably mature level.

Before posting something very negative, may I suggest that you look at what you are writing and ask yourself, "Is this posting really necessary?"

I'd like to hear of Steve Wiebe playing an actual Donkey Kong machine. If, as others have said on this thread, there is little or no differences between the DDK machine and the original DK, then he should be able to break 900K on the original and silence all critics. :-)

-- Richard M.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Gamers Documentary Project

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary
Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 12:20 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I received a message from Mark Wolfe in regards to a documentary he is doing and thought I'd pass this along:

We are planning to stop by Funspot for the entire day on June 22nd, 2003 and we
are coordinating our efforts to bring a bunch of people out who are
viewers of the Comcast Cable station "G4", which is a digital cable
station that is entirely devoted to video games.

I am a G4 forum moderator and work on line side by side with the
producers and hosts of various G4 programs, most notably "Judgment Day"
with hosts Tommy Tallarico and Victor Lucas.

My idea of making a documentary about video gamers sprung from a classic
gaming event that took place locally to me called The Philly Classic
Convention, in which we were able to bring out over 35 G4 viewers [and
G4 cameras] to take part in the convention and our documentary. Some of
the footage has even aired on G4 and our hope is that the finished film
will be aired on the channel as well as be shown at various independent
film events and viewing.

In addition to filming at Philly Classic, we have since been to E3 in LA
where we conducted many interviews with notable folks in the industry as
well as having traveled to arcades all over the country.

you can find out more information about the project and it's roots at
the following web site:

http://level1.liveatthespace.com

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 04:53 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds pretty cool. Too bad they couldn't have made it out during the 2003 tournament.

Rastan
Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 05:05 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It would have been cool for them to be there at tournament time. How did it go anyway? Mark is a good guy to talk to.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Player submissions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary
Friday, June 20, 2003 - 07:26 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we work on the 2003 Funspot Classic Tournament Commemorative Program, Ken thought it would be nice to have some input from the players. It would have been great to be able to sit down and talk with each and every one of you, but logistically that would have been impossible. If you would like to add some of your thoughts or tell us some of your stories, feel free to e-mail them to us here at Funspot.

Thanks,
Ken & Gary

Gary
Friday, June 20, 2003 - 09:41 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We'll need to have these submissions by June 30, 2003.

Gary

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Current Hi Scores for Mario Bros. , Berzerk & Dig Dug

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Scootie
Monday, June 23, 2003 - 01:04 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, Sorry I missed the tournament ...Will DEFINATELY PLAN TO BE THERE NEXT YEAR!

I will be coming up for a week in Late June/July and in addition to having a chance to knock Shawn's 21,000,000 + at Zookeeper, I am going to try for some records at Mario Bros. Berzerk and Dig Dug

What are the OFFICIAL HI SCORES for the above mentioned games?

Scootie....

Chris Long
Monday, June 23, 2003 - 02:31 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dig Dug is 4.2 million by Dwayne Richard (totally
legit, I watched the tape).

Berzerk depends on fast or slow bullets, but
something like 200K/130K (Ayra/Bailey?).

Mario Brothers record I think is held by Perry
Rodgers (3.5M).

-Chris

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 23, 2003 - 07:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris:

Although Chris Ayra has the official Berzerk record at approx 223-224K or so, his personal best as witnessed (but not taped) by Bill Mitchell and Steve Krogman I believe is in the low 300K range. However, I do not know if that was slow or fast bullets.

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Berzerk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie
Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 12:03 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the info guys- looks like I got some SEROIUS practicing to do on MAME before heading up to NH tomorrow. Just wanted to know ..Are the bullets on Funspot's Berzerk FAST or SLOW?

Donald Hayes
Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 10:15 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funspot's Berzerk is slow bullets.

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 11:53 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darn it. It happened again. I posted a message earlier today to say "Slow" bullets and I guess I just hit the Preview button and forgot to hit the button again! Anyone else find themselves losing posts like this all the time?

Phil Younger
Friday, June 27, 2003 - 05:17 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good luck on your quest for high
score on Berzerk. The record in TG's
database is 119,340 slow bullets by
Joel West in 1982. I missed Funspot
too. I'll try to get their later this
year and take a crack at it myself.

Donald Hayes
Friday, June 27, 2003 - 10:04 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The TG book lists the high for slow bullets as 178,500 by Ron Bailey in 1982. The book doesn't even list Joel's score.

I had 123K during the tournament and am also hoping to improve on that in the near future.

Phil Younger
Friday, June 27, 2003 - 02:53 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was looking at the TG's electronic
database and not the book of which I
don't have a copy yet. Your score of 123k
is very impressive and someday I hope to
go to Funspot and see if I can break 180k.
This slow bullet arcade version is very
rare. Later Phil Y

Donald Hayes
Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 01:49 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, there seems to be a number of differences between the printed book and the online scores. I understand that some scores have been removed for various reasons and that others are just apparently "lost".

Thanks for the compliment about my score. I just wish I could also figure out the fast bullet game like you have :-)

If you do plan to head up here to NH to visit Funspot, definitely let us know!!

Phil Younger
Monday, June 30, 2003 - 02:04 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Look at my inp. at Marp at normal speed.
You can set some patterns on berzerk but
only when the game is first turned on which
it loads a fixed set of mazes. This only
works on your first man after he goes the
2-5 humanoids? are put in vast pool of ramdom
mazes. Each next game is all ramdomize even
the first man. My patten on Marp is complex
but you can make your own patterns. It takes
a long time to bulit a big pattern.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 30, 2003 - 04:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all:

I discussed the "Berzerk" scores with Ron Corcoran last evening. Not sure why Chris Ayra's was never input (the 200K-range score), but the others are now being checked out. Between Sep01-Nov30 all comparatives between "1st Book" and "2nd Book" will be made, to avoid further problems.

Robert

Howard J.
Monday, June 30, 2003 - 04:59 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When is the release date for the 2nd book?

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 30, 2003 - 06:37 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Howard J:

Walter, Ron and I spoke on this several times this year. These are the dates we are committing our resources to.

Sep 30th (The "Soft Cutoff") - by this time, 1st-time submissions by a player/title/track MUST be received.

What does that mean ? - Simply, "Player A", if they intend to submit a score on arcade "Robotron" at TGTS, and have not submitted a score on it by 9/30, cannot submit a score for book inclusion afterwards.

Oct 31st (The "Hard Cutoff") - by this time TG will be heavily into the mapping of the layout and the sizing/structure of each chapter while adhering to the publisher's requirements. Thus, during this time, the ONLY submissions that will make it to the book are those in which a previous submission has been beaten.

What does that mean ? - Let's take a well known recebt score, the 21M on "Zookeeper" by Shawn Cram. As this score is already registered and logged, it will already have a reserved space in the Book as far as formatting goes. Thus, if Shawn happens to break the 21M score at some point within October 2003, his new score CAN make it into the book as it will have no impact on resizing or layout issues...we will simply overwrite the amended data.

Nov01-Dec14 - during this period the TG staff and contributors will be combing the book for integrity, accuracy, ensuring that every score that has been verified makes it in, and taking care of long-standing errors (such as why Chris Ayra's "Berzerk" score has yet to make it into the database)

We will also be drafting the various articles, recaps, and final policies. And at some point the book goes to the publisher.

Dec 15th - if all goes well, and if everyone does their assigned tasks, this is the realistic release date that we are hoping for.

Afterwards, I spoke with Ron and others, and an annual release may not always be do-able, but we certainly can expect a once/2 year release, or even 18 months, once our recent project is completed.

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Now Check Out The 2003 Scores! Upadated June 25, 2003!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gregory S. Erway
Friday, June 27, 2003 - 07:32 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary,

I noticed the following message on the http://www.funspotnh.com/cg-cgcentral1.htm page:

Now Check Out The 2003 Scores! Upadated June 25, 2003!

But it still looks like it links to the 2002 scores. Just thought I would mention this in case it wasn't realized and you really thought you had the upadated results online already.

Gary
Friday, June 27, 2003 - 08:26 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I told our webmaster on Wednesday that it was incorrect. I believe he is fixing the problem.

Gary

Richard M.
Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 12:05 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just checked it out now. The site had the 2002 Color tournament placed correctly, but seems to have the 2003 Monochrome results where the 2002 Mono results should be. So I don't see the 2002 Monochrome results, the 2003 Color results, or the general high scores anywhere.

So there is still more work to be done.

-- Richard

Anonymous
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 01:08 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How long can it really take to put scores from 2003 tournament to a web page, sorry to say but...pathetic.

Someone must really be having a holiday there.

Gary
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 04:20 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The explanation is really quite simple. The computer we used for the tournament developed a problem with the hard drive. During the tournament when I transfered the data to a floppy for safe keeping, the file did not copy correctly so the disc I made is useless. I discovered this when we tried to use it last week.

When our webmaster stopped in to collect the data for the site, he grabbed the wrong files as we all know. When he went back the following week to get the correct ones, the computer would not boot. Rather than retype all of the scores by hand I have been waiting for the repair shop to see if they could salvage the data. I just found out today the hard drive is shot and the data is gone so we will be entering the scores again by hand from the paper sheets we originally wrote them on at the tournament. Sorry for the delay and they will be up as soon as time permits.

Gary

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 05:53 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry to hear that Gary. Wow what a lot of work that needs to be duplicated. Thanks for the dedication to doing it though.

I assume this will push back the CD thing a bit. Any idea on a new time frame for that? I have not noticed any new interviews being posted at www.backntime.net yet. Was Mike going to do an exclusive thing for the CD with those interviews? Just curious.

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg:

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth. A lot has been happening over the last few weeks. My wife & I sold our house, and we have been in the process of moving to Pennsylvania. I have just not had the time I would like to edit/post the webcast yet. I have not forgotten about it, and it will be up as soon as we can get settled.

The CD will have the regular webcast, and the "lost episode" that you & Fred recorded. The "lost episode" will be an exclusive to the CD.

Oh, BTW, I will e-mail that photo you requested as soon as I can. I know you asked me for it a few weeks ago, and I just haven't had the time to sort through everything for it.

Mike Stulir

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 10:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Mike,

I was just curious. We never really heard at the tournament if those recordings were ONLY for the CD or if they might show up in both places. Good move putting the "Lost Episode" only on the CD. I bet that will sell a hundred times more copies. Nobody can miss out on the chance to hear my C-ah-nival friend interview someone.

Carnival_Fred
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 08:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mike & WC Greg,

Boy, oh, boy.....

Well, first a special "thank you" to Mike for allowing us to waste some of his hard disk space!

Given my "bloopers" and sub-par (at best!) interviewing skills, I have a funny feeling that many will feel that the "lost episode" should have remained that way!
I think maybe there should be some sort of warning on it like one of those "Parental Advisory" labels!

Hmmmm...... cd exclusive..... I think I figured out why... Maybe Mike didn't want to waste the bandwidth on it!

On a more serious note, "Thanks" Mike for allowing us to mess around a bit and be serious for a bit, too. I also enjoyed the cd you gave me, btw. Keep up the good work.

Enough of the serious stuff.....

Carnival "Larry King wannabe" Fred

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Spy Hunter - Patterns

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 02, 2003 - 01:48 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all:

Just curious...has anyone here noticed or mapped out the patterns to the game ? Surprisingly, they do exist, including some really cool tidbits such as the locations of parked "Enforcers" and such. Just watched a killer score and noticed a few things after awhile. Of course watching this game is 10x easier than playing itm at least.

Robert

Bob C
Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 10:40 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, there's one thing that can be helpful, and I meant to check out the specifics at home last night but didn't have time. So I can explain it generally but the details might not be exactly right. Before you come up on a weapons van, the road will split, with a median in the middle. If you pay attention to which side of the road you choose to drive on, you'll notice that there's a pattern to which weapons you get from the van. I believe that if you start the game and keep staying on the right side of the divider, it will be oil, smoke, and then missiles. On the left side, that sequence is staggered by one weapon - meaning the order is the same (oil, smoke, then missiles), but I believe the starting weapon on the left side is smoke. So, if you pay attention, you can somewhat control which weapon you're going to get.

Another thing that may help is that you get more points for being on the water. The scoring depends on how the switch settings are configured, but the water always gives you more points than the road. The points for driving in Spy Hunter are figured based on X number of points per screens driven, and that figure is higher when you're in the water. I usually try to get in the water and stay there until my special weapons run out. Just watch out for that island in the middle...

Some other hints that may help...these are fairly obvious if you've played a lot, but every little bit helps: when you've got to slow down real quickly because something is in front of you or harassing you from the side, use the smoke screen and then put the car back into low gear. Slowing down quickly often gets you killed in this game, because you get rear-ended from another fast-moving car. The smoke screen will prevent this because as soon as you turn it on you won't get any cars coming from behind you. Another thing....when you are at the beginning of the game and the timer is on, you need to get 18,000 points to get two bonus cars; otherwise you'll only get one bonus car when the timer gets down to zero. To give yourself some extra points, get in the weapons van over to the left side of the screen. It'll take a few seconds for the van to drive over to the right side to let you out, and during that time the timer pauses, but you're still racking up points.
And my last hint is rarely useful but can get you out of a tight spot sometimes: if you're being harassed by a switchblade car, you can bump another car or the weapons van into the switchblade car, and take out the blades on that side. You're then free to bump that car off the road without fear of the blades.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 03, 2003 - 02:36 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Bob C:

Thanks for the cool tips. I didn't know the last one at all !!

I'll pass them all onto the the gamer who is striving to be the first recognized 1M player...right now he's at 832K, I think.

The water info was particularly interesting as the gamer in question plays ultra-cautious on the water, typically making more points on the road and averaging perhaps 9K per water sequence.

Thanks again !!

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Berzerk Update !

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie
Wednesday, July 09, 2003 - 08:19 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Had a GREAT time last week at Funspot!!!! Almost wish that it was the dead of winter so I would'nt get distracted with all the great Summertime activities in the Lakes Region. Anyways - I did spend most my nights at Funspot!!! Although I did not break any world records, I set quite a few personal records on half a dozen games.....

1. Dig-Dug (427,800)Did NOT get my name up which kind of upset me a little (The high, by the way, was 984,000 - probably from this year's tournament)
2. Mario Bros. (247,300)- Made it to level 27
3. Berzerk (36,130)- Funspot's is the "Slow Bullet" version . I noticed that after reaching 5000 Evil Otto Moves faster than you if no robots are left - you need to leave at least one, and preferably two robots in order to outrun him, this gets even more difficult over 10,000 where you MUST leave at least two robots alive unless you are close to an exit -then either shoot the last two robots or guide Evil Otto into them
4. Crazy Climber - (436,050-8th Buliding) This is a game I was very much into back in 1981,1982. I played in a mega arcade in Flushing, Queens NYC called Gameland (closed/demolished 1995 (sobs))Back then I had made it to the 15th building and had tuned it over.
5. Zookeeper - (1,824,50)This is a game my brother Eric was/is very much into.Around the same time when I was going through my crazy climber phase, Eric was regularly getting scores of 5,000,000 + on Zookeeper
6. Space Invaders - (12,030) not very impressive , but I always felt this was a difficult game!!

I'll probably be back for one more long weekend this summer. I look forward to cracking 3 million on Zookeeper or at least getting a 2 million jump!!(My best so far is a 1,000,000 jump - witnessed by the two masters themselves!!(Shawn and Jason back over the winter)). Anyway it's back to MAME for my Classic gaming "fix"

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 07:07 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Scootie:

Your "Crazy Climber" time is outstanding !! You should consider taping your game...Shawn and Jason can fill you in.

Just curious, when the game rolls, does it award you a 2nd extra man ? Most likely not.

Awesome scores !!

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Name These Games - The "What's Wrong With Adam" Edition

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 05:41 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I've racked my brain recently trying to remember the titles to these (and I'm usually the guy giving the answers!):

1) I distinctly remember that the protagonist's weapon is a harpoon gun. I'm pretty sure it's an action platformer, like a Rolling Thunder, but the play control and animation are closer to Atari's Batman - kinda whacked. I seem to recall that the protagonist looks like a surfer dude, or at least has scraggly blond hair. I have a faint idea that he has to rescue many captive women throughout the game, and that the final boss appears as a lady that mutates into some vile creature. I don't recall the company that produced it, but I figure I was playing the game at some point between 1982 and 1992 (yeah, I know, not much help there).

2) This one is particularly disturbing for me to forget, and particularly annoying to not be able to dig up, since it's a Capcom game! I distinctly remember this Rolling Thunder clone that had much plainer graphics, and its most unique feature is that the protagonist - who looks like a soldier in military uniform - had three hitpoints, and that like in Rolling Thunder, running into an enemy cost you one... but getting shot cost you only two, so one bullet would not outright kill him; it took dynamite to finish him off in one shot. I distinctly remember Capcom's name in or on the game. And no, it's not Code Name: Viper (unless the NES version of Code Name: Viper looked nothing like the arcade edition).

I've helped many of you out there with questions like this. Please, someone help me before I lose my sanity! - ZM (Adam R. Wood)

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:12 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I GOT ONE!

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=T&game_id=10106

Its similarities to Atari's Batman should have been my first hint. Incidentally, I found it the hard way - by searching through the MAME screenshot collection until I had an 'AHA!' reaction.

Now if I can just remember the other game. It may have been two-player simultaneous... - ZM

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:17 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YES!!!!

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=R&game_id=9370

I seemed to recall that the game's initials are RR, and I found it in the KLOV from that. Sure enough, it is two-player simultaneous, and it DOES have Capcom on the marquee.

And I thought I was going insane. I am pleased to report that Adam is feeling much better and much saner now. - ZM

Cameron Feltner
Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 10:47 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first description doesn't sound familiar to me, but the second one reminds me of:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=R&game_id=9382

Rush'n Attack, Konami 1985

(Cold war pun intended, no doubt)

Zotmeister
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 09:03 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rush'n Attack (or Green Beret if you're European) is a great game. It's a much better game than Rough Ranger, that's bloody certain. I never said it was a GOOD game I was trying to remember. MAME seems to run this game too fast - I remember it having a much slower pace, but then again my memory of the game obviously had at least one hole in it, so this could be another.

ThunderJaws isn't so bad, though. I forgot how tricky this one can get. I love how the protagonist shyly lowers his head when being kissed and embraced by those he rescues, as if to say "Oh... yes... well, thank you, but I'm trying to save the world right now - oh, shucks." I didn't remember that part.

I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone who was still trying to guess (that's why I had posted the links without naming the games). - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Time Pilot records?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan White
Friday, July 11, 2003 - 07:36 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's happening, gang?

Big fan of Time Pilot here and I'm wondering about world records. I've checked the records at Twin Galaxies and the Time Pilot records seem either really low or so high that they seem a little too good to be true. Most of the low end scores reported at TG I can achieve without even trying.

I'm wondering if there's any kind of scene for Time Pilot at Funspot since I'm within an hour of Funspot and think it might be a good time to shoot up that way and then try my hand at world-class gaming.

Is there even a Time Pilot machine up there?

Zotmeister
Friday, July 11, 2003 - 12:11 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, they have a Time Pilot. - ZM

Perry
Friday, July 11, 2003 - 10:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Peters was able to marathon Time Pilot, so I believe his 15M score. I witnessed his 5M+ score at the Guinness Book contest in 1984.

Good luck at Funspot.

Dennis
Friday, July 11, 2003 - 10:46 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guinness used to sponsor video game contests? Why did they stop?

Mark Boolman
Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 01:41 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
they said there were too many variables such as settings, etc... to be able to be consistent and accurate and that cheating was too easy. I believe 1985/6 was the last year record scores were included in guinness.

Dennis
Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 08:35 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks. The chance for cheating is far too great and to them, it must be harder to track than the person who stuffs the most marshmallows into their mouth.

Gregory S. Erway
Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 09:38 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think TG just recently announced TGTS for Time Pilot that allows hunting (if you can manage to live on difficulty #8 I think). Some of you TP fans may want to look into this more. Looks like there is a new setting to begin all future play on!

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 11:37 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all:

Greg is correct. The new TGTS is pretty tough...difficulty setting is "8" (hardest), first extra at 20K, additionals at 60K, and three (3) ships to start.

Parachute hunting IS ALLOWED on this title...we have debated this one extensively for nearly six months now and this is the setting and consideration that was agreed upon by the TG Board of Referees.

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 08:51 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three words: ABOUT BLOODY TIME. I have always been of the mindset that if a game has a loophole, and it can't be circumvented, then the game isn't competitively viable and that's that; if a game has a loophole that *can* be circumvented, then it should be, rather than declaring a rule by fiat against playing a certain way.

Incidentally, I have Konami Arcade Classics for the PlayStation, and the first thing I did when I got the game was enter the options screen and maximize the difficulty on all the games - so I've been playing Time Pilot that way. (It numbers the difficulty levels from zero to seven, curiously enough.) Maybe I'll start taking this game seriously again. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 07:07 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello ZM:

TG actually tracks records from the entire "Konami Classics Volume 1" for the PS. I believe I am the current record holder of at least six (6) of them, but maybe not Gyruss and Time Pilot. The difficulty "7" would be applicable for "Time Pilot", although we had accepted two scores earlier before the decision was made under the previously agreed upon settings.

So you know, most of the difficulty settings are already posted for these on the TG scoreboard...here is a recap, and for all titles, you have no control over how extra men are awarded, just the difficulty and starting lives...

Circus Charlie - (3) men to start, no limitations or restrictions on extras. There is no difficulty setting.

Yie Ar Kung Fu - Difficulty "0" (easy), three (3) men to start.

Gyruss - Difficulty (3), three (3) men to start. For now we just track marathon even though for arcade we track TGTS. If you have a proposal for TGTS, let me know and I can have it created with my next track batch to Doug.

Pooyan - Difficulty (3), three (3) men to start.

Road Fighter - we track all four (4) difficulty settings under separate record categories. I've played each and different obstacles await you on each, never mind fuel consumption and enemy difficulty.

Roc'n'Rope - I neglected to post the settings for this one on our site, but I do believe the difficulty is either "3" if there are settings from "0-7", or "0" if it's just "0-3" or "0-1". Starting lives would be three (3) in any case.

Scramble - three (3) ships to start...there is no difficulty setting.

Super Cobra - five (5) ships to start, and there is no limitation on extra men awarded. There is no difficulty setting.

I am particularly happy with my current score of about 154K on this one...just wish I had a joystick !!

Shaolin's Road - we currently track two (2) records here, and I will explain why next...difficulty level "0" and difficulty level "3", both with three (3) starting men.

The game is easier at difficulty level "3", believe it or not. I found this out when I zoomed up to the 1M mark with little effort compared to my previous 600K+ on the easier setting. The enemies were far more predictable at the harder setting, thus the relative cakewalk compared to setting "0".

Time Pilot - we track two (2) separate records now, with one that needs to be created...

1st - difficulty (3) with three (3) ships to start, no restrictions on number of extra ships

2nd - (TGTS) difficulty (7) with three (3) ships to start, no restrictions on number of extra ships

If you're interested in submitting a score or two, let me know and I can review for you. All you need do is record your game inclusive of the setting option before you start, and then play it thru. Best of luck, especially at the new "Time Pilot" settings which would be difficulty "7" and three (3) ships to start.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 08:43 am
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That comment about Shaolin's Road is illuminating - I was wondering why I was able to do so much better at it on the PS than on MAME, given I had the PS difficulty "maximized".

Could you give me some numerical scores to shoot for? I don't know my scores off the top of my head (my only game score I have memorized is my Quartet record, and only that one because I get asked about it a lot), but after work I can compare yours to mine. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 07:01 pm
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Hello ZM:

Here are the scores to shoot for thus far on the above titles...not every one is stellar, mind you, like the 141K or so on "Scramble", but with the PS1 controller, that's not half bad !!

See my earlier reply this thread for settings for each score below.

Circus Charlie - 358K
Gyruss (marathon) - 134K
Gyruss (TGTS) - none thus far (need settings)
Yie Ar Kung Fu - 340K
Pooyan - 275K
Road Fighter (skill 0) - 1.135M
Road Fighter (skill 1) - 611K
Road Fighter (skill 2) - none thus far
Road Fighter (skill 3) - 784K (*1)
Roc'n'Rope - 12K
Scramble - 141K
Shaolin's Road (skill 0) - 135K (*2)
Shaolin's Road (skill 3) - 1.037M
Super Cobra - 154K
Time Pilot (Default) - 147K
Time Pilot (TGTS) - none thus far

Now for the asterisks...

(*1) - there's a reason that the skill 3 score is higher than skill 1, but not skill 0...I simply haven't retried skill 1 ever since, and never tried skill 2

(*2) - I must have never posted my skill 0 score which is in the mid-600k range, I think 664K or so, but skill 3 is by far easier as you have seen...glad someone else recognized that in some titles the harder settings are easier.

Same holds true for arcade "Star Wars" !! It makes dodging fireballs in the trench while using the force easier, although it kills your fingers in the tie fighter waves, so it's a nasty trade-off.

So, as for Gyruss (TGTS), I'm open to suggestions...for consistency, I'd suggest same as "Time Pilot" for this series...difficulty setting (7), three (3) men to start, unless you feel that's too extreme.

That being said, I look foward to your scores. You can send to me whenever you're ready. The deadline would be September 30th. Regards,

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 07:04 pm
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Hi ZM:

Of all my scores above, I'm fairly proud of three...the "Super Cobra" especially, but also the 784K on "Road Fighter" (diff=3) and the "Shaolin's Road" of 1.037M.

When Perry Rodgers and I compared notes playing PS games, I sent him my first and only time on "Road Fighter" (skill 0) of coming in 1st place at the very end. What stinks is that you do not get any special mega-bonus for doing so, which I felt was a major rip considering how hard it is to pull that off, skill 0 of not.

I have this game pretty down pat and will eventually try to take on the MARP scores, but the TG MAME settings that Mark chose are pretty challenging, and I'll work on a good one there before 9/30 comes.

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 09:42 am
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I think I can do Roc'N Rope, and I'll try TGTS Time Pilot. We've got a camcorder...

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 06:00 pm
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Hello ZM:

Good deal !! Let me know if you need help on getting a submission form. I'll post my address below for mailing purposes, just in case.

Good luck on the TGTS Time Pilot...glad you like the new settings.

Robert T Mruczek
179 North 7th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11211-2905
USA

Zotmeister
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 08:49 am
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Having reacquainted myself with Konami Arcade Classics, I've noted that I have 116K playing Time Pilot on difficulty 7, and 42K playing Roc'N Rope on difficulty 7 (perhaps that one actually gets easier on 3). Looks like I'll have a few submissions to make to you before long. - ZM, who notes that you're AMAZING at Road Fighter

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 21, 2003 - 08:17 pm
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Hello Zotmeister:

Thanks...the "Road Fighter" took a great deal of practice. The real trick is how long you can keep it going at 10,000 bonus fuel without sustaining a crash.

You get a small secret bonus for doing a stage without taking a single hit at all, but that's not easy !!

What happens at higher difficulty levels is that the fuel goes down faster, you lose more fuel with crashes (I think), and the cars are both speedier and nastier.

The less cars you pass, and some stages are pretty nasty, the more of a penalty you are assessed at the beginning of the next stage. Sometimes, even if you take no hits and pick up every fuel tank, you almost lose a third of your fuel.

The further you progress in any difficulty setting, the harder it will get. Some of the obstacles you face are NASTY...cars on the insides of tight turns, roadwork in the center of the road, diesel trucks appearing out of nowhere, etc. I just wish I made a copy of the tape I sent to Perry with my 1st place finish. No extra points for it though, and it was at difficulty "0", but still, that wasn't easy to pull off, I have to say.

I think in my 1M score I reached the 5th set of roads...they were pretty intense !!

Robert

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At long last, by popular request: Zotmeister's Top Ten Hardest

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Zotmeister
Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 11:24 pm
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You've begged, you've pestered, you've waited - well, here it is.

Before I present my list of the top ten hardest arcade games ever made, I need to make a few comments regarding just what I mean by "hard".

- It isn't hard if it's marathonable or patternizable. This eliminates some entire *genres* of games, such as shooters and beatbusters. Getting the perfect game of Pac-Man may have been the proverbial grail of video gaming, but that doesn't mean Pac-Man is hard.

- It isn't hard if it isn't *fair*. The game needs to require skill, not luck. Some games put you at the mercy of the machine from time to time, and that isn't acceptable. That's why Blueprint isn't on this list, among others.

- It isn't hard if it doesn't try to kill you off. The average gamer can't last for three minutes on any of these. It takes a lot of practice - and instinct development - to be able to get anywhere in any of these.

What lies below is subject to change; I haven't played *every* video game ever made, after all, and I may well be re-educated regarding some on this list. Note well that many very hard games didn't make this list - Bagman, Bionic Commando, Karnov, Pengo, Rally-X, and yes, that Super Galaxians hack all get honorable mentions - but there's only room for ten in the top ten.

So, without further ado:

tenth) Qix II, Taito, 1981: Just like Qix, only it wants you even more dead. Oh, and you can't trap the Sparks anymore, either.

ninth) Armored Car, 1981, Stern: This maze-ish game forces the player to keep running in one direction or run out of fuel. Add in a steep difficulty curve - much more obstacles and antagonists need to be dealt with after each short level - and you have a game that gets so hard so fast that defeating the default high score is a challenge.

eighth) Paperboy, 1984, Atari: This game throws so many cunning obstacles in your path while *simultaneously* requiring the player to have impeccable timing throwing papers back that even Easy Street proves to be an overbearing challenge for many.

seventh) Spectar, 1980, Exidy: We've all played this - I shouldn't need to go into detail here.

sixth) Wily Tower, 1984, Irem: Being one part Donkey Kong, one part Mr. Do's Wild Ride, and one part sheer madness, this is a game that those lacking strategic foresight need not attempt. It is very easy to get oneself trapped in a swarm of antagonists with no safe way to jump out if you don't know what you're doing.

fifth) Venture, 1981, Exidy: This game was almost booted from consideration on grounds of unfairness, but I have learned that such is really not the case. The game is just a complete and utter nuisance; it can be mastered.

fourth) The Legend of Kage, 1984, Taito: Enemies fly all around, and you'll need lightning reflexes to actually dodge enemy shots and ludicrously precise timing to match sword swings with enemies. Add in a *fast* game speed and a tricky-to-learn control scheme and you have a game that few can play beyond two minutes.

three) My Hero, 1985, Sega: Imagine a version of Kung-Fu Master where you can only punch and where a single hit costs you a life, and you get close to this game's difficulty. Add in the bouncing spiked balls and arcing bombs and you may never clear the first level.

second) Targ, 1980, Exidy: This is the prequel to Spectar, and it's much harder. There are no dots to collect - you need to finish off all the Ramships to finish a level. The Wummel is much slower in this game, and the Ramships start much faster and much *smarter* than in Spectar. I do believe I've had the highest Spectar score at every Funspot tourney, including the last one where it was a championship game played by most everyone; I have yet to reach the third level in Targ. It's THAT hard.

FIRST) Super Zaxxon, 1982, Sega: If every person on the planet played ten games of this - and tried their best - less than half would manage to last sixty seconds on ANY of their ten games. (It took me until my ninth try, and even then I only scored 8500 points - I can't beat the bloody default high score.) It's funny, too, since the game is *almost* patternizable... but not quite, and it's just so BLOODY FAST that even if you did have a pattern, implementing it would be a nightmare. I said it before, and since then I've considered over a thousand other games with the intent purpose of trying to debunk my own statement and failed, so I'm saying it again: Super Zaxxon is the hardest arcade game ever produced.

Feel free to respond with any comments or questions - especially those along the lines of "Why isn't [a certain game] on your list?", since you may point out a game I've never played or heard of before, or perhaps simply overlooked in my search. And for the love of Walter Day, tell me what the names of those two Rolling Thunder clones are! It's driving me nuts! - ZM (Adam R. Wood)

Zotmeister
Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 11:26 pm
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Sorry about the "three)". It should have been "third)", of course. I'm a bit frazzled from all that difficult gaming, but I haven't lost it completely. - ZM

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 11:15 pm
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Okay, here's my list.

But first a quick note to Adam regarding the Tourney:

I hope you realize I was just joking when I said "so, ***you're** the guy who said Carnival was annoying."

Actually, it's worse than annoying, but I still love the challenge of the game.

On to the list...

Actually, back in the ol' days, I was more of a pinball player, so I know there'll be some surprises here, but my selections are taken from the games that I've played a fair amount of times.

Also, I hate trackballs and "3-D" games make me crazy.

So, here we go, in particular....

1. Missle Command..... A game I like but that trackball.....

2. Super Zaxxon

3. Defender.... too many buttons

4. Joust 2.. Joust gives me enough problems..

5. Q*Bert ... I know many of you can play this blindfolded, but that 3-D stuff...

6. Qix... maybe I should make this Qix 2 based on Adams list

7. Tempest

8. Sinistar

9. LSA Squad... Thanks to Robert M for introducing me this game. I've also tried this on MAME (using the keyboard) with coin continues and still I can't gain much more ground from that point

10. Carnival... yes, Carnival. Why? well, roughly speaking, each round scores about the same number of points. Given that, with one chance, I cannot guarantee that I can get within 25% of my best score. Two years after the game was out, TG had only 5 or so 100K+ scores( assuming they weren't bogus, of course.)

After round 4, the game can be brutal.

That's my list.

Carnival_Fred

Zotmeister
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 09:05 am
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Carnival didn't make my list due to criterium three - it doesn't try to kill you off. You can sit and watch the targets float by, leisurely picking off the ducks as they come... you won't get very far or score very much, certainly, and trying to do either will be quite frustrating indeed, but the game otherwise doesn't *feel* hard.

The hardest part is suffering through the music - which is unfortunately a necessity when playing seriously, since it costs a bullet and time to shoot the box to turn it off. :P - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 07:18 pm
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Hello ZM:

Actually, Carnival tries to get you to waste bullets...assuming you take too long, of course, the enemy targets just keeps on increasing in speed at the end of a wave. And ask Fred, that negative bullet prize (top left) can be devastating !!

I totally agree with Targ. There was a friend in high school who reached the 45-48K mark years back, and no one had a prayer at beating him. My own personal best, at most, is maybe level 4. The enemies are MUCH smarter.

I have to check out that game title "Wily Tower"...don't think I played or heard of that one.

As for "Karnov", that one I'd say falls into the category of once you know how to do it, then it's a snap. Nice game, though, but a REALLY annoying end-boss in level 9, so annoying that I never figured out how to defeat it.

"Legend of Kage"...there's a fun game, and it had some cool background music too. Definitely a cool title to get good at.

Just curious...did you ever try "Rip Off" on MAME yet ? I used to play that in the arcade back in high school and that is REALLY hard (1-player, not 2). Perhaps I'll amend my personal top 10 and add this one to it when I get home. If you have it on MAME, give it a shot.

Thanks for the "Top 10"...when the new TG site is up and the initial checks are made, I'll institute the "Top 10" challenge at that time and take things from there.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 08:36 am
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That reason is why Karnov is only an honorable mention as opposed to in the list. Those early action-platformers are such pains: Ghosts 'N Goblins is no prize, and Rastan is one that I have a lot of experience butting heads with that *almost* got an honorable mention.

Rip Off is indeed a game I'm not familiar with, but I'll fix that right quick. It seems like you would think its name is very appropriate.

Incidentally, if anyone knows any (consistent) patterns to any of the games I listed, let me know - that'll get a game booted off the list right quick, so a genuinely difficult one can take its place. - ZM

Donald Hayes
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 12:35 pm
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Does a point-leeching "pattern" count? The Legend of Kage has a "safe spot" where you can leech points basically as long as you want. It's not 100% safe as there can be an occasional stray enemy that attacks from a different angle, but back in the 80's I was able to score over 7 million using this trick. I am sure that this would be considered an illegal tactic.

I've only played it a couple times on MAME, but it's been so long that I wasn't able to make it to the safe spot.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 07:07 pm
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Hello ZM:

Karnov had a consistent pattern that I used to have down COLD years back...was the first player to get the "all 9's" thing in the NYC arcade, although many have done this since.

Donald, are you talking about hiding in the tree in "Kage" ? That's what I saw a lot of players do in the arcade.

ZM, the game "Rip Off" is a very fun game in 2-player mode...if you have a chance to play a team with someone I highly recommend it. And if Gary ever gets this one, I would ensure that TG tracks BOTH the single and team-play results.

Robert

Donald Hayes
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 07:16 pm
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Robert,

Nope, there's another spot further into the game. You basically stand there and fire continuously and the enemies just keep coming out and getting hit. For those who were at Funspot, it's sort of like the Ghost 'n Goblins point-scabbing thing except that the enemies are really only coming from one direction and there's no timer to prevent you from doing it for as long as you want.

If I have time, I'll try and reproduce it on MAME so that you could see it and make an official ruling (I'm sure it would be considered illegal).

Donald

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 11:48 pm
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Hello Donald:

Sounds like "Krull" where you hid in a cave and shot glaives out until you got bored.

I had success hiding in a tree, but your way sounds more efficient and less risky.

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 09:51 am
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Yes, that would absolutely boot The Legend of Kage off the list. I'd love to see the technique in action. I forget which honorable mention came in eleventh, but I have the statistics written down at home (I'm at work now), so I'll look into it this evening. That, and I'll play this rip-off Rip Off and see where that rates. - ZM, who notes that Krull's Easter Egg (read the MAME history file), Bob Dobbs, is the same Bob Dobbs of the Church of the SubGenius; it would take a demented programmer to found his own pseudoreligion

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 06:03 pm
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Hello ZM:

Rip Off, so you know, is BW vector graphics...and is very, very challenging !! A totally different strategy is obvious in a 2-player scenario which was most popular back in high school, but playing 1-player is very tough.

Mark should be accepting INPs for this one, same for 2-player, and I intend to submit myself (1P) this weekend. I'll let you know how I do.

Robert

Donald Hayes
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 01:19 am
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Ok, I've played Legend of Kage a few times on MAME to relearn the "safe spot". As a teaser, here's a couple of links showing snapshots of the scores possible using this trick. The first is after I got bored and decided to actually finish level one. The second is the high score table.

http://www.thedonald.org/misc/lkage-round1.png

http://www.thedonald.org/misc/lkage-high.png

At some point, I'll generate a MAME .inp that shows how this is done.

Zotmeister
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 09:00 am
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Okay, I've played Rip Off for the first time, and I must say, I'm impressed. It's interesting that the game gives unlimited lives and still manages to challenge significantly. I can definitely see how strategies can come into play, even playing alone; I don't see any patterns to the attack waves; and in three games I couldn't last more than two minutes in any of them, much less three. You have a winner there, Robert. I've compared it to the list I had before, and following my criteria the game serendipitously falls right between My Hero and Venture, making it replace The Legend of Kage perfectly without disturbing the rest of the list.

I'll start a new thread so as to have a cohesive list right at the top. - ZM

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Lode Runner

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Dennis
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 07:23 pm
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I have a chance to buy a Lode Runner game. Does any player here know if this game is any good?

Gregory S. Erway
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 10:26 pm
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We played Lode Runner in the 2003 Advanced DECA contest. It was pretty cool. Our rules required the use of only 1 life. And even with that a couple players managed to max out the score at 999,990. It is very similar to the classic Apple version except for it gives you 10,000 point/level bonus for not killing an enemy and 20,000 point/level bonus for not even dropping a single enemy in a hole. Also I don't remember the Apple version giving 10k bonus for getting all the enemies "locked" into an area from which they can't escape. This game is a lot of fun. But honestly playing it on MAME is just as good as the real machine I would think. I have a space problem fitting all my arcade machines and I'm finally coming to realize that it makes a lot of sense to collect the "Absolutly must have" games of course. But besides that only get games that can't be played well on the emulators (ex: Star Wars, Defender, Crystal Castles, Centipede, etc.) do to the controls. Of course that is just my opinion.

Dennis
Monday, July 14, 2003 - 11:18 pm
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Do you know where I can find any pictures of the cabinet? The seller says it appears to be in a Track and Field cabinet but I haven't been able to locate any information that says this game was a conversion. Was it a conversion game?

Phil Younger
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 02:27 am
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There is a picture of marquee of loderunner
on klov but no cabinet picture. Might get it
because its rare. I played in 40+ arcades
and see only one. Its much more common in
Japan. Phil Y

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 08:47 am
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I share Greg's opinion. If I start building a home arcade, it would likely have more pinball machines than video games, and the video games I'd get would be the likes of Lucky and Wild, Silent Scope, and other oddball-control games. - ZM

Derek
Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 02:40 pm
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I had asked about this game a few years back and the general consensus was that this game was only a conversion game. So if that's true this could come in just about any cabinet.

As a gamer that also collects games, I can attest that space is the biggest enemy, far more than money. I agree that a good majority of games can be played quite well in MAME on a PC with a Hotrod or a MAME cabinet but having a cabinet of the particular game makes it that much more enjoyable for me. A game like Solar Fox has a unique mirror and a 3D effect that can only be appreciated if you play it on a true UR, never mind the beautiful artwork that really brings me back to the period the game came out. I would like to get down to my top 25 games but I am a sucker for a cool cabinet and having a basement lit up by only the marquees and monitors is a cool gaming experience...

Derek

Scootie
Monday, July 21, 2003 - 05:23 pm
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Greg

Good point about home arcades with "limited space". however , Crystal Castles works GREAT with MAME and a gamepad. You probably tried using the mouse to play CC (ughh!!!)Try the Gamepad..you might even like it better than the arcade trackball

Games that I find the mouse ESSENTIAL FOR!!!!
1. Missle Command
2. Centipede
2. Millipede

The only game I find next to IMPOSSIBLE to play on MAME is Star Wars!!

Scootie

Gary
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 04:49 pm
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Dennis,
We have a Lode Runner in storage but it is missing the PC boards. I took a run up to storage today and from what I can tell, this is a dedicated game in a cabinet that looks like Track n' Field but is woodgrain. If it wasn't so buried behind some other games I would try to get a picture and post it here.

Gary

Barry
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 08:01 pm
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Lode Runner was a great game. If you have a chance to buy one, do it.

Barry

Scootie
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 12:19 pm
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If you people really want the true LODE RUNNER experience...download the Commodore 64 version!!!
Remember it was Lode Runner's popularity on the 64 that caused it to be ported to the arcade in the first place!! (as well as the apple/atari line of computers)

Nevertheless, I perfer the Arcade/MAME version because it's a little easier that the C-64 version(and the graphics are better too!!)

Scootie

mspaeth
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 10:30 am
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I have a lode runner pcb, (don't remember which of the 5 versions it is), but last time I checked, it had no sprites... needless to say, its a much more challenging game if you don't know where you are, where the gold is, and where
the enemies are...

maybe I'll poke at it someday... it's got a bunch of customs on it, but it's very similar to the other irems of that era (including junk like kung fu master), and i'd gladly trash something like kid niki to get some customs...

mspaeth
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 - 11:19 pm
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Woohoo!

The Kid Niki sacrifice was a success!

Lode Runner lives!

 

Donkey Kong - 900K+

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Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 03:45 pm
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Hello all:

As some of you may already know, it's official that someone cracked the 900K mark at this all-time classic.

What you may not know is that the worldwide press release just hit...even CCN.com now has the story posted in their tech section !!

Worldwide interest in the score being broken has generated unprecedented interest, and in fact crashed the TG site today once the CNN story hit.

Regardless of that, all vistors to the site also had a chance to read about the recent exploits on Mappy, Tutankham, Spy Hunter, Tapper, Gyruss, Zookeeper, and the other recent major records set, so some of the record-setters may very well be contacted by your local and/or state media outlets for interview purposes.

I am aware that the Zookeeper record recently attracted major attention in the local Maine papers, and the recent Donkey Kong story is a hit in the Washington area.

Classic gaming records broken is VERY much important news in today's pop-culture fixated society, so the next major score set will be sure to generate some serious media attention.

My honest opinion is that should anyone manage either 1M on Ms Pac or DK, that these will attract worldwide attention like never before !!

More importantly is that the interview I just did today solidifies my opinion that achievements on classic games are definitely "IN", so keep up the awesome scores, guys...the world is watching moreso than ever.

Robert

Curious
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 05:53 pm
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OK, I'll bite. Who is the someone who broke 900K?

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 06:16 pm
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Hello Curious:

A Washington-based gamer, Steve Wiebe, who also scored 1.004M on DKJr ahwile back.

I asked him if he was gonna try for a "triple crown", so to speak, and give DK3 a shot, but he's not interested at the time. I think he's instead trying for 960K+ on DK for now.

Robert

D_Harris
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 03:38 am
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Not to bust anyone's bubble, but what I am about to say will no doubt come up in the future anyway, so I might as well mention it here.

I have it on good authority that Steve Weibe has a DDK(Double Donkey Kong) game. One would have to ask him to confirm.

Now if this is the case, then this game has inside of it a Donkey Kong Jr. boardset. that has been modified with a special kit(created by Scott Brasington). Now if this is the game he gets his high scores on, then the original hardware is not being used to set the Donkey Kong records, because, quite simply, there is no original Donkey Kong hardware in his game. In fact, even the Donkey Kong jr. scores achieved using that game's PCBs would now be debatable because of the modified roms and resulting unknown effects on game play.

This of course leads into the MAME rom issues again.(But that is another story).

Nevertheless, I personally think that the accomplishment is just as valid/difficult as if done on an actual machine/hardware, but that is just my opinion.

Well, now that I've lit that fuse... :-)

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:47 pm
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Hello Darren:

Thanks for the information. I have spoken with Walter, Ron and Bill, and we are performing due diligence at this time.

Walter has authorized me to inform you that we are currently having a bonafide expert review the performance shortly, to evaluate timing and gameplay. It is quite possible that this is the canonical ROMset, to use the term that Mark favours.

In any event, we appreciate your information, and will handle accordingly. At this time, and with Walter's permission to say as much, we are performing due diligence, and will advise when our efforts are complete.

On a personal note, the timing and behaviour appeared similiar to what is expected of the canonical ROMset based on a MAME recording I had previously seen in the 600-700K range last year. But my expert will provide the most precise form of investigation, and I will share the results when done.

Robert

Rick
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:45 am
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That is a good point Darren brought up. There are separate scores for MAME since it is not an original game/cabinet so this may bring up another catagory too for hacked boards. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:51 pm
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Robert, I am in complete agreement with Darren. If this score was not achieved on an ORIGINAL UNMODIFIED boardset, the score should be scrutinized. I would take it one step further and say that it should not be counted as an official world record. There are just too many questions. This seems like a "no-brainer" so I will be VERY curious to see what the final decision is.

Does anyone have any idea if this guy got his score on an original or modified boardset? Does this mean that scores achieved on a Multi-Pac upgrade, or MultiWilliams board, or even the Tempest boards with the multiple ROMsets will be accepted.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 08:19 pm
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Hi Mike:

Like I said, we're going thru the investigative process now. By tomorrow I will have an expert start reviewing the tape itself.

As for the other issues mentioned, I'll discuss with Walter, Ron, Mark & Brien.

When more data comes in, and decisions are made, we will advise all.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 10:23 pm
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Just for the sake of putting the info out there. Check out the following link:

http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?action=url&page=prod/ddk/ddk.html

At the bottom of the page is a good description of sound differences between a regular DK board and a DK Jr. DDK board upgrade. It even has a link to listen to the differences between a few of the sounds. Seems like this can be used to verify if the sounds are correct on the DK Steve used.

I have 4 DK boards and 2 DK Jr. boards myself. I've thought about converting one Jr. to a DDK just to leave in for the ease of others to choose. But if I were to make a serious attempt at recording a score to submit to TG I would swap out the board with a regular one first. Lets hope that Steve did exactly that. Otherwise I have to agree with Darren on this one. We'll wait to hear more. Thanks Robert.

This does bring up some interesting subjects though. Take for example a part dies on a normal boardset. A replacment is found but it is not exact because the part is obsolete. The new part is equivalent but actually better. Maybe it is a chip with a faster access speed. Maybe we're talking about a clock crystal here. Whatever. I can see arguments that maybe these "fixed" boards couldn't be used!? In theory the Multi-Pac, Multi-Williams, etc. type games simply throw all the ROM images onto 1 single chip and then a table lookup is done for which game to play and the correct address is accessed to load the proper ROM image. So the game play should be exact. The other hardware is just there to support the larger ROM size to store all the games. Once the proper game is loaded then the play should be exact. It's a big can of worms this gets us into isn't it!

mspaeth
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 10:55 am
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*Snort*

"A bona-fide expert to review the performance"...
That's funny.

A well-crafted pirate romset can be devised that would easily pass the "video tape replay" test...

In any case, I can pretty well guarantee that at the uS level, timing will be different, as the interrupt service routine is different...

From the DDK webpage:

"A single PCB that plays both Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior. No special wiring or switches needed. Simply toggle between games at anytime by pressing both the player-1 and player-2 start buttons at the same time. click here for more information. "

If you can switch games at any time, then there must be code added to the interrupt service routine to check to see if both start buttons are pressed... which requires at least 3 instructions (LOAD, AND, COMPARE/JUMP), which probably adds 10 or so processor cycles to the ISR... If this code is at the end of the ISR, then there probably isn't any timing difference, since most of the game time is spent waiting for the interrupts to trigger, but if it's at the beginning, then the player has a few extra microseconds to move the controls before the code checks them

FWIW: Clay's Multipac needs no code mods (due to the idiotic addtition of a 'menu button'... Multiwilliams does have code mods to rest to menu when P1-P2 are pressed, and defender requires major code hacks to work... Multipede, multiqbert, etc are also all modified (software switch settings, menu resets, etc).

My berzerk/frenzy multigame will use the original unmodified frenzy code, but the berzerk code WILL be modified to remap the scratch ram to the same hardware location as on frenzy, but that will not affect the timing.

Rick
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 04:05 pm
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If it is true about him playing a DDK board then this boardset and its specific timings should have been verifed before the information was sent around the world proclaiming a new Donkey Kong record. How do you say you slipped up and made a mistake if it's discovered later on not to be a record?

Guest
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 08:20 pm
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"Gee, Mark, you seem to have all the answers but provide no solution. Are you volunteering to review this tape and all the hundreds of others from now on ?"

Okami
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 09:06 pm
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[Mark wrote]
(A well-crafted pirate romset can be devised that would easily pass the "video tape replay" test...)

Purely opinion, which also heavily relies upon complete speculation as to who watches the replay and their ability to judge the honesty of the playing skill and performance of the submission.

It's amazed at how people are so quick to take away or detract from a record that Steve has obviously worked very hard to get. I don't think any of you actually believe he cheated. Deep down, you KNOW he earned it, but you just want to ball and nit-pick to "burst bubbles". Weak...

I'm also disappointed the constant critical attitude some people have against Twin Galaxies. The experts there don't get paid a single red cent, yet have to devote hours a week of unappreciated hard work out of pure love for the gaming community. In fact, they actually PAY money out of their own pockets to provide such a free service. Are you willing to put that much commitment into a thankless cause and get put under a microscope while you do it? Would you like to spend just about all your free time watching countless hours of records, write reports, draft contest & rules, pay MONEY out of your own pocket, just to be criticized for your efforts? The people there do their best and don't deserve that kind of crap. You don't pay a dime for their work, so start paying up the big bucks if you want everything your way.

Walter Day
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 04:23 pm
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The only way that Twin Galaxies can keep track of the myriad permutations found in the growing gaming hobby is by receiving help from the players.

I consider this family of players a very closeknit group, one which can work together.

In this light, I thank Mark Spaeth and Darren Harris for the information they have brought to light in this message board.

If it is found that the DK record was performed on an unacceptible romset, the record will be publicly reversed. Adventures like this will always arise as long as there are areas of knowledrge that are still unfathomed.

Twin Galaxies can't know everything. In fact, the issue concerning the DDK score is the kind of problem that will surface again and again in the next few years. Its a learning experience for all of us -- TG and players-at-large.

But this is good. Its part of growth. If a player has vital information that helps us judge a record, we hope that the player submits this information.

But, Its TG's responsibility to try and act justly, using the info we are given, and then enforce the decisions that are made. And, I believe that the decisions are, hopefully, the correct ones, and that they will benefit all of us for years to come, giving an anchor to this growing hobby, establishing it as a true sport.

D_Harris
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 07:03 pm
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Has it been established with certainty what boardset was used? Hasn't anyone spoken with Steve Weibe?

I did originally think that players were now supposed to videotape the the game board/s right after the record score was acheived, buy opening up the game and zooming in on the hardware.(But perhaps I am mistaken).

Initially, I didn't realize what a big deal this score had become. Nevertheless, I don't think that publicly reversing the record is necessary, becuase it seems that all that would need to be done is to create a category for DDK-Donkey Kong.

And perhaps get a signed and notarized affidavit from the hacker that the roms are and behave exactly as the original as far as game-play is concerned. :-)

Anyway, I'm not saying that I like this idea, but T.G. has already set a precedent for tracking scores acheived on hardware that isn't the original(or doesn't have the exact duplicate parts as the original). ie: Ms.Pac-man Turbo.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Gregory S. Erway
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 08:00 pm
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Well written reply Walter. I'm glad you keep track of things going on over here as well as the regular TG forums. I agree completly with what you said. It seems more and more "Multi" type boards are coming out and it is near impossible to know everything about each possible one much less even know which exist without the help of all the gamers. There is a vast knowledge base out there and all we have to due is say something and TG will handle the matter appropriatly as soon as enough information is gathered for the situation.

Either way the score Steve put up is incredible. Whether it ends up in a new DDK category or remains where it is, he's got my respect.

Walter Day
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 10:13 pm
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You are right, Darren, Steve's accomplishment would be transferred to a new category for the DDK. His hold on the traditional DK record would be relinquished, however.

As for further embellishments on the required specs for videotape, I think we are far from the end of this puzzling problem. And, at some point, it may eventually demand game-by-game considerations.

Thank you,

Walter Day

Tommi
Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 09:16 pm
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Imho if gameplay is same, no harm done. Who knows what roms were used at some 20y old TG record anyway. If you make different categories for dk and "ddk", which is next step...different categories for all different "clonesets".

But if gameplay differs, then I think it's a matter of how much difference is there, and which way. Who knows which romset previous record was played with?

Mark Longridge
Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 09:54 pm
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" then the player has a few extra microseconds to move the controls before the code checks them "

A few extra MICROseconds, as in millionths of a
second?

Well, I'm as much a purist as anyone, but I don't
see how a few extra microseconds is going to help
any player. I bet Steve wasn't switching between
games during his record.

I agree that original hardware should be used,
but if I played a multi-game Williams machine and
it "felt" right, I'd probably say let the
record set on such a machine stand. Of course for
any serious gaming effort why beg trouble? May
as well do it on the original hardware, if
possible.

What? You said you played Joust with a blue
stick instead of the original yellow??

DISQUALIFIED!

;-)

mspaeth
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 01:51 pm
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"Guest" is a moron...

I'm not dissing the 'experts', I'm just saying that a video tape is not definitive proof that a score was attained legitimately....

Simple case and point... breakout...
With about 5 minutes of work, I could modify a breakout boardset to eliminate the control pot as an input, and instead tie the output of the ball location circuit to the pot output... the paddle would track the ball perfectly, so I'd never lose the ball, and get a 'perfect' score on 1 ball.

With a video tape of the screen, how can anyone tell I modified the board like that?

Think the paddle movement is too smooth? That's OK, I can add a little more circuitry some randomness to it, and just make sure it's in the right spot when it needs to be...

How about the records for the B&W driving games like wheels, wheels 2, sprint 2, lemans, etc? The game time is determined by the R-C time constant of a pot on the PCB... maybe one day the game's hotter inside, so the resistance goes up and the actual game time changes, even on the same machine... Does the temperature invalidate a score?

My point is, all this anal verifcation of scores by videotape (gee, we can't trust funspot to have games set on TGTS and not lie to gain all the plublicity associated with new scores now?!) seems pretty ridiculous when it's so easy to circumvent.

In the case of donkey kong, after watching Billy Mitchell play, apparently one large determining factor of performance is how often kong throws erratic barrels (IIRC, he though the machine at funspot did this too frequently, too often). How can videotape prove that a seemingly random (but essentially deterministic) component of the game like erratic barrels hasn't been modified to make game play easier?

I just think everyone's taking game scores way too seriously

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 08:32 pm
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Mark:

No one doubts your capabilities of programming a game to effectively and convincingly play itself. Convincing "bot" programs can be made for almost every game situation, if not all.

The spirit of what game verification is all about is not about who can pull the wool over the verifier's eyes...it has been and always will be about good-natured competetiveness, plain and simple.

People originally played games for their own amusement. Eventually, and you all know the history, people found great personal saitsfaction in seeing how well their best efforts compared to others in the field of gaming. Someone noticed that, and devoted some time to pursuing this. Plain and simple.

Mark, I don't think it's fair to say that every gamer "takes things too seriously". Some do, some don't, and some simply enjoy being part of it or reading about it. Personal choices, that's all.

As for the "due diligence" process for the main issue at hand, here's what I can tell you for now...

1st - The game designer has been contacted, and his opinions have been received and are on record with Twin Galaxies. Many technical specfications will soon be available for evaluation.

2nd - The videotape has been watched by two experts now. All I can say is that there are no two better people suited to watching the performance than the two selected. I noticed you being very dismissive of the term "expert", even going so far as to misquote me and categorize him as a "bona-fide" expert. That subtlety aside, I doubt you will challenge this expert's findings.

On a personal note, within this thread, I have seen calls for checking the timing of a tape, checking for a pirated or well-crafted Romset, having "extra microseconds" of time, and even requesting a signed affadavit by a designer, while simultaneously downplaying a request to capture settings on videotape for purposes of basic due diligence.

Tell me...who is now taking gaming a little too seriously here ?

I have to publicly state the following for the record. At the time that the tape was watched, and the story was written, I did not know that a "Double Donkey Kong" conversion kit even existed. My colleague Ron Corcoran was unaware of it. Walter Day was unaware if it.

Reasonable common sense was exercised during the verification process. I had personally contacted the gamer at the time of the verification. No deception was evident. If you believe that this was not serious enough of an effort, then why end your last post that gamers are taking high scores way to seriously ? That's hypocritical.

A good-faith service and recap was the result of the score verification. Had Darren not known that a "DDK" unit was in useage, I seriously doubt anyone else would have noticed, especially since I know for a fact that slightly higher has already been unofficially accomplished, tape receipt pending.

I respect Walter too much and will not say any more negative than I have already stated above. However, I have to consider why, for the recent eleven world record arcade stories that TG posted, that more less-than-positive comments are resulting from this DDK issue than all the positive comments for all the other score reports combined.

Robert

Okami
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 08:00 am
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It's because you have all these player-haters, who've got nothing better to do than to stamp their feet and look for any excuse to belittle the accomplishment. Like I said before, I seriously doubt any of these jerks actually believe Steve cheated. They KNOW they earned it, but as long as they can convince themselves their point is worthwhile, they will keep on player-hating.

As far as I concerned Robert, you needn't give these stooges another minute of your time. No matter what you do, no matter how much of your free time you put into dealing with their crap, they will NEVER let up until you DQ Steve. That's all they want and for the simple reason of player-hating. Oh sure, they can talk about such noble causes as "timing issues", but deep down its all about disrespect. It's sad really. I expected better of the older players, but they are showing themselves to royally suck as human beings.

Guest
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 10:13 am
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Hey Mark -

Kiss my rear jerko.

Take your moron comment and ram it.

D_Harris
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 02:05 pm
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I'm going to attempt to bring this thread back to a level of maturity.

Walter has always asked for help and opinions from the players in the areas of score verification and gameplay rules. He never shut the door on player input.

And since it is always in Twin Galaxies best interest to be consistent and have workable standards, many issues have to be addressed. This is always a work in progress and Walter has asked for help from all of us.

Greg, Tommy, Mark L. and I have already stated our respect for Steve's score, even if it was found to be accomplished on a DDK game, and no one has expressed any problem with a separate DDK category.

Mark S. and I are not the best of friends, but what he said was fact, and his points were on target. The only disagreement I have is that I believe that differences can be determined simply by watching a tape of a DK game versus and DDK-DK game. But only because of what Greg mentioned as far as audio differences between the two.

Rick's concern about having to retract a major score like Donkey Kong is shared by the rest of us. And it is a legitimate issue.

And Mike's note of how this would affect scores gotten on the various Multi-games is also very important because many of us have these kits.(And the last thing we need are a bunch of complaints in the future about record scores achieved on unoriginal hardware).

Accepting DDK-DK as a legitimate DK score would open the floodgates.(ie: My friend Abdner would now only have to come over to my house to break the Robotron record on my Multi-Williams game. Then there would be no way to convince everyone that the gameplay was exactly like it would be on the original game).

Nevertheless, no one here is attacking Twin Galaxies, or arbitrarily targeting Steve's score. Most in this thread have supported T.G. long before certain others knew of it's existance. We are attempting to resolve an important issue, so it'll serve as a example, and help lay down guidelines for the future when this issue will eventually come up again.

BTW, no one was "downplaying a request to capture settings on videotape for purposes of basic due diligence." But I thought that I heard(or read) somewhere that that was going to be a rule, at least for certain games.

And I don't know what is meant by the "less-than-positive comments" resulting from this DDK issue, but no one has come across any verification problems with any of the other recent records that I am aware of.(Again, this is just an important issue that needs to be addressed in an effort to keep the playing field level).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 04:41 pm
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Hello Darren:

Points well taken. Here's what I know thus far...full details to come.

TECHNICAL - Brien King, one of my fellow TG Board of Director members, was a beta-tester on the DDK project. He has been in contact with a gentlemen named Scott Brasington, whom you might already be familiar with, regarding the technical aspects of the DDK project.

I want to first make absolutely sure that I am clear with Brien as to what I can/cannot quote from the information received thus far before I post anything, but so far I do have record of his professional opinion on the unit.

VERIFICATION - You probably guessed who is disceminating the tape right now...the only person capable of catching any peculiarity, and the only person who could not possibly benefit from watching the tape. That being said, when I have both aspects of the due diligence performed, we will release all information and the final decision on how things will be handled.

Rather than jump the gun and indicate which ways things are leaning, all I'll ask is to please be patient as the 2-part investigation takes place. Thansk.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 05:17 pm
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Ach...wrong word...meant "dissecting", not "disceminating" !!

Anyway, word on the full review to come, then will inform all. Thanks.

Robert

Rick
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 06:29 pm
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Darren,
You are correct. Having to retract a score is not a good thing and causes skepticism when future scores are announced as people will question it as a genuine "record" or another retraction waiting to happen.

I have nothing against Twin Galaxies and I am not a player-hater as Okami calls them. Facts are facts. The entire thing boils down to this... Is DDK the same game as Donkey Kong? It's quite simple. It would have been nice if Steve, the player, had mentioned beforehand he did not have an original DK machine.

Surely no one here wishes to have the score disqualified, they only want to know if this is a true DK record or a new DDK record and nothing more. Some people seem to be reading more into this than there is.

Barry
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:58 pm
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Whoa, what happened here? I was reading some cool messages on fantasy game collections and world records and then WHAM, this comes up. Why does this not surprise me.

Richard M.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 10:46 pm
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Were it not for Mark's unwise comment about "Guest" being a moron, and for Guest's very immature reaction to this, it appears that this thread would have been kept at a reasonably mature level.

Before posting something very negative, may I suggest that you look at what you are writing and ask yourself, "Is this posting really necessary?"

I'd like to hear of Steve Wiebe playing an actual Donkey Kong machine. If, as others have said on this thread, there is little or no differences between the DDK machine and the original DK, then he should be able to break 900K on the original and silence all critics. :-)

-- Richard M.

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Zotmeister's Top Ten Hardest, Take Two

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Zotmeister
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 09:23 am
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First, a reminder of the criteria for placement on my list:

- It isn't hard if it's marathonable or patternizable. This eliminates some entire *genres* of games, such as shooters and beatbusters. Getting the perfect game of Pac-Man may have been the proverbial grail of video gaming, but that doesn't mean Pac-Man is hard.

- It isn't hard if it isn't *fair*. The game needs to require skill, not luck. Some games put you at the mercy of the machine from time to time, and that isn't acceptable. That's why Blueprint isn't on this list, among others.

- It isn't hard if it doesn't try to kill you off. The average gamer can't last for three minutes on any of these. It takes a lot of practice - and instinct development - to be able to get anywhere in any of these. Note that the presence of a "safe spot" - a point in the game where the player may sit indefinitely at no risk - immediately invalidates the game for the list via this rule.

Once again, this list can change - it already has once - so if you know of a game that you think should be here and it isn't, so if there's a game ON the list that shouldn't be here due to violating one of the above rules in some manner I've never discovered, let me know.

Here it is:

tenth) Qix II, Taito, 1981: Just like Qix, only it wants you even more dead. Oh, and you can't trap the Sparks anymore, either.

ninth) Armored Car, 1981, Stern: This maze-ish game forces the player to keep running in one direction or run out of fuel. Add in a steep difficulty curve - much more obstacles and antagonists need to be dealt with after each short level - and you have a game that gets so hard so fast that defeating the default high score is a challenge.

eighth) Paperboy, 1984, Atari: This game throws so many cunning obstacles in your path while *simultaneously* requiring the player to have impeccable timing throwing papers back that even Easy Street proves to be an overbearing challenge for many.

seventh) Spectar, 1980, Exidy: We've all played this - I shouldn't need to go into detail here.

sixth) Wily Tower, 1984, Irem: Being one part Donkey Kong, one part Mr. Do's Wild Ride, and one part sheer madness, this is a game that those lacking strategic foresight need not attempt. It is very easy to get oneself trapped in a swarm of antagonists with no safe way to jump out if you don't know what you're doing.

fifth) Venture, 1981, Exidy: This game was almost booted from consideration on grounds of unfairness, but I have learned that such is really not the case. The game is just a complete and utter nuisance; it can be mastered.

fourth) Rip Off, 1979, Cinematronics: Oddly enough, despite the ludicrous difficulty, the game doesn't feel like a rip off. You even have unlimited lives! Instead, you need to defend a central store of... well, triangles, from waves of raiders. They get fast quickly, and they can destroy your tanks quite efficiently. Strategies can be applied, but you need to be amazingly good.

third) My Hero, 1985, Sega: Imagine a version of Kung-Fu Master where you can only punch and where a single hit costs you a life, and you get close to this game's difficulty. Add in the bouncing spiked balls and arcing bombs and you may never clear the first level.

second) Targ, 1980, Exidy: This is the prequel to Spectar, and it's much harder. There are no dots to collect - you need to finish off all the Ramships to finish a level. The Wummel is much slower in this game, and the Ramships start much faster and much *smarter* than in Spectar. I do believe I've had the highest Spectar score at every Funspot tourney, including the last one where it was a championship game played by most everyone; I have yet to reach the third level in Targ. It's THAT hard.

FIRST) Super Zaxxon, 1982, Sega: If every person on the planet played ten games of this - and tried their best - less than half would manage to last sixty seconds on ANY of their ten games. (It took me until my ninth try, and even then I only scored 8500 points - I can't beat the bloody default high score.) It's funny, too, since the game is *almost* patternizable... but not quite, and it's just so BLOODY FAST that even if you did have a pattern, implementing it would be a nightmare. I said it before, and since then I've considered over a thousand other games with the intent purpose of trying to debunk my own statement and failed, so I'm saying it again: Super Zaxxon is the hardest arcade game ever produced.

Feel free to respond with any comments or questions - especially those along the lines of "Why isn't [a certain game] on your list?", since you may point out a game I've never played or heard of before, or perhaps simply overlooked in my search. And for the love of Walter Day, tell me what the names of those two Rolling Thunder clones are! It's driving me nuts! - ZM (Adam R. Wood)

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 21, 2003 - 08:54 pm
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Hello Zotmeister:

Glad you liked "RipOff"...I tried the game the other day as promised, to see if I still had the old moves, and managed 5,290 points with settings at 16 fuel pods.

MARP indicates that TG settings are 8, but that is incorrect. It's not 12, either...it's 16.

Did you figure out the perfect strategy yet...it's pretty wild. Forcing a fuel pod to be taken to pretty much where your ship appears. Even if you get shot, you will appear right on top of an opponent ship as it tries to steal the cannister(s) present. Not always able to set this up intentionally, but do-able a small percentage of the time.

I believe I made it to where the bonus indicates "+40 points". Can't remember my previous arcade best, it's been too long.

The new "Top 10" will be posted tomorrow, most likely. When the new TG surprise on the site is available, I will integrate a special challenge associated with this "Top 10" on an ongoing basis, with the "Top 10" re-evaluated annually. More on this later...right now it's a developing thought.

Sorry...don't know the names of the two "Rolling Thunder" clones...I assume by now you did the MAME list sort on "Clone of..." ?

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 08:39 am
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They're not romset clones - they are distinct games that play a lot like Rolling Thunder; I'm using the term 'clone' generically, not in MAME's sense. For example, I'd call Taito's Crime City a Rolling Thunder clone as well. - ZM

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 09:58 am
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I want to add a quick remark regarding the list: All games are judged on their factory settings. Many games can be made much harder by messing with their settings. TGTS (Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings) are designed to regulate the length of the game, making it more difficult in order to shorten it or *easier* so that it lasts more than three minutes - Rip Off apparently being a perfect example of the latter. The default is eight, resulting in a much shorter game. Because of the equalization factor of TGTS, it was not used in my calculations.

I would also like to point out that chances are the only reason Anteater isn't on the list is that I personally do not find it difficult, having played it extensively. I love that game. - ZM

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Gone forever

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Rick
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 02:06 pm
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There were thousands of videogames produced over the past three decades but there has to be some we will never see again. Do any of you know some game names that are gone forever? I know some games could be recreated with a MAME machine but that's not original. I was wondering how many are gone for good?

Zotmeister
Friday, July 18, 2003 - 02:49 pm
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Well, no one can seem to remember the two games I inquired about...

Seriously, chances are that a game no longer existing in its original cabinet is one that was obscure to begin with, one that probably isn't even listed on the KLOV, for example. There are also the conversion-kit-style games, which never *had* an original cabinet and required the cannibalism of another machine in order to play - we may well have lost some of the pre-conversion titles.

Games from companies that no longer exist are more likely to have passed on, given that they wouldn't have a spare for posterity kicking around somewhere. I imagine that if any company's games have been lost forever that way, it's American Laser Games - they produced about a dozen different light-gun games, all of which utilized a big screen that would occupy a lot of real estate in a video arcade. Collectors may well still have Mad Dog McCree's in storage, but some of the others may just be lost.

Even if a game isn't lost forever, FINDING it may be next to impossible - but then again, that is why MAME exists: it's a documentation project more than it is an emulator - a library as opposed to an arcade, if you will.

I will say this - there may be only a handful of Pong machines still in existence, but there are a surprising number of Computer Spaces out there, and I know a few people that have the original Pong consoles still in perfect condition, so it would seem that even the oldest of games remain safe from extinction in the hands of collectors. - ZM

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New Domino Man world record

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Gary
Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 08:22 pm
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Donald Hayes has come to Funspot and done it again! A new world record on Domino Man with a final score of 1,040,866. Congratulations!!!

David Nelson
Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 11:39 am
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Damn that was fast. Congratulations Donald, no one doubted you could do it...heh. So what's next?

Ken Sweet
Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 12:27 pm
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Congratulations, Donald!

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 08:40 am
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So Don, how many boards did you link together for that one? - ZM

Donald Hayes
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 12:38 pm
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Thanks guys!

ZM, I took the bonus after the first 14 boards which yields over 700K just for the bonus. Adding in the points for actually going through the boards and that was enough to break the old record of 757K. My game ended on level 21 where I lost the over 20 free men that I had built up from taking the bonus.

On MAME, I've done the first 14 boards several times but haven't yet been able to do 15 or more. Board 15 is very tough to complete on one man...I've actually only done that once but in that particular game I hadn't done the first 14 boards cleanly.

As for things to come, yes I do have a couple goals in mind (but I'd rather not reveal them just yet :-)

Donald

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 04:07 pm
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Time to add another license plate to your collection! - ZM

Cameron Feltner
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 08:55 pm
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Board 15 is definitely tough.

I'm still having trouble with #6 and a few other pre-15 boards. I guess I need to play more often.

I suppose, since board 21 is a tough one, one of your goals must be the 20-board bonus.

I had been thinking the 14-board bonus would only be 509,600. I must have missed something.

Cameron Feltner
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:11 pm
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Ok, I've corrected my bonus calculation.

Now I believe the 14-board bonus to be 711,200.

The minimum points given for setting up the dominos would be 49,400. So a score with a 14-board bonus would at minimum be 760,600.

I had made the mistake of assuming the number of dominos per board is constant (I had previously counted only boards 1 and 2).

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:19 pm
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Cameron,

Yes, board 6 is one of the trouble boards. It's actually the same layout as board 15 but in reverse. I find board 9 is a hard one too.

Good guess about the 20-board bonus :-) I have some other plans too though. For those interested, taking the bonus for 20 boards would yield almost 1.5 million on top of the point you already had for actually going through the screens (probably between 100-150K). And, you'd then have more than 40 extra men to try and clear board 21 (and you'd probably need all of them :-)

Your calculation for the bonus appears to be based on 26 dominos per screen. That's only true for the first two boards. The rest of the boards have 30-45 dominos.

I forgot, how many consecutive boards did you do at the tournament? With a little more practice, I'm sure you could do 14.

Donald

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 11:24 pm
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You got your second post in just before I did. Your bonus calculation is now correct :-)

Cameron Feltner
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 01:48 am
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At the tournament, I got 10 boards. I didn't get much after that. I think I tried to string together some more, and lost the bonus on several boards that way.

I played a few times tonight to get some practice on 6 and 9. These two, and 14, may be the toughest 3 boards for me before 15. I'll need to play some more to be sure, but I didn't have too many problems with 11-13. In one game, I took the bonus after 8, then strung together two smaller runs, with the game ending on 21 (I actually made it there!), and scored 566,045. I don't remember what I got at the tournament, but I think it was below 500K.

I started playing soon after the tournament, but got frustrated from not getting through 10 boards cleanly right away. Sometimes I get the feeling that if I do something once, I should be able to expect to do it anytime. More patience is clearly required, though that attitude can be helpful at times, too.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 25, 2003 - 04:28 pm
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Donald:

Tape received...will watch it tomorrow and post the article Sunday or Monday (7/27-28). Thanks !!

Robert

Barry
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:26 pm
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Another record!! I just finished reading the Super Zaxxon posting above this. Donald, what's next?

Barry

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:49 pm
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Cameron: Yes, Domino Man is definitely one of the more frustrating titles out there. It took me perhaps 25 games up at Funspot before I got 14 boards in a row. In comparison, on MAME I was getting 14 boards maybe 1 out of 10. But it only takes one mistake or one bit of bad luck to ruin a game. You are definitely getting there, though, with your 566K game. Have you tried using Shift-F7 to save the state of the game for practicing the boards? I've used that to practice board 15 and it does help.

Robert: Thanks for letting me know! I'm looking forward to your writeup!

Barry: I do have a couple things I'm working on, but I'd rather not reveal them just yet :-)

Bryguy
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 11:39 am
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Congradulations
Keep up the good work.

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Two tigers record/settings?

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Mark Boolman
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 01:37 am
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Hello, I recently came across a two tigers game. I used to play w/friend on team mode, but became pretty good at playing it. I noticed the record score is only just over a million on default settings. Is the default supposed to be level 3? When I reset the machine, 3 is what it goes to. I'm going to tape a game to send w/my star wars record tape as I am now scoring consistently over 1.04 to 1.4million on level 3 which is well over the current record listed at twin galaxies. If the setting is level 2, closer to 2million. Also, for other games played on mame, will a tape of the game on those work also? I can almost get 2million on mame star wars using just a joystick(analog,of course). I've also got a pair of astro fighters on the way; that's an awfully low record score there(beat that on mystery game, but not on tape). Take care everyone, Mark

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:26 pm
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Mark:

Mark Longridge and I are investigating this one now for the specifics. Here's what we know thus far, thanks to Mark L's detailed investigation...

1st - The Two Tigers game is an MCR2 game from 1984. MCR2 is the same hardware as Tron. If you go into service mode it defaults to difficulty level 3, however Tron defaults to level 5.

There seems to be 2 different versions of this game: regular and dedicated. The dedicated
version has more complex controls. Also there are 3 modes of play: one pilot, team play and dogfight. It appears the object of the game in dogfight mode is to defend your aircraft carrier.

2nd - First question would be "Which version are you playing, regular or dedicated?". The dedicated machine has the extra control of speed
which is not present in the regular version. Second question is "Which mode of play
are you using?".

3rd - The good news is that both versions are emulated in mame. The regular version is
"twotiger" and the dedicated one is "twotigerd".

So...it looks for the moment like the setting was "3", but Mark's the final call on that one. As for the rest, let us know as much as you can.

4th - You asked "Also, for other games played on mame, will a tape of the game on those work also?"

I take this to mean you want to video record a MAME submission. I'd advise you to instead use the built-in INP recording capacbility instead.

Will advise when all the facts are in.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 11:35 pm
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Hi Robert, I was unaware of the differences in the dedicated and the conversion games, so I checked them both out on mame. They are very different in both appearance and gameplay--enough different that they should probably be tracked seperately. The dedicated version has two distinct differences that change the gameplay from the conversion(which is what I've been playing; never seen the dedicated version before).
The first difference is that rather than an anti-aircraft cursor tracking around the screen that cannot be destroyed(conversion), the dedicated version has ship mounted turrets that can be destroyed by dropping bombs on them(ship becomes defenseless). Being able to disarm the ship makes for easy scoring and an easier game.
The second is the option for speed up(dedicated only)from a control button that allows for increased speed in both a dive and a climbing motion, but the conversion only allows you to speed up by entering a dive, and only climbing will slow your speed back down. Obviously, being able to change speed w/out changing directions is an advantage over the conversion.
There are also more subtle differences that don't affect the game play such as three sharks instead of two sharks and a swimmer on the bonus round, and the screen colors are much darker(dedicated), making it harder to tell for sure how close you are to making a hole in the ships. They both allow three types of games: one pilot, team play, and dogfight.
I think there's enough difference in game play to require a distinction for recorded scores. I'd love to get access to a dedicated one for a test play to compare scores on the two. Is there any info on which machine the record holder's game was played? My game will be on the conversion.

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 11:43 pm
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We pulled a dedicated Two Tigers out of an operators warehouse a couple years back. It worked fine but the 8-track (yes 8-track) tape was busted. I let two of my friends take the game while I took others. They got it up and working and then eventually ended up deciding to sell it. I currently work with one of these guys. If there are any questions you want me to ask I surely will. I don't remember much except for the orange? cabinet and the 2 flight yoke type controls.

Anonymous
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 07:43 pm
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Mark I used to play the two tigers conversion with my buddy Andy Seath. The 1 million is a single player score. there is a recent recovery of the 2 million team score i got in the eighties. The game has only three lost destroyers to end the game.

I only recently played the dedicated for the first time at the ca extreme. it is a totally different game to play. dwayne

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Mame.dk roms downloads over

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Mark Boolman
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 02:05 am
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Just popped into mame.dk to get some of the '10 hardest' roms, and the roms links are all black/non-clickable. The samples/art/cabinet/flyers are still available, but one the main page, it says the roms downloads are "game over" due to lack of funding/donations. This is something WE can fix if those that are able can send them a buck or two to pay for the bandwidth they need. I was expecting the reason to be legal. They are too valuable of a resource to allow this to happen. Take care, Mark

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 09:47 am
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Once, they did cut off downloads citing legal issues - their response was to shut off downloads temporarily (I forget how long), then reopen downloads specifically for their registered users only. I wonder whether or not that actually satisfied the litigant. When downloads were reenabled, the download pages sported pop-ups... perhaps the litigant was taking the advertisement dollars? But this is mere speculation.

You can try www.romshare.net (you need the w's). You need to give them your email address to register with them, but mame.dk did the same thing, so it shouldn't be a problem. Their site isn't nearly as well organized, but it's got some amusing Engrish (they're Chinese). They seem to keep everything well up-to-date. There's also video-arcades.com, which is well organized, but there's an executable you need to install for any downloads from them (and that's one road I don't travel). - ZM

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 04:14 pm
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I've also found planetemu.com to be reliable. They have up-to-date sets (even more so than romshare.net - I've found errors there), but they exclude by choice all CHDs and all games dated 2001 or sooner (not that MAME has many of those). I respect that.

For the record - since I never actually stated this before - I believe that mame.dk is a valuable resource and is worthy of donations, ROM downloads or not. - ZM

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 01:24 pm
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Apparently, mame.dk is permitting downloads again. Unfortunately, the pop-ups still abound. I've found planetemu to be less reliable - "busy signals", it seems - and romshare.net would be great if their game list were better organized and more accurate (but at least they don't have pop-ups!). - ZM

RCorcoran
Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 01:53 pm
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Zot:

Have you tried Opera? Great web browser and you can block pop-ups natively. Yes, I still use IE, but have Opera as nice alternative.

Zotmeister
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 08:48 am
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I have XP; I tend to ignore pop-ups and group-close IE when I'm done. Pop-ups don't bother me all that much; in fact, I plan to purchase an X-Arcade soon, and if it weren't for its pop-up ad, I'd have never found out about it. What really bugs me are the "Would you like to install my spyware?" boxes that come up; thankfully, PC Magazine told me all about SpyBot - Search & Destroy, and as long as I keep the includes updated I almost never see the bloody things anymore. - ZM

RCorcoran
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 10:32 am
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I too am on XP (Pro). Thanks for the SpyBot tip. I'll give it a try as SpyWare is almost as evil as SPAM...

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If you had a choice...

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Rick
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 07:18 pm
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This is wishful thinking but, what if a genie popped up and said you could have any 10 games for your basement but you have to choose right now. What 10 would you pick? My choices would be:
1. Dig Dug
2. Asteroids
3. Sinistar
4. Polaris
5. Punchout
6. Pole Position
7. Kiss pinball
8. Jungle Hunt pinball
10. Addams Family pinball

RichardM.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 07:30 pm
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My games of choice would be:

1) Tempest
2) Gyruss
3) Crystal Castles
4) Gauntlet
5) STUN Runner
6) Robotron
7) Galaga '88
8) Ms. Pac-Man
9) Millipede
10) Twilight Zone (pinball)

-- Richard M.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 23, 2003 - 09:37 pm
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My choices would be (no particular order), and I won't cheat by saying "Ultracade Cabinet"...

1) Super Cobra
2) Robotron
3) Smash TV
4) Indiana Jones (arcade)
5) Stun Runner
6) Paperboy
7) Blaster (SO much to do)
8) Commando
9) Road Runner (awesome music)
10) Star Wars

Robert

PS - I would have selected "Pipi & Bibs" if I was sure that this was an arcade game...I just love this game on MAME

Anonymous
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 09:53 am
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Mine would be (no order)

1. Dig Dug
2. Mario Bros.
3. ZooKeeper
4. Crazy Climber (kind of difficult to play on MAME unless you use the keyboard!!)
5. Gauntlet II
6. Ms Pac Man
7. Pacmania
8. Toobin
9. Rygar
10. Donkey Kong

Scootie

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 03:52 pm
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1. Lucky and Wild
2. Silent Scope
3. Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette
4. Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette
[I need two so I can have duels with others]
5. The Addams Family (pin)
6. Jurassic Park (pin)
7. Star Trek: The Next Generation (pin)
8. World Cup '94 (pin)
9. The Twilight Zone (pin)
10. Banzai Run (pin)

If I had to choose RIGHT NOW, that's what I'd choose. - ZM

artz
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 08:50 pm
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Here's my list in no particular order:

1. Donkey Kong
2. Crazy Climber
3. Toobin' (awesome game I discovered in college)
4. Ms. Pac-Man
5. Defender
6. Robotron
7. Tutankham
8. Tempest
9. Star Trek (cockpit of course)
10. Crystal Castles

11. Donkey Kong Junior (honorable mention)

Ken Sweet
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 09:15 pm
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Hmm... cool question. No particular order to these, and they obviously aren't all classics.

1) Spectar
2) World Cup Soccer Pinball '94
3) Ghosts N' Goblins
4) Gauntlet
5) Gauntlet Legends
6) Tekken 3
7) Golden Axe
8) Crossbow
9) Discs of Tron
10) Hydrothunder

I know, I know... it's a pretty wacky list. Still, there's something about each of these games that really appeals to me, so there it is. That's my list.

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 11:35 pm
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Ok. No order and I'm assuming you mean if I didn't already own 80% of these.

1) Dragon's Lair
2) Donkey Kong
3) Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-man
4) Tempest
5) Robotron 2084
6) Q*bert
7) Joust
8) Star Wars
9) Wizard of Wor
10) Tapper

But better yet would be what 10 would you choose if they could not be any of the "top" collected games?

1) Looping
2) Pepper II
3) Mr. Do's Wild Ride
4) Wild Western
5) Crazy Balloon
6) Spectar
7) Stunt Cycle
8) Domino Man
9) Space Firebird
10) M.A.C.H. 3

Phil Younger
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 12:18 am
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Here goes my list in no order-

1. Berzerk of course
2. Xybots
3. Pac-Mania great Pac-man version
4. Lode Runner #4 out of a series of 5
5. Crystal Castles
6. Quarth this Japanese game is truly awesome
7. Venture
8. Star Castle
9. Ataxx an interesting strategy game
10. Zektor ok robots taunt you in this game too

Interesting I saw Barbara Eden on a plane to New York some years ago. Phil Y

Tommi
Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 08:45 pm
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1. 720
2. Starwars x3
3. Paperboy
4. Firefox
5. Tron
6. Tron
7. Outrun
Odd controls + Tron just looks soo cool!
Otherwise Mame rocks.

8. Dragon's Lair
9. yes, Gauntlets would be nice too.
10. Mame cab with different control layouts

Hey, I guess Funspot could use 10 too...

Gary
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 06:22 pm
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Hi Tommi,
Yes, there are at least 10 games I'd like to see at Funspot.
1. Discs of Tron, environmental cabinet
2. Exidy's Death Race
3. Computer Space
4. Pong
5. Sinistar, sitdown version
6. Hercules pinball
7. The Empire Strikes back, sitdown
8. Return of the Jedi, sitdown (just so we can have all three in the series)
9. The gigantic video game with the 4' tall joysticks that was in the movie, Joyticks.
10. A working set of TX1 boards so I can get ours back out on the floor where it belongs.

I'm sure to think of more later but that was a quick list.

Gary

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 07:49 pm
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Gary:

Not sure of what the title of these two are, but they go WAY back, pre-"Death Race", actually, and if you find them I'm sure they would be well received.

1st - Did you ever see a table-top wooden challenge called "Labyrinth" in which you used knobs on top and on the side to guide a metal ball thru an obstacle course which was basically a wooden maze with holes here and there, about 30-40 between start to finish.

Well, at a Queens amusement park that my parents used to take me to eons ago, back when games like "Sea Raider" and "Foreign Legion" were common, there was a sit-down title very similiar to "Labyrinth". You had foot pedals to make the game tilt one way, and levers on the side to make it tilt the other. The game was encased in a huge bubble and you sat in a "cockpit" style chair.

It was pretty tough to navigate the ball thru without it falling into a hole. There were metal ramps "S-turns" with holes on the insides, and the course was quite intricate. Not a true "video game" with tangible results, but as much fun as a "Ski-Ball" or "Whac-a-Mole" for sure.

2nd - Another one that I played was a "UFO" type game. It had that "visor" like "Battlezone" that you looked thru. There was a red and a green "UFO", a large plastic one, and a realistic (as much as can be expected) space-like environment with rocky outcrops, etc, and you effectively played "Outlaw/Gunfighter" with the spaceships. Pretty neat for that day and age. You shot light beams, not too far off from "Sea Raider" in terms of appearance.

One player on each side of the machine. It was pretty fun to play this one in a 1-on-1 setting.

I haven't a clue what either game was called. The oldest game I remember playing frequently was "Exidy",and the oldest pinball I played all the time was called "Suspicion" which had a cool roulette wheel type device in the center. Haven't seen this one in over 25 years...same for the other two titles.

Robert

Barry
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:24 pm
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I would choose,
1. Pac man
2. Galaga
3. Centipede
4. Missle Command
5. Donkey Kong
6. Robotron
7. Dragon's Lair
8. Ms Pac Man, for the ladies enjoyment
9. Air Hockey
10. Foosball, for my drinking buddies

Barry

Anonymous
Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 05:37 pm
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I play both sides of the coin “Pin & Vid” so here’s my 20.

Top 10 Vid:
Asteroids
Tempest
Commando
Area 51
Hogan’s Alley
Pole P
Q*bert
1942
Joust
Lethal Enforcer

Top 10 Pin:
Jacks Open
High Hand
Top Card
Silverball Mania
Joker Poker
Flash
Joker Z
Addams Family (Gold)
Twilight Zone
T2

P.S. Nice thread………

mspaeth
Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 09:53 pm
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Return of the jedi didn't come in a cockpit... only the perverse SW/ESB conversions... eewwww.

Cameron Feltner
Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 11:07 pm
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1. Gaplus
2. Cliffhanger
3. Darius
4. Discs of Tron
5. Banzai Run (pin)
6. Gyruss
7. Frontline
8. Spy Hunter
9. Arm Wrestling
10. Rush'n Attack

Towards the bottom is filler, I'd have to think about it awhile to get the correct list.

In terms of practicality, I'd rather have 10 expensive games I didn't like, so I could sell them, then get more than 10 games, or retire or something.

Cameron Feltner
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 12:06 am
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If we could have ANY ten games, though...

Number one on my list is a game which doesn't exist, but has been present in a number of dreams. In the dreamworlds in which I've seen it, it is known to be a rare game. It is also both challenging, and great fun to play. I know of it only as "Dragon", but may not be remembering the name correctly in waking life.

Other worthy games of note, which may or may not be in the top ten in a final list (dream versions, of course):

Xevious. The dream version of this game is incredible.

(name forgotten). A full 3D game involving swimming and diving (lots of water). The gameplay is a little like Moon Patrol, with some fixed elements of the terrain, and some variable "enemies" to deal with, except Moon Patrol has 1D movement, while this game has 3D movement. Also, you start out without a vehicle.

Zotmeister
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 08:54 am
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You know, I didn't even consider the possibility of choosing games that don't exist yet. I have a few arcade game ideas I'd love to see materialize. I started a novel that is inspired by one of my ideas and would make a great foundation for a series of games. I wouldn't mind the whole series magically appearing before me, but then again I suppose that if I don't like the results.... - ZM

RMacauley
Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 07:06 am
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Ok here we go.
I'd pick something like this:

1. Donkey Kong
2. Dig Dug
3. Kiss (pin)
4. Banzai Run (pin) I'd love to play that again
5. Centaur (pin)
Useless trivia: as much as I love the game play on Centaur, I've got the main characters from the backglass tattooed on the back of my right shoulder so thats an added incentive to have the game.
6. Discs of Tron
7. Harlem Globetrotters (pin)
8. Attack from Mars (pin)
9. Gyruss
10. Spirit (pin)

I realise I've leaned more towards pinball, but that's what I tend to play more. By the way, Pipi and Bibi's was definately an arcade game. I've played it in an arcade out here in Aust.

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 11:54 am
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Pipi and Bibi's is a lot of fun. It's got quite the challenge for a game of its nature. I miss Toaplan. The late Game Room of Boston (see Carnival Fred's shirt) used to have Gals Panic, which they traded in for its sequel. These games do exist, even in the United States. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 06:14 pm
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Hello Zotmeister:

I actually have the 2nd highest score in MARP right now, approx low-900K reaching stage 4-2 or 4-3...(I forget which).

The game gets awesomely hard after level 4...those cars in level 5 are a major pain. And level 6 is devastating.

I've been practicing on what I assume would be TG settings in the unlikely event that TG tracks this title. We probably won't due to the inbetween scene subject matter, but it's a great game otherwise.

Ever try stage 6-4 ? It's insanely difficult.

Robert

Zotmeister
Thursday, August 07, 2003 - 11:22 am
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I'm not sure how far I've gotten in it off the top of my head, but level 4 sounds about right for me, so I may be right around your ability. I'll have to check.

Isn't there a dipswitch to disable the reward scenes? Besides, why should the subject matter of the game prevent it from being considered as a record-worthy game? Dictionaries don't exclude vulgar words.

I don't believe I've ever delved as deep as level 6.

Say, Robert, have you ever played Quartet? - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, August 07, 2003 - 07:52 pm
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Hello Zotmeister:

I was aware of a dipswitch that controlled the heavy versus light censoring of the inbetween scene images, yes. The real issue at hand is whether TG would track this title all things considered. I wish they would. Last eve I died in stage (3-4) at 893K after not having played for months. Level (4-1) is a point-bonanza and I could easily have cracked 1M had I lived. Ah well, another day. Besides, I feel I have better games in me yet.

Level 6 is NASTY...I know how to clear stages (6-2) and (6-3) easily. Stage (6-1) is very hard, and (6-4) is pure insanity and is the hardest stage in the game. The second hardest is actually stage (5-3) followed by stage (4-4).

I'm excellent at point-pressing...I'm within almost 100% proficiency compared to the MARP champion right now based on where I've reached...it's just a matter of mastering all of five stages out of the twenty four, and a few key points in the game, and then I'll have the record easily. Give me some time. I'll go back to this title and "Green Beret" again before the TG Book comes out, and will see if I can convince Mark to track this one.

As for "Quartet", never played it before. I am not sure I have the ROMs...will check this evening. I'll give it a whirl, sure !! But I doubt I'll come close to what you can reach.

Robert

JASON CRAM
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:16 pm
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My list in no particular order would be:
-Zookeeper
-Congo Bongo
-Cloak and Dagger
-Dragon's Lair
-Crazy Climber
-Pleiades
-Discs of Tron (environmental)
-Centipede
-Black Widow
-Timber
There are many more, but these are the 10 that come to mind first.

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MAME scores

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Scootie
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 11:35 am
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Just read some of the other posts and have a question. Can you tape a game on MAME and submit that to TG? Considering that you can use cheats (unlimited lives, invincibility etc)in MAME, it strikes me as cheating! Can someone please explain this to me.
thanks
Scootie

Mark Boolman
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 01:28 pm
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I posed the question about taping mame games, but it was answered that using the built in mame.inp game recorder should be used for all mame submissions. As far as using cheats etc in the mame games, it would be just as obvious when the game is reviewed as would a tape of the real thing. The .inp file will record everything that shows up on the game screen, so what I've started doing is hitting 'f-2' prior to starting game to be recorded; this shows the difficulty settings for the game being played so there is no doubt about the settings being played. TG and MARP both state that anyone repeatedly trying to submit scores achieved by cheating will be barred from future submissions. This would allow for a person to make an honest mistake once(at least), but will weed out the bad eggs. Mark.

RCorcoran
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 02:30 pm
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We have tools that examine INP's to give us a great deal of information about the game that was recorded. We can detect speed up/slow down, cheats, framerate, etc., etc., etc. Recording a MAME game to tape would not be as reliable, but we could detect the more blatant cheats. I would suggest asking Mark Longridge directly so he can provide a more detailed answer to this query.

Mark can be reached thru his website at:

http://cubeman.vg-network.com/

Bondo
Saturday, August 02, 2003 - 04:00 pm
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To the best of my knowledge, a game taped on mame would be sent to mark longridge and submitted as a MAME SCORE ONLY. Maybe tg would review it I don't know, but obviously this would not count as arcade title.

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Help identifying old beat-em-up

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statorjso
Saturday, August 02, 2003 - 09:49 am
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As a kid I remember seeing an old arcade beat-'em-up that I believe supported up to 4 players. The characters had a numeric health meter that ticked down as time passed, and once it got to a certain point, a message saying "About to Die" appeared above the character. I believe the first level was a subway whose boss wore a hockey mask and had a Freddy Krueger-like glove. Anyone have an idea what it was? It definitely had an urban feel to it.

Scootie
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 10:00 am
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Sounds like NARC

Zotmeister
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 10:25 am
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Crime Fighters, Konami, 1989.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=C&game_id=7437

You see, usually I'm very good at this. - ZM

Anonymous
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 10:44 pm
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Crime Fighters it is! Thanks.

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Does anybody remember an arcade games called Tokyo

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bain
Monday, August 18, 2003 - 11:02 am
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I've been looking for an arcade game called tokyo. it's a shoot'em up with a jet and you can have up to three helper jets that you arrange around your ship to give different weaponsfire. It's possible the game was named differently, but I recall it being called Tokyo.

thanks
bain

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, August 18, 2003 - 07:51 pm
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Hi Bain:

There are a few games I've seen like this one..."Tiger Heli" being the one that comes to mind first. I am sure there are others with "helper" helis or jets.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 11:03 am
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It seems you're describing Tokio (with an 'i' - yes, it's a misspelling), Taito, 1986. It's Japanese title is Scramble Formation, and indeed you have a formation of planes around your own (but it's four, not three). - ZM

Adrian M
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 09:58 am
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If I recall correctly, Funspot used to have this game (Tokio) back in the late 1980's - early 1990's. I remember playing it over in the area of the building that now houses the golf/bar area. Great game, but seldom seen in US arcades.

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Donald does it again!

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Gary
Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 09:33 pm
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Donald Hayes sat down for a leisurely game of Super Zaxxon tonight and ended up breaking his own world record. This was not planned so there was no videotape rolling, so consequently, this score will fall into the unofficial category. The final score was 564,250.

Ken Sweet
Sunday, July 27, 2003 - 03:17 pm
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Congratulations again, Donald! I'm sure you'll be able to do it again officially.

Ken

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 28, 2003 - 07:51 pm
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Donald:

Congratulations !! That's an awesome score.

Robert

Barry J.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 07:18 pm
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Wow! I've been following this guys record for a few years now and it is impressive. Congrats on the latest achievement.

Barry

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 10:51 pm
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Thanks Barry! I hope I have the camcorder with me next time, though :-)

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No longer in business

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Gary
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 12:04 pm
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I started to think of game companies that are no longer with us and quickly came up with this list. For the museum project, I would like to gather as much data on these companies as I can so visitors can learn about the history of coin-operated entertainment.

Gottlieb
the original Stern
Midway
Atari
Data East
Exidy
Taito
Nichibutsu
Williams
Irem
Centuri
Photar
Chester Pollard (maker of many antique coin-ops)
Bally
Rock-ola
Universal
Cinematronics

There were many more than this. Which ones do you remember?

Gary

Gregory S. Erway
Monday, August 04, 2003 - 05:56 pm
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Well under the Manufacturers section of "the Arcade Video Game Price Guide 2002 Edition Covering Video Games from 1970-1990", I find the following list (I remember many of these):

Ace Vending Corporation
Action Video
Advanced Video Technology
All State
Allied Leisure
Alpha Denshi Co., Ltd.
Alstate Group, Inc.
Always Electronic Comp., Ltd.
AM Games
Amenip
Amari Corporation
Americade
American Made
American Sammy
American Suntronics
American Technos
Amstar Electronics
Ametec
Amusment Technology
Amutech
Amutronics
Arcadia Systems, Inc.
Artic Electronics Co., Ltd.
Associate Overseas Mfr, Inc.
Atari
Atari-Ireland
ATW USA, Inc.
Axlon, Inc.
Bailey International
Balance Tech
Bally
Bally Group
Bally/Midway
Bally/Midway/Sega
Bally/Sente
Bear
Bo Mak Electronics
Brunswick
Can-Am
Capcom
Capitol Projector Corporation
Cardinal Amusement
Centrol Denshi
Centuri
Century Consolidated Industries
Centry Electronics, Ltd.
CHC
Chicago Coin
Chu Co Ltd. Cinematronics
Coin Ind.
Coindate
Coinex
Coin-It
Colorado Game Exchange
Competitive Video
Computer Games
Computran
Cosmos
Crown Vending
Culture Brain
Current Marketing
Current Technology
D.R. Korea
Data East
Data East (DECO)
Demo
Digimatic Italia
Digital Controls
Digital Games, Inc.
Diversified Entertainment
Dooyong
Duncan Brown Software
Dynamo
Dynasoft
E.G. Felaco
East Technology
Eastern Commerce, Inc.
Eastern Micro Electronics
Elcon Industries
Electra
Electro Plastic SA
Electrocoin
Electro-Sport, Inc
EMAG Corporation
Entertainment Enterprises, Ltd.
Entertainment Sciences
Enter-Tech
E-Plus
ESP Productions
Exidy
Fabtek
Falcon International
Fascination, Ltd.
Food and Fun Corp.
Fun Games
Funai
Game Plan
Game World
Game-A-Tron
Games
Gametech
Gametecniks
Gametek
Gamex
GDI
General Computer Corp.
Gottlieb
Grand Products
Grayhound Electonics
Gremlin
Gremlin/Sega
GRH
Hal Computer Inc.
Hara Industries
Hoei Internation, Inc.
Home Corporation
Home Data
Hybel Group
Improvement Computer Co.
Innovative Coin Corp.
Interlogic
International Consolidated Ind.
Irem
Ivics, Inc.
Jaleco
Japan Leisure Ltd.
Jetsoft
Jeutel
JRW Electronics, Inc.
Kaneko
Karateco
Kasco Distributing Co.
Kee Games
KH Video
Kitco
Kitkorp
Kiwako Co., Ltd.
KKI
KKK
Komax
Konami
Konami/Centuri
Kural Electronics
Laserdisc Computer Systems
Leijac Corporation
Leland Corporation
Logitec
Magic Electronics
Magnetic Corp.
Mama Top
March
MC O'River, Inc.
Meadows Games
Memtron
Merit Industries
Micro Prose
Micronetics, Inc.
Midcoin S.N.C.
Midway
Millennium Game Products
Milton Bradley
Micro Games
Micro Research
Mitchell Corporation
Model Racing
Montgomery Vending
Mylstar Electronics, Inc.
Namco
Nanao
NEC
Nichibutsu
Nics
Nikon
Ninendo
Nintendo/SNK
Nipon Amusement
Nova Games
Nutting Associates
Ocean
Olympia
Omega Products
Omni Video, Inc.
Orca Corporation
Original Game
Pacific Novelty
Petaco S.A.
PGD
PGI
Philco
Phoenix
Photar Industries
Playmatic
PMC
Potomac Mortage Company
Proma
PSE
Rait Electronics
Ramtek Corporation
RDI
REM
Rene Pierre
Rock-Ola
Romstar
S/S
Sakowa Project
Samya
Sanritsu
Sega
Sega/Coreland
Sega/Gremlin
Seibu Denshi
Seibu Kaihatsu
Seiko
Sesame Japan
Seta
Sharp Image
Shoci
Shoei
Sidam
Sigma Entertainment
Signatron USA
Simutrek
SMS Mfg.
SNK
Sonic
Space Age
Square
Status Games
Stern Electronics
Strata Group, Inc.
Subelectro
Success
Sun Corporation of America
Sun Electronics Corp.
Sunn International
Sunsoft
TAD Corp.
Tago Electronics
Taito
Tamtex
Tatsumi
Tecfri
Technos
Technos Japan
Technosoft
Techstar
Tecmo
Tehkan
Telko
Telmark Systems, Inc.
The Learning Company
The Seeburg Corporation
Thomas Automatics
Thunderbold
Titus
Toaplan
Tradewest
Tuni Electro Service, Inc.
UBI
UCI
UEP
United Artists
United Games, Inc.
Universal
Universal City Studios, Inc.
Universal Products
Universal Research
UPL
US BIlliards
US Games
USA Games
Valadon Automation
VEB Polytechnik
Vertorbeam
Venture Line
Vic Tokai
Vics
Videa
Video Play
Video System Co.
Video Ware, Inc.
volly
V-System Co., Ltd.
Wesco
Westlake Systems
Wico
Williams
Woodplace, Inc.
World Games
World Wide Distributing
World Wide Enterprises
Yachiyo Electronics Co., Ltd.
Yankee Games Tech
Zaccaria
Zilec-Zenitone

Zotmeister
Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 10:32 am
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To the best of my knowledge (I may be wrong on some of these, but I'd be mostly surprised if I were):

- Williams/Bally/Midway is still very much alive and kicking, and is still part of the same legacy (no other companies buying them out and overhauling their focus, with much of the same team still on board). The Williams brand is now found on gambling machines, such as video poker; the Bally brand is found on exercise equipment and the fitness centers that use them; and the Midway brand is *still* being used on video games - arcade and home - as it always has been.

- Taito hasn't gone anywhere; they haven't stopped making video games since Space Invaders.

- Irem still exists more-or-less in its original form, and are still making games - in fact, their upcoming R-Type Final is quite anticipated...

- Nichibutsu is still alive - they just don't sell to the states anymore. They have had a focus on adult games for quite some time (look at all their strip mahjongg games in MAME), and most of what they make now is adult-oriented... although they did make Crazy Climber 2000.

- "Atari" should probably be denoted as "the original Atari", as you did for Stern. For those who lost track, the company formerly known as Infogrames - the largest PC game producer in the world - now has the rights to all things Atari, and even renamed their company TO Atari. Something tells me you won't be seeing the Atari logo on any more arcade machines, unlike the companies listed above (which still are in the arcade business).

- Rock-Ola didn't die in the crash... they just stopped making video games and went back to making jukeboxes. They still make antique-style jukeboxes to this day.

- Exidy died in 1982 - an early victim of the crash - but someone has parked Exidy.com... Universal and Cinematronics/Vectorbeam died in the crash as well.

- The death of Data East is very recent: they declared bankruptcy on June 25 of *this year*. Mind you, they hadn't produced any games since November of 1999. The company was founded April 20, 1976 - two days before I was born.

- Chances are that some of the remainder still exist, just under different names. That happens frequently in this industry, and I have difficulty keeping track of the web sometimes. Often, all the flipflopping doesn't even change any of the actual people involved. Take the Sid Meier computer games, for example: the name of the company with the rights to them all changed from Microprose to Hasbro Interactive to Infogrames to Atari to Firaxis, and Sid Meier was never really distanced from them for long.

What company do I truly miss? Toaplan. Toaplan.com can say more than I can about it, including how they aren't really dead - just scattered to the winds. - ZM

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 06:56 pm
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Yea. Sorry about that. I was just listing all the manufactures as listed in the book and not just the "out of business" ones. I figured the list might bring back memories for some of those long gone.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 11:57 am
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I figured as much - I was responding directly to Gary's list. I knew Capcom and Konami wouldn't be on anyone's "out of business" list. - ZM

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Motorace USA

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mspaeth
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 12:37 am
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Does anyone play Motorace USA / Traverse USA / Zippy Race seriously?

I played a few times in mame, and thought 100k+ seemed pretty decent, and I looked and saw the record is 2 million... that'd be traversing the USA at least 20 times, and it doesn't seem all that plausible...

Anyone else have experience with this game?

Zotmeister
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 11:06 am
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Not yet, but I'll soon fix that... - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 07:52 pm
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Mark:

Greg Sakundiak has been asking me recently about this one...he must be pretty good as he is expecting to set the record once I provide him with the proper settings from M Longridge.

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 07:38 pm
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mark i got 1.6 a long time ago it is about 8-10 hours to beat the 2 million. My buddy greg sakundiak got a game and i attempting to break that record. dwayne

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 26, 2003 - 05:57 pm
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Dwayne:

If you like "Motorace", try "Kick Rider". You may like that one as much or even more than "MoroRace".

Robert

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Pitfall 2 - Level 2 & 4 Query

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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, August 29, 2003 - 07:56 pm
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Hello:

Does anyone ever play this one ? I have two questions if you do.

1st - I know how to get the extra life in stage 1, as well as the chalice worth 100K in stage 3, but have not figured out how to get the special object in stage 2, assuming there is one.

Does anyone know if such an object exists for stage 2 ?

2nd - I've reached about as far as I can for now...the statue of the Lizard King where the crown is located. What's left in the game after that ? I don't see anything below the lowest level so assume either the game ends of it loops.

Anyone know the answer to this one ? Thanks !!

Robert

mspaeth
Friday, August 29, 2003 - 10:26 pm
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Hmmm.

I've played this quite a few times, and never seen any way of getting an extra guy on stage 1... I guess I need to play it a bit more... heh.

IIRC, the game just ends when you get the crown on level 4...

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 02:21 pm
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Hi Mark:

To get the extra man on stage 1, all you have to do is (A) get all the treasures before reaching the fire-breathing idol, which includes the four hidden treasures and (B) NOT die after getting the next-to-the-last treasure and before reaching the idol.

There is one more treasure after that which I typically get after picking up the extra life which is located by the idol. I'll send you my INP later today so you can check it out (MAME 32 Build 62)

The stage 3 chalice works the same way...after getting the last treasure you cross back over the screen showing the key below, only now the chalice is there. BUT...you have to not die until you reach it, or it disappears. It's worth a cool 100K.

I finished the game last eve...can now do by 3rd man guaranteed, and by 2nd man I've done it twice, once was higher by a few hundred. My current record is like 437K dying once.

No clue how the MARP records are 2.2M but suspect a "hidden world" exists. Will ask Alan Hewston if he knows.

Robert

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Vids and youth violence

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Mr. Mickey
Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 11:11 pm
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Too bad classics aren't out there anymore. Just shootemups and driving games....this is what they have wrought:

http://tinyurl.com/lphj

Mr. Reality
Monday, September 01, 2003 - 06:39 pm
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I assume the point you are making is that people are not responsible for their actions? "Oh, it's OK kids since the video game made you do it. We'll blame it on the game instead of the fact you are both complete brain-dead idiots and can't tell the difference between make believe and reality."

It's pathetic to think people these days are so dumb. It's not the game's fault, it's the kid's fault.

Anonymous
Monday, September 01, 2003 - 07:59 pm
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The point seems to be classic games were cool and newer games are not.

Mr. Gorgachuck
Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 06:02 pm
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Add to that the obesity of the kids today. Stuck in front of a TV all day playing GTA.....

The only part of them getting a workout is their thumbs!

Classic games had more thought put into the game play. Theyt couldn't rest on the flashy graphics that todays game programmers do to sell the game.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 09:38 am
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[soapbox]

To be fair - and someone here has to be - despite its subject matter, the Grand Theft Auto series is one of the best game designs ever made. It excels in play control, non-linearity, variety, and balance of difficulty. The games are very easy to learn but present many distinct challenges, many of which require careful planning to complete rather than raw instinct and reflex.

I believe that exercizing the mind is just as important - if not moreso - than exercizing the body, and GTA is not a bad way at all of doing that. (I'm not claiming it would be better than, say, Jagged Alliance, Master of Orion II, or Final Fantasy Tactics, but it is up there.) For exercizing the body, we have eight - count them - eight versions of Dance Dance Revolution. And that's just about the only real game in most arcades today. Just working out the thumbs, eh?

As for obesity, it's not just the kids - it's the whole nation. The Department of Agriculture just can't get their collective tiny little comprehensive faculties around the notion that breads, cereals, and pastas are junk food - they are made from pounds of sugar, after all - and the public keeps getting fed (literally fed) the lies. Diabetes is also an epidemic here, and the cause is related. But I digress.

"Mr. Reality" is right in the sense that the game is not at fault, but the *real* problem is that the *PARENTS* allowed this to happen. Where did the kids get the rifle? Weren't they taught how to use - and how NOT to use - the bloody thing? Stupid people shouldn't breed, and they CERTAINLY shouldn't be allowed to *raise* children. That's why "people" these days are so dumb: Watch Maury and you'll see the kind of people that breed freely. Those with three-digit IQs are far more selective - we're losing by sheer numbers. (Perhaps that means that statistically my IQ is going up, but that's really no consolation - it's certainly no protection from the underage, underdeveloped, undereducated, underraised [I'm making that a word right here and now, and I want to see my name in its etymology in Merriam-Webster], stupid child of worse parents by the side of the freeway with a rifle firing at passing vehicles. It doesn't really matter how smart Aaron Hamel was, now, does it?)

At the same time I first heard this story, I also heard about another recent video-game-related killing (unfortunately, I don't know the link off-hand): A mother left her child in an unventilated car for hours, where it suffocated to death. What was the mother doing at the time? Playing EverQuest. I think I've made my point.

You'd think the government would have learned its lesson by now, after dealing with books, then radio, then movies, then television: Children are not the problem, and censorship is not the answer - parents are the problem, and educating the parents is the solution. Get with the times - "It's just a comic book" hasn't applied for decades; "It's just a video game" doesn't apply anymore either (certainly not since Chiller, and that was 1986 - that's one "classic" game I hope to NEVER see at the FunSpot!).

[/soapbox]

I now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion of classic video games. If you have any comments to make to me about any of this, that's my email link on the left. Unlike the others in this thread, I have nothing to hide. - ZM (Adam R. Wood)

Anonymous
Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 11:18 am
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Bravo!

Rick
Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 06:37 am
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The root of the problem lies with our "blame it on something/someone else" society. This applies to drunk driving, guns, murder, robbery and child abuse along with just about anything else you can think of. People feel they are no longer responsible for what they do because that's what the lawyers tell them.

Rob a bank, it's not your fault, it's your employer's fault because they didn't pay you enough.

Get drunk, accidently kill someone with your car and it's not your fault, it's either the fault of the company that made the alcohol or the car company that made a car that allows drunk people to drive it.

Watch wrestling on TV, try the piledriver on your friend and cripple him, it's not your fault. It's the network's fault for showing that on TV.

I agree with Zotmeister, where the heck are the parents to teach their kids the difference between right and wrong?

Zotmeister
Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 10:31 am
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[applauds Rick] - ZM

Dr. Dave
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 12:15 pm
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Where are the parents you say?

One of them is working 1 or 2 jobs while the other is working a full time job to pay the tax bill.

Day care starting from the age of 6 months for the kids, no personal attention at home or at the day care for them.

That's ok. Set them in front of a TV for most of the day and let them watch all the violence/play all the violent games they want.

And you wonder why these youths are acting out so violently?

DR

Zotmeister
Monday, September 08, 2003 - 01:21 pm
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My reply, in short: those who can't spare the time to raise kids shouldn't breed them. Therein lies the problem behind the problem. Perhaps we also need to educate the parents *before* they become parents. :P I won't torment this board with further expounding on this, though. - ZM

Cameron Feltner
Monday, September 08, 2003 - 10:15 pm
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Ultimately it's the child's responsibility to raise him/her self. Assigning all the blame to parents just teaches children that they can get away with anything. When these children grow up, they will be faultless, so it must be the video games that are influencing their children to assume no responsibility for their actions.

Zotmeister
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:08 am
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I don't believe this. Who are you, and what have you done with Cameron Feltner? Here we go again...

"Failure to give clear orders and instructions is the commander's fault. But if the commander has clearly given instructions and yet orders failed to be followed, the troops and leaders are to be blamed, if they choose not to obey." - Attributed to Sun Tzu (possibly paraphrased, possibly apocryphal), while demonstrating that The Art of War could teach females to fight by training the Emperor's concubines; after two explanations and subsequent responses to orders with giggling, he executed the one chosen as "troop leader" right after saying this [they started following orders after that]

[soapbox]

Humans are incapable of even supporting themselves at young ages, so at least some parental tutelage must be assumed, and that tutelage should include cause & effect. Responsibility and discipline mean nothing to one who doesn't understand that doing things makes other things happen. It's been proven that humans can't even understand point of view - that what one person sees isn't what everyone else in the world sees - until around age three on average, so I'm not talking just about babies here. I'm talking about people quite capable of wielding a hammer.

People need to learn how to use the tools around them. They need to learn what they are, what they are NOT (or at least are not intended for), and - most importantly - WHY it is what it is. People don't learn anything if they don't understand the reasons *behind* things. "Hammers were made to put nails into blocks of wood to hold them together, not to break kneecaps with. You wouldn't like it if your kneecaps were broken, would you? You know how the doctor taps your knee and your leg flies up? Well, this will make it fly up and *stick* that way. You'll never be able to walk. So only use hammers on nails, not on people." There - now you can use a hammer. And if I see you with a hammer and there are no nails around, then you are getting punished, because I know that you know better. You're not getting away with ANYTHING under my watch; the blame is now clearly off my shoulders.

If anyone out there has a kid, and has never said or demonstrated anything like this, then they aren't raising their kid right. Sure, maybe you have a miracle kid that understands this sort of thing intrinsically, but that's pretty rare - don't take that chance.

You know the old byline "Don't talk to strangers"? Too many parents leave off the second half - "If a stranger talks to you, come get me (or a police officer)." That's what I was taught as a kid. I see no reason why this should be limited to unknown people; children should also be told "Don't touch things that you don't know about; come get me and I'll tell you about them". And hey, before long your kid will not only learn not to mess with things he doesn't understand, but also that he should LEARN about those things so that he DOES understand them and CAN mess with them if appropriate. Far too many parents simply say "Don't do that" without ever saying WHY. Oh, and by the way, I support the death penalty for any parent that says "Because I said so" to their child. That isn't a reason why. Not by a longshot. If they're old enough to comprehend that (grammatically horrendous) sentence, they're old enough to comprehend "You could get hurt" or "That's rude" or "That isn't fair to the others here".

Teaching games to children is a great way to show them how to be assertive (as a player in the game, you count for something) and competitive (by trying to win, you're being the best you can be) while they learn all about fairness (everyone has to follow the rules) and consequence (the decisions you make influence the outcome). It is a perfectly controlled learning environment. As fairness plus consequence equals responsibility, and assertion plus competition equals self-worth, I just solved the two greatest problems plaguing today's youth.

Not all games are created equal, of course. Video games are especially immersive, so the subject matter must be appropriate for the maturity of the player. Someone who isn't old enough to even be *taught* how to use a hammer shouldn't be introduced to one until he is. If your two-year old gets your hammer and trashes your house, you only have yourself to blame by having that hammer somewhere that your kid could get it. It's that simple. (And I bet you thought I left a loophole back up there.) So - to take a lesson from Sun Tzu - if the kid doesn't know how to use it, it's the parent's fault. If the kid does, it's the kid's fault.

Thankfully, in this country the courts are capable of making this distinction. It's called "trying as an adult". If the kid knew better, the kid leaves society. If he didn't, the kid leaves his parents, and we teach him better (or try to).

Care to take a guess whether or not these kids knew better? Whether or not their parents ever taught them not to point a rifle at anything that has a person in it? I'm guessing the entirety of the instruction the kids were given regarding the rifle was "Don't touch it because I said so", and sure enough, curiosity killed Aaron Hamel. And it wasn't Aaron Hamel's curiosity that killed Aaron Hamel. I'm going to keep using Aaron Hamel's name until it sinks in to certain people's thick skulls (not necessarily anyone posting here) that a human being that had nothing to do with the raising of these kids died because of it. That could be YOUR name I'm chanting. Tomorrow. And it wouldn't be your fault.

You need to be at least eighteen years of age to buy a GTA game. Some *adult* bought this game, and gave it to ignorant, poorly raised *kids* to play. There is clearly an adult at fault here, and that adult should be prosecuted for the manslaughter of Aaron Hamel. The kids themselves should spend at least a decade under the supervision of an institution that can reraise them, and do it properly this time. [I'm not going to get into a social debate regarding juvenile detention in this country, as I'm quite ignorant of that, and beyond its ideal as presented here it's really past the scope of this article.]

My apologies, but I must attack one comment directly: Who grew up faultless? Ever? Even Catholics will tell you the child of Nazareth [apparently his name is considered profanity on this discussion board - it's a common name in some countries, you know] didn't live a faultless life. That's what makes the Christian Bible such a long-celebrated tale. I'm not even remotely religious (I am actually quite opposed to the methods of most organized religions), but that doesn't change the fact that it's a book with a story. In fact, just about the only other book with that magnitude of potential wisdom-from-history is Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I am SO not going to start comparing the two, but I will say that both have spawned numerous video games.

You think games are still the cause? How about Dragon's Lair? Rather detailed and violent for a classic game. We're talking about a guy whose *skin dissolves* right before your eyes, leaving an empty skeleton staring at you for a moment before it collapses. This game SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME. I don't think I slept for a week after I first saw that game. But did I start tearing other people's skin off? No. Have I ever teared people's skin off? No. Why? Because I already knew the difference between a cartoon and real life. I knew that what was in the game couldn't come out and get me, despite what I may have dreamt. I was seven at the time, and that was after years of watching Tom and Jerry. I knew well at that age that cleverness (and often humor) transcends the subject matter [not that I knew what the word 'transcend' meant]. When I first saw a movie in a theater, I knew the rules of the theater, and I knew that what I saw on the screen wasn't really happening *and should stay that way*. It is intended to entertain, and to stimulate the mind by giving it a new experience, something new to think about. I took that lesson and I carried it to the television at home and to the video arcade next to the theater. I still carry it - I carried it to GTA. Thirty seconds of my parents' time rendered me completely immune to going postal. I'm not asking for much, am I? And yet, one Aaron Hamel is dead. I want to see an adult behind bars for this.

Interesting theory - why is it that women never go postal? Why are these stupid kids and disgruntled workers always male? Is it perhaps because they are raised differently? You think? I *KNOW*, for a fact, that women play these games just as much as men. In fact, if you've ever played a game against a woman (who wasn't letting you win), you'd likely find an *incredibly* fierce competitor. They approach a game just as they would approach anything else in real life. It's dead serious to them, perhaps even too much so - they'll often take in-game events outside the game. [I had a girlfriend break up with me during a game.] And yet it's always the guys that get this idea to take their parents' rifle (which should have been locked up if the kids didn't know it shouldn't be used on trucks) and play GTA for real. I realize I'm overstereotyping, perhaps, but sometimes those preconceived ideas we have in the back of our minds are the *right* ones.

[/soapbox]

Once again, I return you to your regularly scheduled discussion of classic video games. If you have any comments to make to me about any of this, that's still my email link on the left. Unlike the others [barring Dr. Dave] in this thread, I have nothing to hide. - ZM (Adam R. Wood)

Zotmeister
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:17 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow - even at *my* screen resolution, that's two and a half screens. My apologies for that being so very long (not that I'm apologizing for anything I said in there). - ZM

Zotmeister
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:32 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry to bug this thread again, but this just in:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/grandtheftautovicecity/news_6074780.html

I think Rockstar has the right idea - that second lawsuit is far more damaging to them as a company than the first. The families of the victims are suing the wrong party. They're only making fools of themselves. And if it's because companies have more money than people, then that's just greed, and trying to capitalize off the death of their brethren - and that's just despicable. Meanwhile, Rockstar is getting free advertizing: "Wow, two stupid kids turned a highway into a shooting gallery? That must be one truly immersive game!" And it's not false advertizing, either. - ZM

Cameron Feltner
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 10:59 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I see I was sufficiently vague.

My third sentence was reasoning from the perspective of one who assumes no responsibility for one's actions. There seemed to be a fad of "blame the parents" awhile ago. No matter what precautions the parents took, it was their fault if their child did something wrong. Now it's been long enough that those children are now parents, blaming video games and such.

I think it's ridiculous to assign ANY blame to a videogame for the actions of a person.

I could see how someone might sit down for the first time to an incredibly immersive driving game, play for 18 hours or so, then get in their car to get something to eat, and, when their mind wanders, lapse back into video game mode. I remember hearing a story about someone in the 60's who had played one of the early video games for a few hours, then, while walking across campus, automatically reached out to shoot back at a meteor. It's just insane to blame the game, that's all.

[soapplasticwrap]

"People need to learn how to use the tools around them. They need to learn what they are, what they are NOT (or at least are not intended for), and - most importantly - WHY it is what it is. People don't learn anything if they don't understand the reasons *behind* things. "Hammers were made to put nails into blocks of wood to hold them together, not to break kneecaps with."

Reminds me of:
"That's a [insert favorite hand tool here], not a pry bar!"
An old-timer from the area used to say that.

I disagree somewhat, being a fan of MacGyver. If we didn't use things for unintended purposes, we would never have made tools in the first place.

It's about what we're doing, not what the tool we're using was designed for.

[sarcasm]

"No, Johnny, don't pinch your friend's thumbs in that vice! Here, use these thumbscrews instead."

[/sarcasm]

[/soapplasticwrap]

P.S. Where do you get those nice boxes, and does the place still carry cola in glass bottles? Those glass bottles are what I miss most about the 80's. Now cola tastes like plastic and/or aluminum. They probably use large plastic vats at the bottling plants now, too. Sigh.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 09:51 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MacGyver indeed (now I have the theme song in my head) - I didn't intend to quash ingenuity, certainly. Note that I did say that once you learn what something is for and how it should be used, you can then mess with it. You should know better than to break it - or yourself, or anyone or anything else - at that point.

South Park did something like that "thumbscrews" line in Volcano, their second episode, when two of the kids pointed guns at each other; Uncle Jimbo chimed in with, "That's dangerous! You might spill your beer!" - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ATTN: Robert Mruczek

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zotmeister
Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 05:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for getting my Quartet score up on the TG website - I appreciate it - but I discovered that an old problem that Walter Day told me he'd fix apparently hasn't been fixed. Basically, I'm two people in the database. My scores from previous FunSpot tournies are split between "Adam Wood, United States, Rhode Island, Providence" and "Adam Wood, United States, Rhode Island, Tiverton". I live in Tiverton, RI; I can assure you I've never lived in Providence [and I hope I never have to - I hate just visiting]; and I can assure you the scores accredited to this Providence "version of me" are rightfully mine. I'd be thankful if this little identity crisis is resolved before it makes it into print. (I also note that there is a Kansas-based Adam Wood with no scores in the database, but that could be a legitimate other person for all I know.) Thanks in advance. - ZM

RCorcoran
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 01:15 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam:

Send me an e-mail with all your correct details and I'll make sure the dBase gets fixed before we go to print.

Thanks,

Ron

Zotmeister
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:26 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All my correct details are in the database already - the "Zotmeister" account correctly details all my personal information. The only other detail I could possibly give you is that I was the only Adam Wood that ever competed at the FunSpot tournies (although I was not the only Adam Wood present, oddly enough, as the FunSpot has an employee by that name), so any score attributed to an Adam Wood from those tournies must be mine. I don't have records of scores from those tournies, but I'm willing to bet someone else here does (this is, after all, the FunSpot message board). I think you will find that the Providence "Adam Wood" [I have no idea what account name that is under - Walter did that himself] has all scores that coincide with my performances at the FunSpot. If there's anything else you could possibly need from me, I have no idea what it could be. - ZM

RCorcoran
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:34 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam:

My apologies for asking. I'll look into it and see what I can do.

Ron

Zotmeister
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:54 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why would you apologize for asking? I have nothing to hide. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 07:59 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Adam:

Near as I can tell, all Funspot 1999 thru 2002 scores that I personally input into the system went in under "Zotmeister". I cannot guarantee that previous admin staff did the same for the earliest entries.

A long time ago, Walter had, for sake of convenience, generic user accounts created for gamers who submitted a score but had not taken the time to create an official TG user account. If I am not mistaken, Dwayne may even have multiple accounts, as might Todd.

When the new architecture is finalized, we will do a sweep of all users with multiple accounts and correct. A small possibility exists of twi users with the same name, and we will address these accordingly. Thanks for pointing your situation out to us. Every little bit helps.

There are a few 2002 and prior scores still not input from the earlier Funspot tourneys, either because (at the time) the title/track was not created, or the user name was unknown to us.

Most new tracks, by now, should have uploaded, and I will before the 2nd Book is released sweep all the 2002 and prior results one more time. This includes all the 2002 "Elevator Action" and "Deluxe Space Invaders" scores which have yet to be posted as the titles were never set up until now.

Also, the pinball scores will be corrected and split between "TGTS" and "marathon/default"...right now they are co-mingled.

Robert

PS - I hit the 105K mark on the new TGTS "Time Pilot" with a keyboard...not great, but it's all I can do for now. The game is still do-able. Stage 1 is, as expected, harder than stages 2 or 3. I have yet to see stage 5.

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, September 08, 2003 - 01:30 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One quick (generic) thing about playing with a keyboard - see that "Enable steadykey support" option? Make sure that bloody thing is OFF. I just found out what it does - it puts a built-in lag into all your keypresses, so that needing to hit combinations of keys simultaneously is easier to register. For one-on-one fighting games (which are pants to play with a keyboard), it can make special moves much easier (read: possible), but for anything else it will get you killed. I dare you to play Robotron with a keyboard with this option on.

When I got my XArcade - which is a work of art, by the way - I found that its controls seemed incredibly muddy, and sure enough, the steadykey option was the culprit (the XArcade acts as a keyboard to a computer, and one that doesn't have problems with multiple keys being held in at that). As soon as I turned it off, it worked like a charm. - ZM

markboolman
Monday, September 08, 2003 - 10:37 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X-arcade rules; for the price. I love mine even if I do have to re-tighten the buttons every few weeks. Did you get the 2player model? My kids are hooked bad at 5 and 7; sure beats the hell out of buying console game systems. Take care, Mark

Zotmeister
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:14 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course I got the two-player model: "Let's see, I can pay $100 for one player or $150 for two. That's $75 a player, and I have two sticks for Robotron. Well, *this* is a no-brainer..." My problem with the thing is finding a way to anchor it - I keep finding the thing sliding around on my lap or tray table or keyboard counter or whatever else I try to set it on. When a fighting game requires me to spin a joystick to perform a move, I don't think they intended for the entire XArcade to spin around - but mine certainly tries. - ZM

markboolman
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 10:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
yeah, it would be nice if it were heavier or had some mounting clamps/flanges at the bottom, but there is enough room on the outer edge of the top panel to drill holes(eek!!!) to mount w/bolts to a solid/stable surface; can't force myself to do that though. Mark

Zotmeister
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I think that's a little extreme...

I've found that the left-side joystick is getting loose already. I'll likely need to open mine up soon. It's nice to know it has a lifetime warranty.

The only real problem I have with it now is that because it acts as a keyboard to Windows and Windows doesn't really give a crap about keyboard input, anything that requires me to press two buttons simultaneously is iffy and three buttons is virtually hopeless (it requires more luck than timing). Now MAME has that steadykey support I could turn on which would solve that problem, but it puts a significant lag into joystick movement, enough to make a Z-motion (that's "Dragon Punch" to you Street Fighters out there) simply not register. It's hopeless either way; for a one-on-one fighting game, which you'd think would be the best use for the XArcade, I'm better off using old-fashioned gamepads. Mind you, if a fighting game never requires multiple buttons to be pressed at once, then I'm all set. [I know this is a Windows problem, not an XArcade problem, because when I use my XArcade with my Dreamcast, it has no problem with multiple button presses - two, three, or four at once all still work just fine. I love Tech Romancer so much...] If anyone knows of a way to fix this problem through MAME (I can compile my own, so source code edits are fine) or through Windows directly (I run XP Professional if it matters; I've tried compatibility modes with no discernable effect), I'd be most grateful. - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A retrospective question on Donkey Kong 3 !

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootie
Monday, September 15, 2003 - 09:52 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If Nintendo had made Mario (or Luigi) the protagonist in Donkey Kong 3, instead of the dorky, unknown "Stanley": would the game have been more popular?

or

Did the game just get boring too quickly?

Zotmeister
Monday, September 15, 2003 - 10:46 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it's just too far a cry from the first two - it's a very different style of game. Most who like Donkey Kong 3 - myself included - don't care so much for the first two, and vice versa. The result is that what should have been the game's target demographic was largely alienated, and those that would have appreciated the game the most saw Donkey Kong on the marquee and didn't play it. If the game didn't have Donkey Kong on it, it may have actually done better. - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Gyruss Score (Richard Marsh)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 12:56 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard,
I was speaking with some of the players and they mentioned that your 5-man Gyruss score was accepted as a TG world record. I looked on their scoreboard but didn't see a tournament listing for arcade, just mame. Did the score get accepted and what is the setting being called; 5-man tournament? Also, what was the final score?

Gary

Richard M.
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 03:03 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary,

The score isn't in the TG Scoreboard yet and I'm pretty sure the reason simply is that their database administrator hasn't gone around to entering the score yet.

The score on that game was 1,223,600 (which took me to stage 109), and it was on 6/1/2003, the last day of the Funspot tournament. I'm pretty sure you logged the score for that game, and I also recall that you pulled the machine out and removed the back cover to verify game settings - a memory you'd probably rather forget. :-)

Robert Mruczek wrote a nice writeup on it here.

-- Richard M.

Gregory S. Erway
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 06:45 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TG was working on updating the database and webpages but run into some problems that stalled the progress. I think as soon as they get things going the way they want, they will be uploading thousands of scores. I'm sure they haven't lost that score.

Congrats on that by the way Richard!

Richard M.
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 12:10 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you Greg. :-) I'm not sure that I congratulated you on your WR Tapper game, so I extend my congrats now. :-)

-- Richard M.

Gary
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 09:49 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the update. I want to be sure that all the players who have set world records at Funspot get recognition on our Classic Game Wall of Fame. I'll add you to the wall. Congratulations!

Gary

Richard M.
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 08:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Gary. :-) I'll have to check it out next time I come up there.

-- Richard M.

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More games FS in NH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mspaeth
Monday, October 27, 2003 - 07:39 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter's coming and my friend actually wants to be able to put his tractor in the barn... which means some games need to move...

$800 Tempest UR
$500 Crystal Castles UR
$700 Black Widow UR
$500 Cosmic Avenger UR
$600 Asteroids CT (or deluxe)

Might be selling my pacman too, we'll see...

Don't like a price, make me an offer.

Adrian M
Thursday, November 13, 2003 - 11:23 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you decide to sell, how much for your Pac-Man machine?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Warwizard 2 full version

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ganderthoth
Friday, August 01, 2003 - 09:31 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where can I find the full version of Warwizard 2? I am having trouble finding it, as the author is unsure he still has it.

Thanks

Rob

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

CGE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry
Monday, August 11, 2003 - 07:30 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How was CGE this year?

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 09:31 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe no one went to Vegas after all?

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 08:28 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just finally found time to read and post forums messages again. I'm still pretty worn out from maybe a total of 7 hours of sleep between 3am Friday and 9pm Monday. Greg Bond, Donald Hayes, Jason, Anna, and Shawn Cram all made it too. Players from other areas included Rob Barrett, Bill Mitchell, and Dwayne Richards. TG Refs and helpers included Ron Corcoran (wife and daughter too), Brien King, Walter Day, and Brian Kuh. Conroy Ho from HanHo games was also there with his ArcadePC line. Since we were invited guests we all (well most of us the others we got in by sharing passes) had special passes that allowed us in the hall even when it was normally closed. So we spent a LOT of time in the expo hall just talking or playing games on free play.

We did head up to the big part of the casino strip one night and hit a few rides (coaster and 3D ride). Managed to avoid a fight with a drunk telling us all how much he loved NY but NY sucks. Lucky the bus came just in time to bail us out of a situation.

Overall it was a great trip.

RCorcoran
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 - 12:07 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg:

It was a blast to finally meet you, Greg Bond, Donald Hayes, and the Cram Bros. This was by far the best CGE for me as you guys are all class acts and awesome people. Robert and I are in the planning stages of a trip to FunSpot in November. Hopefully we can all gather again and have more fun on Robotron. It was a bummer losing to Donald by 40k points...

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 - 05:09 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yea, I was really happy to finally meet you too.

BTW, I do have Tron 2.0 now and have started playing. I need to try the disc arena yet. I'm sure there are already some maniacs that have played for days straight that will kick my butt right away. But so far I love the game.

David Nelson
Friday, August 29, 2003 - 05:09 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've of course got TRON 2.0 as well, and I just installed and started playing last night. At first I was a little confused by all the game interfaces, but it made sense once I started playing. Sad thing is...I think I need to get an extra 256MB of RAM in my computer at least, so I can play this game better. This game should SCREAM on my system, 2.0Ghz processor, GeForce 4 Ti 4600, but I've only got 256MB RAM, I'm gonna try to get that to 512MB at least, and then I think I should be good.

I still need much practice though, as first-person shooters are not my specialty. Never much got into Quake, Unreal, Half-Life, so I need some practice using the controls. But I'll get there, and then see y'all in the arena.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Motorace USA

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mspaeth
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 12:37 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does anyone play Motorace USA / Traverse USA / Zippy Race seriously?

I played a few times in mame, and thought 100k+ seemed pretty decent, and I looked and saw the record is 2 million... that'd be traversing the USA at least 20 times, and it doesn't seem all that plausible...

Anyone else have experience with this game?

Zotmeister
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 11:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not yet, but I'll soon fix that... - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 07:52 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark:

Greg Sakundiak has been asking me recently about this one...he must be pretty good as he is expecting to set the record once I provide him with the proper settings from M Longridge.

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 07:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mark i got 1.6 a long time ago it is about 8-10 hours to beat the 2 million. My buddy greg sakundiak got a game and i attempting to break that record. dwayne

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 26, 2003 - 05:57 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dwayne:

If you like "Motorace", try "Kick Rider". You may like that one as much or even more than "MoroRace".

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Mark Boolman - Tape RCVD !!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert T Mruczek
Friday, August 29, 2003 - 02:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Mark:

Your tape finally arrived !!

Will watch it this weekend and update the score and write the article thereafter.

Robert

markboolman
Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 11:43 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Robert,
Cool, I was starting to worry. LMK when you're done reviewing it. How long before TG scoreboard is updated? Are any of the Mame scores tracked there? I see it as an option on the screen, but scores aren't posted; at least not for the one's I've checked on so far. Take care, Mark

Zotmeister
Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 10:29 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know when it'll be updated, but I do know my TGTS Quartet (arcade) world record has been absent from it for over a year... - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 04:46 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Zotmeister:

Sorry it took so long...I just updated yours now. I had given Doug MacGregor, our programmer, nearly 2,700 tracks to input over a five month period, and they were all uploaded at once...and not until things at my real job hit me hot and heavy since April 16th. Never had the chance to spot check if all the new titles and tracks uploaded.

Yours did so I uploaded the score just now. I have about...oh...3,000 more to go from home console and tourney, and that's just me. Once approx Sep 10th comes I'll start manually cranking in scores again based on tracks uploaded, and when the new TG database setup is ready (delayed due to technical errors with respect to the original system design), I can enter new tracks and titles on the fly, so data entry (i.e. scores) will increase significantly.

As for Mark's score, I need to update that score this evening and post the related article.

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ATTN: Robert Mruczek

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zotmeister
Thursday, September 04, 2003 - 05:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for getting my Quartet score up on the TG website - I appreciate it - but I discovered that an old problem that Walter Day told me he'd fix apparently hasn't been fixed. Basically, I'm two people in the database. My scores from previous FunSpot tournies are split between "Adam Wood, United States, Rhode Island, Providence" and "Adam Wood, United States, Rhode Island, Tiverton". I live in Tiverton, RI; I can assure you I've never lived in Providence [and I hope I never have to - I hate just visiting]; and I can assure you the scores accredited to this Providence "version of me" are rightfully mine. I'd be thankful if this little identity crisis is resolved before it makes it into print. (I also note that there is a Kansas-based Adam Wood with no scores in the database, but that could be a legitimate other person for all I know.) Thanks in advance. - ZM

RCorcoran
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 01:15 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam:

Send me an e-mail with all your correct details and I'll make sure the dBase gets fixed before we go to print.

Thanks,

Ron

Zotmeister
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:26 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All my correct details are in the database already - the "Zotmeister" account correctly details all my personal information. The only other detail I could possibly give you is that I was the only Adam Wood that ever competed at the FunSpot tournies (although I was not the only Adam Wood present, oddly enough, as the FunSpot has an employee by that name), so any score attributed to an Adam Wood from those tournies must be mine. I don't have records of scores from those tournies, but I'm willing to bet someone else here does (this is, after all, the FunSpot message board). I think you will find that the Providence "Adam Wood" [I have no idea what account name that is under - Walter did that himself] has all scores that coincide with my performances at the FunSpot. If there's anything else you could possibly need from me, I have no idea what it could be. - ZM

RCorcoran
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:34 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam:

My apologies for asking. I'll look into it and see what I can do.

Ron

Zotmeister
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:54 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why would you apologize for asking? I have nothing to hide. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 05, 2003 - 07:59 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Adam:

Near as I can tell, all Funspot 1999 thru 2002 scores that I personally input into the system went in under "Zotmeister". I cannot guarantee that previous admin staff did the same for the earliest entries.

A long time ago, Walter had, for sake of convenience, generic user accounts created for gamers who submitted a score but had not taken the time to create an official TG user account. If I am not mistaken, Dwayne may even have multiple accounts, as might Todd.

When the new architecture is finalized, we will do a sweep of all users with multiple accounts and correct. A small possibility exists of twi users with the same name, and we will address these accordingly. Thanks for pointing your situation out to us. Every little bit helps.

There are a few 2002 and prior scores still not input from the earlier Funspot tourneys, either because (at the time) the title/track was not created, or the user name was unknown to us.

Most new tracks, by now, should have uploaded, and I will before the 2nd Book is released sweep all the 2002 and prior results one more time. This includes all the 2002 "Elevator Action" and "Deluxe Space Invaders" scores which have yet to be posted as the titles were never set up until now.

Also, the pinball scores will be corrected and split between "TGTS" and "marathon/default"...right now they are co-mingled.

Robert

PS - I hit the 105K mark on the new TGTS "Time Pilot" with a keyboard...not great, but it's all I can do for now. The game is still do-able. Stage 1 is, as expected, harder than stages 2 or 3. I have yet to see stage 5.

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, September 08, 2003 - 01:30 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One quick (generic) thing about playing with a keyboard - see that "Enable steadykey support" option? Make sure that bloody thing is OFF. I just found out what it does - it puts a built-in lag into all your keypresses, so that needing to hit combinations of keys simultaneously is easier to register. For one-on-one fighting games (which are pants to play with a keyboard), it can make special moves much easier (read: possible), but for anything else it will get you killed. I dare you to play Robotron with a keyboard with this option on.

When I got my XArcade - which is a work of art, by the way - I found that its controls seemed incredibly muddy, and sure enough, the steadykey option was the culprit (the XArcade acts as a keyboard to a computer, and one that doesn't have problems with multiple keys being held in at that). As soon as I turned it off, it worked like a charm. - ZM

markboolman
Monday, September 08, 2003 - 10:37 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
X-arcade rules; for the price. I love mine even if I do have to re-tighten the buttons every few weeks. Did you get the 2player model? My kids are hooked bad at 5 and 7; sure beats the hell out of buying console game systems. Take care, Mark

Zotmeister
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:14 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course I got the two-player model: "Let's see, I can pay $100 for one player or $150 for two. That's $75 a player, and I have two sticks for Robotron. Well, *this* is a no-brainer..." My problem with the thing is finding a way to anchor it - I keep finding the thing sliding around on my lap or tray table or keyboard counter or whatever else I try to set it on. When a fighting game requires me to spin a joystick to perform a move, I don't think they intended for the entire XArcade to spin around - but mine certainly tries. - ZM

markboolman
Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 10:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
yeah, it would be nice if it were heavier or had some mounting clamps/flanges at the bottom, but there is enough room on the outer edge of the top panel to drill holes(eek!!!) to mount w/bolts to a solid/stable surface; can't force myself to do that though. Mark

Zotmeister
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I think that's a little extreme...

I've found that the left-side joystick is getting loose already. I'll likely need to open mine up soon. It's nice to know it has a lifetime warranty.

The only real problem I have with it now is that because it acts as a keyboard to Windows and Windows doesn't really give a crap about keyboard input, anything that requires me to press two buttons simultaneously is iffy and three buttons is virtually hopeless (it requires more luck than timing). Now MAME has that steadykey support I could turn on which would solve that problem, but it puts a significant lag into joystick movement, enough to make a Z-motion (that's "Dragon Punch" to you Street Fighters out there) simply not register. It's hopeless either way; for a one-on-one fighting game, which you'd think would be the best use for the XArcade, I'm better off using old-fashioned gamepads. Mind you, if a fighting game never requires multiple buttons to be pressed at once, then I'm all set. [I know this is a Windows problem, not an XArcade problem, because when I use my XArcade with my Dreamcast, it has no problem with multiple button presses - two, three, or four at once all still work just fine. I love Tech Romancer so much...] If anyone knows of a way to fix this problem through MAME (I can compile my own, so source code edits are fine) or through Windows directly (I run XP Professional if it matters; I've tried compatibility modes with no discernable effect), I'd be most grateful. - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Tips & Tricks Magazine

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adrian M
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:03 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last year in the November 2002 issue of Tips & Tricks magazine, there was a brief article about the 2002 Funspot Classic Gaming tournament as well as a pretty complete listing of scores for every qualifying game.

I was wondering if Tips & Tricks plans on publishing a similar article/score list this year as well? I know that Twin Galaxies wasn't on site at the 2003 tournament, which may be a determining factor.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:09 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the determining factor is that the Tips & Tricks reporter didn't compete this year. - ZM

Adrian M
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 04:12 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I thought I saw Jason Wilson of Tips & Tricks Magazine there...

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 04:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Zotmeister:

I was under the impression that Jason was not scheduled to have come to the 2003 tourney...he tends to come only when Walter himself is there.

Robert

Anonymous
Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 06:50 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
perhaps, he too was one of the people encouraged not to attend as a means of punishing those who tossed out the imperial leader? pity on those who cannot think for themselves.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 12, 2003 - 07:04 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Anonymous:

Nope, not in this case. I know for a fact that Jason made the decision on his own. No one, and I repeat NO ONE, was encouraged by anyone not to show. Pity on those who would believe otherwise.

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Most valuable classic game

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rick
Friday, September 12, 2003 - 01:11 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Limiting this to just pinball and video games, which game do you think is the most valuable? Maybe I should clarify that slightly by defining "valuable" as the one costing the most to purchase if it appeared on e-bay or such.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 12, 2003 - 07:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick:

Not knowing the market values of all titles, I would speculate that the most expensive would possibly be among those with extremely limited production releases..."Radar-something" was one such title.

Though games like "Major Havoc" in perfect condition have sold for over $3,500 on Ebay in the past, I have to believe that this is small potatoes compared to some titles.

I've seen several vintage pinballs go for well over $3,000 in varying conditions.

Surely "Hercules" pinball, the monster-sized unit that it is, would fetch anywhere between $10-25K in perfect condition...and probably $2,000 would be the shipping alone !!

Recently on Ebay, one of the ancient "Fortune Telling Grannies" was put up and is expected to fetch between $35-75K, but technically that's off topic.

Modern multi-unit titles such as the 8-player cycle and/or driving titles...these can run a modern arcade WELL over the $50K mark for the lot of them. TG's "Crazy Taxi" world champion, JC Padilla, used to work in two of the modern NYC arcades and I distinctly remember him telling me about how ultra expensive the modern titles were. If you take a look at "Time Crisis III" or the DDR series you will know what I mean.

But strictly vintage, now, meaning 1980's, maybe the "Mad Dog Macree" unit, in it's entirety, would cost an arm and a leg. That was a massive setup in the NYC arcades years back. However some pinball titles are certain to be well over the $4K range.

Robert

Phil Younger
Friday, September 12, 2003 - 07:15 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think Marble Madness 2. There are only
two known and both owned by the same person.
I'am sure he's had lots of offers. Its hard
to place a value on this game. Computer space
is very rare and was on the movie Soylent Green
{1973}. It was played by Leigh Taylor-Young.
Phil Y

mspaeth
Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 11:57 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...if appearing on ebay..." automatically disqualifies anything truly rare... I really doubt you're ever going to see Marble Man, Bradley Trainer, Cosmic Chasm, Aztarac, etc showing up on ebay unless some newb finds them and just doesn't know what they're dealing with...

Vid wise, working Quantums go for $2500-$3k... Dedicated Havocs, about the same, maybe a touch more. Raster titles don't seem to compare...

Pin wise, good Medieval Madnesses have gone upwards of $5k... TAFG's routinely go $3500+... and not that you'll ever see one, but Big Bang Bar are up in the $20k range...

I doubt the value of hercules... nobody's gonna have the space for that POS, and it's only novel, not fun, so I'd see them getting scrapped, not sold. Modern titles are expensive when NEW, but quickly drop in price when they're superceded by sequels and better titles in the same genre. I don't think comparing an 8-unit deluxe linked motiton game to a 20-year old classic is very fair =-P

Gregory S. Erway
Sunday, September 14, 2003 - 08:36 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually Hercules only books for $325 (not that I put that much stock in price guides). Good luck finding one at that price though.

I would have said Quantum, Major Havoc, and I Robot (all dedicated versions as the conversion kit versions take a serious hit in value).

Dragon's Lair usually maintains a fairly good value for some reason. #1 DL sold for $10,000 a year or so but usually they are only a 1/10th that.

Marble Man was pieced together by purchasing all the parts necessary. There are a few more of the PCBs out there. Nobody wants to part with them though. In fact every one known to exist resides with a person that claims there is no amount of money that could get them to part with them. So I guess it's pretty hard to put a value on it. The majority of parts bought for one of them was $400 I guess. (that didn't include the PCB which is the key). And the two versions are distinctly different. One has trackball control and the other is joystick. That and the artwork looks completly differnt. (This game is Marble Madness 2 for those that don't already know).

Star Wars cockpits seem to maintain a selling price of $1,500 - $2,000 or so. Especially if they have a 25" Amplifone monitor in them as opposed to the 19" WG 6100 monitor.

A cockpit Missile Command (in good condition) might fetch a good price tag as there were only something like 50-100 made.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, September 15, 2003 - 09:33 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi:

Just another thought...I'd have to say that, for the die-hard collector, a serial number of "00001" or whatever comes first in the production line, might be particularly valuable, or at least would have significant instrinsic value.

Had no idea "Hercules" was so dirt cheap.

Other than the 8-game multi units of new, a few PC-based VR cabinets like Mech Warrior are not cheap.

Darius Twin was a fairly large sized game when it came out. That one could be expensive, although it wasn't necessarily a great game.

Walter's 1st Book mentioned something about a game in very limited production called "Radar Scope" or something close to that...so although not in the same league as "Marble Madness 2" (not many games would be), that might have some serious collector value.

I'd be curious how much a nice condition "Discs of Tron" would be.

Robert

Barry
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 07:29 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radar Scope was Nintendo's first arcade game and it did not sell well. Of the 3000 games made, roughly 2000 were converted into Donkey Kong. This lead to two variations of Donkey Kong cabinets: the harder to find red cabinet and the traditional blue cabinet. (From KLOV site)

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 07:35 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radar Score "books" for $100 - $200 upright, $200 - $300 cocktail, and $400 - $500 cockpit.

Discs of Tron "books" for $600 - $700 for the upright and $1100 - $1200 for the Environmental version.

Again don't take a lot of stock in these price guide values. But these in particular seem fairly legit from my experience.

Barry
Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 09:49 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another game that fetches good money is Exidy's Death Race. I recall seeing a few on e-bay that were in the 2K range.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 04:08 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Barry:

That must have been in excellent condition. Back in 2000 I fowarded a link to Gary about one on Ebay that was $225 pre-shipping.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - 07:08 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow! I would jump all over a Death Race for $225. As far as I've always though they were very desirable. The price guide shows them at $600 - $700. But I am sure I've seen them go for a whole lot more (the few times I saw them at all).

We had one at my arcade back in the early days (was that the late 70s?) I remember playing it a few times but in general wasn't all that interested in it at the time. It wasn't around long. Still I think they are wonderful looking machines and would be a highlight of any collection based on the history.

Likewise I would love a Computer Space ($1400 - $1500) because the cabinets are so cool looking (even if the game sucks). I can't think of the name of the game but there was another game where the cabinet looked very similar to the Computer Space cabinet but it was more crooked looking with more sharper edges. But it still had that figerglass look to it.

David Nelson
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 12:16 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Greg,

What priceguide are you referring to. No, that's not a DIG...I'm just curious, IS there an actual video games priceguide? Is it a book, or is it a website?

Barry
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 08:26 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did the Death Race end at $225 or was that the starting price? I can't believe anyone would let one slip by that only went for $225.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, September 26, 2003 - 05:56 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Barry:

The "Death Race" if memory serves was at the $225 range when I alerted Gary many moons ago, at least between May/99-Apr/00. I think upon auction completion it sold in the $200-range but that was then.

Within the last year, two (2) "Death Race" machines were sold as a set in the same Ebay auction. I though that was particularly unique, and wish I had been able to bid, but would have no room at all to store them. That auction had an undisclosed reserve. Didn't follow that one too closely. Ebay only saves data going back 31-60 days on closed auctions, however, but I am 100% positive I saw this set offered within the year 2003.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 08:50 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"the Arcade Video Game Price Guide 2002 Edition" covering video games from 1970 - 1990 by Dan Hower, John Telerico, and Tim Ferrante. Sold for around $18. I think there is a 2003 edition. I think you can still buy it from www.gameroommagazine.com.

There is also a pinball price guide for sale (probably on the same site).

There was a LOT of discussion about the how usless a price guide would be in the game collector community. Most of us only use the information as a relative thing. The prices seldom are right on. It was the first edition. The sources for the info wasn't solid either. But I bought one anyways to reference from time to time. The prices in it are a bit low most of the time. Which is good if you going into an operators warehouse to buy a large lot of games. You could take out the price guide and show him your not ripping him off (and still come away with the ability to make a little money reselling them).

Barry
Friday, October 10, 2003 - 08:56 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a Death Race on EBAY right now with a $999.95 start bid and a $1799.95 Buy It Now. It ends soon.

Anonymous
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 09:34 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3247095783&category=13716

Looks like it's back up again. Get your checkbooks ready.

Spindler
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 12:57 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turbo Sub from Entertainment Sciences. There are only 5 or so around. Don't know what they would sell for, not many people know they exist.

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 05:17 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually wasn't Turbo Sub the game that was being put in Star Wars cockpits? If I have the right one then I have some plastic controller gears for them that came from a warehouse find. I don't think the game every got officially released did it?

Rick
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 06:43 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg,
Here's a link from KLOV that shows an upright.
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=T&game_id=10219
Let's say this game showed up on e-bay. What is anyone's guess for a selling price? I'm thinking it wouldn't go for much since it is so unknown. Am I wrong?

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 07:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/es/es.html
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/es/turbo_sub.html
http://www.ionpool.net/arcade/es/bouncer.html

Yep. That was the game I was thinking of. I might have gotten some facts messed up in my memory. But after looking around, I found the links to pages about a story on this game and a warehouse find of them. Now the Bouncer game mentioned by the same company sounds very interesting to me being the Tapper record holder. It would be nice to get a fully working version of that!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Funspot 2003 CD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gregory S. Erway
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 07:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any news yet on the release of the Funspot 2003 CD? Or even having the scores posted? I know there were problems with a hard drive and they had to be entered again. Just curious.

Gary
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 09:54 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The text is done. We're awaiting the arrival of the CD's and then everything will be complete.

Gary

Gregory S. Erway
Saturday, September 20, 2003 - 10:01 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Gary. I look forward to gettting one of my own!

Anonymous
Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 04:37 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How much longer? The tournament was held almost 5 months ago!

Anonymous
Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 05:05 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I Spoke with Gary last week at Funspot and there was a guy who was supposed to make audio CD's for him but hasn't made them yet. From what I gathered, Gary is going to print the book and forget the CD's entirely since it is so far behind schedule as it is.
PS: Gary, is this still correct?

Gary
Friday, October 03, 2003 - 11:12 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The text has been done since July so we're going to skip the CD, start printing next week and get these books on sale.

Gary

Joe Smelkiering
Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 05:26 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is it the "Game Players Sing Your Favorite Hits" collection on CD?

Richard M.
Thursday, October 09, 2003 - 09:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, none of us could play an instrument. ;-)

(j/k)

-- Richard

Mike Stulir
Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 01:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone:

As you are all aware, the book has been held up due to a lack of the CD's. I stopped by the forum here the other day, and saw that Gary had not gotten the CD's....which is strange since I sent them about six weeks ago.

Well, I got a hold of Gary, and after our conversation, it would appear that I am the one who screwed up, and I sent them to the wrong place.

So, for anyone who is upset that the book isn't out yet, I am the one to blame. I am making up a new set of CD's as we speak, and Gary should have them in his hands very shortly. Again, this is ENTIRELY my fault, and anyone who is upset about the delay should be blaming me.

As for the content of the CD's, there will be the annual tournemnt edition of the "Back In Time" webcast, along with the "Lost Episode" of Back In Time hosted by "Carnival" Fred Pastore and Greg "Tapper" Erway.

Mike Stulir
Back In Time
http://www.backntime.net

Gregory S Erway
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 06:42 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh God no. So you decided to actually go through with it and torture everyone huh?

This may be the best time to publically say I'm sorry to everyone that listens to that.

Thanks for the update Mike. I look forward to getting my very own copy.

Mike Stulir
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 10:39 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Greg:

The thing that you and "Carnival" Fred did turned out pretty funny. We might have to do that again next year....assuming you guys are up for it.

What is cool is that the only way you are going to hear it is by getting a copy of the book. The "Lost" episode will not be available for download at Back In Time.

Again, my apologies for my utter lack of skill at mailing CD's. The delay is all my fault, and I hope people aren't getting upset with Gary or Ken.

Mike Stulir
Back In Time
http://www.backntime.net

Carnival_Fred
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 11:04 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice to see it all worked out. However, like WC Tapper Greg, I must "second" his apology!

Also, I can only hope that any humor is intentional and not unintentional!

I figure that if Mike edited my bloopers out, there ain't gonna be that much of a show left !

Looking forward to the final package whenever it's ready.

Thanks to Mike, of course, for allowing us to mess around a bit. It was fun.

Carnival Fred

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - 08:50 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually Fred, there was nothing to edit out. I did absolutely no editing on what you and Greg recorded, and it sounded GREAT!!!

I am still kicking myself for the CD shipping screwup. A new batch of CD's were shipped up to Gary this morning (to the right address this time) so I am hoping he will have them by the end of the week.

Gary
Tuesday, November 11, 2003 - 09:18 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike,
Those CD's never arrived.

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 10:55 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm guessing someone out there, possibly in the shipping company, recognized the value of a first edition CD with the first ever interview conducted by World Champion Fred Pastore. I'm betting these babies will be showing up on eBay almost anytime!

I'm willing to wait for my own copy. It's no big deal if stuff is delayed as long as the communication line stays open telling us it's still in the works.

Anonymous
Friday, November 14, 2003 - 10:48 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mike, Those CD's never arrived."

Two shipments and they both got lost? Six months have gone by, I'd give up on it.

D_Harris
Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 05:51 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Has anyone actually spoken or corresponded with Mike lately.

The last e-mail I received from him was on October 21st, which was the last time he posted in this thread. And he updated his website(Backntime) a week later.

We were finalizing plans, because he wanted my Donky Kong game, and he said that he'd call me that weekend, but he never did.

I hope everything is okay with him.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Robert T Mruczek
Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 09:22 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darren:

Mike is still active. His most recent correspondence with Walter was a few days ago. He is busy with preparing something for the Philly Classic next year.

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ROTJ Cockpit--Brag

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Boolman
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 10:16 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone, just got an unusual game: Return of the Jedi--cockpit! It's about the sweetest looking SW cockpit cabinet that I've ever seen. Did a quick check on google and found that only 100 factory conversion kits were produced. When I looked in the back, all the original harnesses were intact and factory adapers connected to the original SW controls and interconnect board. Serial number on the cabinet is: 000079; pretty early production cabinet; even the coin mechs work. Now I've got all three original SW games; just have to learn to play this one again. Just had to brag about it. Anyone else have/seen one of these before? Take care, Mark

Gary
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 12:05 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had two of them. One I sold many years ago and the other suffered from water damage from a leaky roof where I had it stored so it went to the dump.

Gary

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Gyruss Score (Richard Marsh)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 12:56 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard,
I was speaking with some of the players and they mentioned that your 5-man Gyruss score was accepted as a TG world record. I looked on their scoreboard but didn't see a tournament listing for arcade, just mame. Did the score get accepted and what is the setting being called; 5-man tournament? Also, what was the final score?

Gary

Richard M.
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 03:03 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary,

The score isn't in the TG Scoreboard yet and I'm pretty sure the reason simply is that their database administrator hasn't gone around to entering the score yet.

The score on that game was 1,223,600 (which took me to stage 109), and it was on 6/1/2003, the last day of the Funspot tournament. I'm pretty sure you logged the score for that game, and I also recall that you pulled the machine out and removed the back cover to verify game settings - a memory you'd probably rather forget. :-)

Robert Mruczek wrote a nice writeup on it here.

-- Richard M.

Gregory S. Erway
Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 06:45 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TG was working on updating the database and webpages but run into some problems that stalled the progress. I think as soon as they get things going the way they want, they will be uploading thousands of scores. I'm sure they haven't lost that score.

Congrats on that by the way Richard!

Richard M.
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 12:10 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you Greg. :-) I'm not sure that I congratulated you on your WR Tapper game, so I extend my congrats now. :-)

-- Richard M.

Gary
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 09:49 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the update. I want to be sure that all the players who have set world records at Funspot get recognition on our Classic Game Wall of Fame. I'll add you to the wall. Congratulations!

Gary

Richard M.
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 08:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Gary. :-) I'll have to check it out next time I come up there.

-- Richard M.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Reagan Years arcade is closing?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 09:56 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was just told The Reagan Years arcade in California is closing. Does anyone have more details on this? I was under the impression they were doing very well.

Gary

Phil Younger
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 06:19 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reagan Years is right next to the
Amtrack station in Fullerton which I
use about once a month to visit my
sister in San Diego. Last time I was
there was on Sept-22. I didn't notice
any sign of closing either. Reagan Years
has most of the popular classic games like,
Pac-Man,Ms Pac-Man,Berzerk,Robotron,Marble
Madness,Frogger,Tempest etc. About 40+ games.
Some of them are for sale. Berzerk is $950.oo
Overpriced and has software bug so cannot
get very high score on it. Marble Madness colors
messed up. Most of the other games work well.
Phil Y

Richard M.
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 07:15 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The only info I have on the Reagan Years apparent closing is from the last posting here. Does anyone have another verification of this?

-- Richard M.

Phil Younger
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 05:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, just looked at last posting and saw
message on classic gaming locations 9/30 that
Reagan Years is closing down. That leave Pac-Mann
arcade in Pasadena with its 100 games and about
25 classics to play in. Phil Y

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

What's the name of this game ?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootie
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 02:50 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a platform game. You are some character in an elevator (alongside a tree) on the right side of the screen. There are these Cat-like creatures descending from the top of the screen on baloons. You can shoot these creatures (or should I say - the baloons supporting these creatures). If any of these "cats" makes it to the bottom the run to the right-climb uo the tree and attempt to "cut" your elevator line (thus losing a life) I found this pretty difficult but the second level was a bit easier - the cats were now on the bottom of the screen catching baloons to go up. Once 5 or more cats made it to the top , they would start pushing a rock toward a gap to attempt to smash your elevator (and you!!) to bits. The third screen was a bonus round.

I have two versions of this game (atari 2600 & Commodore 64).The atari 2600 version has no title screen and the graphics & sound are what you expect. The Commodore 64 version is much better (usually the one I prefer playing!) but it had the title screen taken away in order to put a "cheat options mode" (unlimited lives, invincibility, etc)

DOES ANYBODY KNOW THE NAME OF THIS GAME ? AND IF SO , DOES FUNSPOT HAVE IT???

thanks , sorry for the long description

Scootie

PS I'll be up at Funspot next weekend (10/18-10)

RCorcoran
Monday, October 13, 2003 - 04:57 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The game you have described is Pooyan. Here's a link to pics/description.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=P&game_id=9082

I don't know if FunSpot has it as I've not been there yet...

David Nelson
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 02:09 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funspot currently does NOT have a Pooyan on the floor. I've NEVER played a Pooyan, never seen one around here. Maybe Gary can comment if there might be one in the works for Funspot?

Zotmeister
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 09:08 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pooyan is available in the PlayStation title "Konami Arcade Classics", which Mruzcek and I were discussing not too long ago on this board. - ZM

Gary
Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 09:25 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David,
It looks like a good game but I do not have any leads on one.

Gary

likemypins
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 - 08:47 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've read alot about Pooyan over the years and have it for the original Playstation.

But in all my years of going to arcades across the country I have never seen a Pooyan machine. Does anyone know how many were made?

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 06:51 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all:

Not sure how many were made...perhaps our resident historian Mark Longridge knows the right areas to check...he always seems to dig up the most interesting information on releases !!

As for Konami Playstation "Pooyan", I was discussing the title awhile back with Dwayne's friend, Jean Baudin, and we were practicing at maximum difficulty "7"...wow does this get tough.

The game itself can be marathoned in terms of leeching in the tree stage. The rock-push stage is the tough part...you can literally lose a great game all in one stage here, especially if you allow enough wolves to reach the top. The key in this stage is knowing how to handle a vertical column of wolves properly.

Experts who wish to really pump up their scores can risk, in the even stages, setting up a wole bunch of enemies for one massive drop or two. The points climb so fast you'll be dizzy...if you live doing so, that is.

The harder balloons (white and flasshing) are when the game gets very hard. My personal best is in the 275K range at TGTS (difficulty="3" on Sony PS, 3 start lives, extras at 50K then every 80K)

The TGTS should be the same for start lives and extras, but the difficulty settings I don't know off-hand...they are probably on Mark's cubeman site.

A great game indeed...wish Gary had one at Funspot.

Robert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Depthcharge world record holder dies

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary
Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - 01:54 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The gaming world lost one of its champions on Saturday, October 11, 2003:

JOHN S. LAWTON, 73
John S. Lawton, of Route 4, Danbury New Hampshire died peacefully at his home on Saturday, October 11, 2003 after a brief illness.

Born in Findlay, Ohio, he was the son of Doris Marie Long and Richard Marcyes Lawton. He was a graduate of Lowell High School where he was Senior Class Treasurer, a member of the football team and the class comedian. He went on to attend Bethany College and Colby College earning degrees in both History and Social Services. He later attended post-graduate courses at Boston University.

Mr. Lawton spent 35 years in public service as a social worker, attaining the position of Regional Director of the New Hampshire Division of Child and Family Services. In 1974 he was appointed Financial Administrator of the New Hampshire Health and Welfare Department by Governor Meldrim Thomson.

He was the co-founder and President of The Weirs Sports Center which opened in Tarlson's Arcade building, Lakeside Avenue, Weirs Beach in 1952. The company moved in 1964 to its current Route 3 location where he operated the popular Funspot Family Entertainment Center with his brother, Robert Lawton.

Mr. Lawton's other business interests included The Weirs Tavern and The Weirs Emporium gift shop, co-owned with his life-long friend, Michael Sampas. He was the President and founder of The Weirs Travel, Inc. organizing trips to the winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980 and Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1988.

As a youth he enjoyed hunting, fishing and debating. He was an avid reader, historian and political aficionado and loved playing bridge. He was a talented stone mason who built all of the stonework on the Funspot property at Route 3 in the Weirs.

He is survived by his partner Louise Villandry, Danbury, NH and his children: Cynthia Goodwin, Belmont, NH.; Michael Lawton, Weirs, NH.; Randy Lawton, Gilford, NH.; Susan Haddadin, Dover, NH.; Judith Lawton, Los Angeles, CA.; Thomas Lawton, Portland, OR.; Steven Lawton, Weirs, NH .; Michelle Villandry, Danbury, NH.; Lacey Villandry, Danbury, NH; his former wife Barbara Winter, Weirs, NH. He is also survived by his brother, Robert Lawton, Weirs, NH and step-brothers, Bruce Thompson, Northfield, NH and Douglas Thompson, Bristol, NH, several nieces and nephews and 7 grandchildren.

Zotmeister
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 10:43 am
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A toast: May his ship, the FunSpot, and his memory never be sunk. - ZM

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 05:15 pm
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I would like to express my condolences to the Lawton family for their loss.

I'm happy that I was able to see John playing Depthcharge in a recent tournament. I'm sure he will be truely missed.

Richard M.
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 08:30 pm
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I too would like to express my condolences.

-- Richard M.

Walter Day
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 11:04 pm
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We will all miss John.

Twin Galaxies recognizes John as a great friend in addition to being history's oldest person to capture a world record on a significant video game title.

As his accomplishment gains further recognition throughout the world, we will all have the pleasure of seeing John's name become a recognizable name in the annals of gaming history.

We, at Twin Galaxies plan on including a feature on John in the forthcoming book of records, acknowledhging his status as the oldest person to capture a world title.

Blessings to John, we will miss him.

Walter Day

Rick
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 06:46 am
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He was the oldest person to ever set a video game record? That's cool. My father is slightly younger and hates games. My condolances to his family on their loss.

Roy Shildt
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 - 02:11 pm
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I would like to express my condolences to the Lawton family. Thanks to John and his brother we have Funspot, an oasis in gaming integrity. I pray for him and the upcoming Funspot Book of Scores because there is a dire need for honest reporting of video game high scores.

RCorcoran
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 - 09:10 pm
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Funspot is going to publish a book of scores? Cool! I'd buy a copy purely from the fact I can never seem to get to that side of the country...

Anonymous
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 09:11 am
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it's scores from their tournament

RCorcoran
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 10:56 am
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Gary:

Can you shed some light on this? I'd really like to know if this is for real. If so, count on a sale here.

Ken Sweet
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 02:34 pm
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Hello Ron,

It's for real! Gary and I have the commemorative program finished and we're waiting on the CDs that Mike Stulir has generously donated to arrive so that we can put them together as a package deal. The book is filled with stories, interviews, photos, scores from the year's tourney, and even a feature written by David Marston. The CDs contain the entire Back In Time audio program from the tournament, including many great interviews. Make sure to snatch up a copy quick, as we are printing them in small runs.

Ken Sweet
www.sweetproject.com

RCorcoran
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 03:31 pm
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Ken:

Is this being advertised on the site or is it a special offer? Either way, please reserve a copy for me and I'll grab it ASAP!

Richard M.
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 06:21 pm
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People, is this thread here to celebrate John Lawton's life and to express our sorrow and condolences to those who will miss him? Or is this thread here to discuss book sales?

-- Richard M.

RCorcoran
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 11:02 pm
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Richard (and everyone else here):

I want to apologize for discussing Funspots' book in this thread. Richard is absolutely right in his assertion that we should not be discussing other topics here. This thread was to say good-bye to a long respected individual and fellow gamer. My apologies to those who were offended by this mis-step.

Rick
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 07:32 am
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I cannot believe anyone intended to be disrespectful with this thread. It just went off topic like most other threads do.

Rick

Ken Sweet
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 06:55 pm
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I apologize as well if anyone has taken offense. I had great respect for John. That he will be missed around Funspot goes without saying. I intended no disrespect and I know Ron didn't either. I just automatically answered the question I was reading without thinking to put it in another thread.

Ken Sweet
www.SweetProject.com

Roy Shildt
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 03:09 pm
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I also apologize if I inadvertantly offended anyone. I simply wanted to applaude Johns' integrity. Integrity is the cornerstone of a mans' worth and I hope that part of John lives on through Funspot.

Derek
Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 01:36 pm
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Been away from this forum for a bit. My condolences to the Lawson's and the Funspot family. Having met John at the past few tournaments I was always amazed at his skill at Depth Charge and for me that game will always be associated with him...

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Closest Lodging Open Now by Funspot

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Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 11:06 pm
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Hello:

Just wanted to know what the absolute closest available lodging to Funspot is that is open at this time of the year...and if you have a phone number and address that would be awesome.

The Area lodging listings say 1.5-5.0 miles but I'm shooting for walking distance from the center. Thansk !!

Robert

Scootie
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 01:13 pm
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Try the Town Line Motel - It's withing sight/walking distance of Funspot. If yoo want to stay under a mile - there is also the Naswa Resort and the Lazy "E" motel on Lakeshore drive.
I beleave all 3 are year-round.

Scootie

Rick
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 01:14 pm
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Sun Valley Cottages across the street is open year round also.

Scootie
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 01:15 pm
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Try the Town Line Motel - It's withing sight/walking distance of Funspot. If you want to stay under a mile - there is also the Naswa Resort and the Lazy "E" motel on Lakeshore drive.
I think all 3 are year-round.

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 09:43 pm
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Hello all:

Thanks for the info.

I will be coming for a much needed vacation to the Funspot area for about a week, from Sunday November 16th, thru and including Saturday November 22nd.

I'm greatly looking foward to seeing that new "Spookville" game that Gary obtained awhile back, among the other many titles that I enjoy playing.

Can I assume that the BBQ place across the street is still around ? I gotta have one of their evening pig-out meals at least once.

Hope to see some of you there !!

Robert

Richard M.
Friday, October 17, 2003 - 10:47 pm
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Actually, Naswa is 1.7 miles, one way. (I once checked it oh my car's trip odometer.)

-- Richard

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Crazy Climber Record?

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Scootie
Thursday, October 23, 2003 - 04:22 pm
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I was just wondering what the record was for Crazy Climber??

Saw Greg last weekend at FS. Just wanted to let you know I'll be back in the area for Thanksgiving week (Too Bad Rob..that you couldn't plan your vacation a week later!! I REALLY WANTED TO MEET YOU!!),and that I will be adding Crazy Clmber to my list of games that I MUST BEAT!!!(the others being Dig Dug, Zookeeper & Mario Bros. and Berzerk)

Also, I noticed that Zookeeper was not working last weekend, will it be repaired soon? I was kind of disappointed in not being able to play it

PS I did Score an impressive 276,030 on Crazy Climber - making it (almost!!) to the top of the 6th building - still a far cry from back in "the day" when I was able to go up to building 5 WITHOUT LOSING A GUY!!

Let,s keep the retrogaming scene ROCKIN!!!!

Scootie

PS. To Rob M. I do live in the tri-state area (in NJ) and do have a g/f living near your "stomping grounds" , in the Myrtle/Wyckoff area of Ridgewood, so if you ever want to get together for some SERIOUS RETROGAMING e-mail me at scootie1968@aol.com and get ready for SERIOUS COMPETITION!!!!

peace
Scootie

artz
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 02:29 pm
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Hi Scootie,

When I was at Funspot for this years tournament, I scored 250k on Crazy Climber which was the beginning of the 6th building. On Mame my high is 268k which was the last section of the 6th building.

I love this game because its very fast, but also very unforgiving. I think it cheats

276k is an excellent score. My goal is to reach 350k. Anything beyond that would take a lot of luck in my opinion.

What is your all-time high game? The record at Twin Galaxies is listed as 482,650 by William Lee. There was a previous score listed around 800k earlier in the year that was removed. Not exactly sure why, may have been either because of the verification method or the fact that 800k seems like an unrealistic score.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 06:44 pm
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Hi Artz:

I am fairly sure that the 800K score was removed due to a combination of lack of verification documents and an "affiliate" status, one or both.

"Crazy Climber" is an awesome title, one that well deserves to have a new crop of gamers going for the record.

Oh yes, "Scootie"...I'll drop you an E-MAIL in private, but my time is totally chaotic right now between things at my job and TG so my spare time is like 5-6 hours a week...all between 1-4am on various days. Not sure how feasible a get together is right now, but when the new hire is fully integrated things will be different.

Robert

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Funspot - November 2003 - Question

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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 06:58 pm
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Hello all:

Okay...it's a done deal for me with the lodging...will be there for an entire week. Todd Rogers will be there as well. Others up in the air.

A few questions in anticipation of showing up. I'm hoping someone can help.

Time Pilot - I'd like to try this one at maximum difficulty, 3 ships to start, 20K for 1st, 60K each additional, which is TGTS...have any of you tried these settings yet ?

Super Cobra - how's the joystick on this title ? I was told it's at Funspot.

Spectar - I'm looking foward to sharing some tips with Adam Wood on this one. This is a title I'd like to see someone, maybe even me, break 80K on if possible.

SpookVille - I told Walter about this title and am very anxious to see it in action. Mike Mahaffey provided some details on it, so seeing it will be a highlight of my time there.

Other - Did Gary happen to get his "Cosmic Alien" activated and working yet ? That one was there well over 2 years ago...was hoping that by now the game would have been fixed, but parts for it are not exactly plentiful on Ebay.

That's it for now. Looking foward to seeing everyone there...it's been a long 18 months.

Robert

artz
Friday, October 24, 2003 - 11:42 pm
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Hi Robert,

When I was at Funspot in late May, there was a Super Cobra cab there. But it was playing Scramble. I don't know if they switched it back to Super Cobra since then.

Wish I could be there in November.

Donald Hayes
Saturday, October 25, 2003 - 03:35 pm
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Robert,

It is the same cabinet/joystick that you did your 1M+ Scramble game at Funspot 2002. They recently changed it back to having a Super Cobra board (can't remember if it's the Stern ROM or another). I have played it a few times in the last couple months and haven't noticed any problems with the joystick. The machine is currently set to start with 5 choppers.

Donald

Zotmeister
Monday, October 27, 2003 - 10:46 am
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What dates will you be there and playing? I may be able to visit at some point, probably just for a day or weekend - but that's still a good chunk of hours. I may even be able to get some to accompany me on the trip.

I do know a few techniques for Spectar, and at least one trick... if that six-digit record score is legitimate, I think I know how it was made. Now if I could just get it to work consistently... - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, October 27, 2003 - 06:53 pm
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Hello all:

Thanks for the replies and info.

Donald - the five (5) ships is TGTS, in line with "Scramble"...that's good to hear. I believe I can easily manage a 95-110K score. Getting more all depends on clearing stage 2 Booty...if so, expect 150-165K.

Clearing 3rd Booty virtually guarantees me 200K, but to date I've only reached that once, with two ships in reserve, and lost 2 due to tank fire in the maze and one due to fuel run-out, which is inevitable.

Adam - Spectar is an absolute pattern...I know this for a fact now, having experimented quite a bit over the past year, even sharing some of my insight if I remember correctly with either Robert Griffin or Greg Erway via MAME INP files.

However, the pattern depends on which stage setup you get. For example, I know of one in stage 8 that is golden...a player's dream for hunting, allowed in this game under the same rules governing "Arkanoid". I hunted nearly 4-5K worth of green cars while staying in one small area cutoff from the maze except for two entrance points, ideal for hunting. I blew it then, but can envision a careful, better player exploiting it for much more.

My average on MAME is 45-55K, with an occassional 60K+. Have yet to clear the 11th stage, though have reached it on my 2nd ship.

Everyone - I'm hoping to see "Spookville" in action for the first time. Also want to see if I can get a score of over 3K on arcade "Depth Charge", and maybe a half-mil on "Commando"...my previous TG/Funspot record is an even 400,000 points, and I know I've done much better in the past.

Todd's bringing up his Sega DC, so after arcade action in the day, it will be more gaming at night with "Crazy Taxi" (1 & 2), "18 Wheeler" and "Wacky Races". Definitely a 100% gaming week for me.

Looking foward to seeing you all there.

Robert

PS - did Gary get any new titles ?

Zotmeister
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - 09:41 am
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There's a way to get enemy ships in Spectar to commit suicide: they collide with you and they lose. Technically, you are shooting them, but it certainly doesn't look like it. The problem is that it seems to be a coin toss as to when it actually succeeds... but I'm pretty sure it's deterministic (it is a computer game, after all), and I bet we could find the way to make it work. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 08:50 pm
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Hello Zotmeister:

That sounds very familiar to a trick I learned in "Tron" with the light cycles, which I can show you at Funspot. I quickly dispatched two, leaving one, and I set up an intricate path that allowed the remaining cycle to go head on towards me while completely enclosed in a single chute. I moved towards it at maximum speed, and at the last second I simultaneously yanked the stick back and let go of the trigger, and the cyle crashed, and I survived.

Risky, and never useful in a real game situation except if you mess up big time, but it parallels what you describe in "Spectar" in some respects.

Robert

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Lunar Lander game-- how do I land safely

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likemypins
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 02:22 pm
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When I was a kid I couldn't win at this game and now as an adult nothing has changed.

When landing I make sure my speed is zero or as close to zero as possible but the lander crashes every single time.

I just want to make one safe landing before I die. Any advice

Thanks

Rick
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 10:16 pm
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The lander has to be going less than 5mph. Both landing skids must touch at the same time. If the ship is slightly crooked, you will crash. If one leg is slightly off of the landing pad, you will crash.

mspaeth
Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 07:53 pm
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Now that I fixed my lander, I'll have to figure that out too ;)

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 09:08 pm
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Rick:

While at Funspot I tried this one...brought back some nice memories. To this day I never managed to land one on heavy gravity. What's the secret there ?

Robert

Rick
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 10:18 pm
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The only way I've been able to land in heavy gravity is to insert LOTS of coins for extra fuel and start pouring on the power the instant the ship appears on the screen. If your descent speed builds up too quickly, you can never slow down enough to land.

Rick

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, December 04, 2003 - 07:03 pm
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Rick:

Sounds like this was one of the 1st "coin guzzlers" to make it's way into an arcade, meaning a game that requires multipel credits to have a chance to complete.

Robert

Rick
Thursday, December 04, 2003 - 09:28 pm
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Robert,
Yes, I would say that is a good way to look at it. I've never been able to play at the higher levels without a multiple coin insert. The fuel seems to burn at a higher rate in these levels and there is no letting off the throttle otherwise your speed builds too fast and you are unable to recover.

Rick

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Good newspaper P.R.

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Joe in Portsmouth
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 05:12 pm
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I just finished reading the story about Donald Hayes in the Weirs Times this week. It was nice to see a newspaper write a story about arcade games that wasn't talking trash and knocking the players.

It has been at least 15 years since my last visit to Funspot but it looks like we need to take a family trip there soon to play some classics. I'll be able to teach my kids a few tricks from the old days! Keep up the good work.

Joe

Anonymous
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 01:50 pm
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Well...the Weirs Times is written by the family that owns Funspot. So they shouldn't be knocking gamers!

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Donkey Kong - Conversion and Classic

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Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 09:04 pm
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Hello all:

Analysis is virtually complete. Except for additional minute details of differences that I expect to receive shortly from Brian Kuh, we have completed the analysis of "Double Donkey Kong" and what is regarded as classic "Donkey Kong".

Experts Bill Mitchell and Chris Ayra contributed to the analysis of the tape itself. Fellow referee Brien King managed to discuss the issue with Scott Brasington, one of the people who designed the "Double Donkey Kong" conversion kit.

As per Brien, Scott has agreed to let us post his OPINIONS on the matter below, as well as a few other interesting tidbits he provided. Afterwards, the official TG reply shall follow.

****************************

The summary is in MY OPINION these games (DKjr and DK) are identical to the original
for purposes of world records. Details (opinions) below.

a) the eprom speed has no affect as the CPU clock speed is the determining factor.
the eprom just has to be fast enough to keep up with the CPU. If too slow the
game probably would not work at all.

b) I have patches in the attract mode sequence, power up sequence, initialization
sequence, high score save sequence, etc.. These patches do not execute during
gameplay. There is one patch in the interrupt handler that is executed all the
time even during gameplay. For DDK I took very special attention just for this
reason and was able to make the P1+P2 check in the same amount of CPU cycles as
the original ISR (it took a clever combination of checking for coin input and
p1+p2 at same time).

Gameplay timing on this game is really determined by the frame interrupt. Which
runs at 30 (or 60) interrupts per second (I can't remember which it is). This HW
interrupt is the main timing to drive the gameplay state machines etc... This
is a very common implementation for classic raster games. In the 'backgroud'
DK/J take care of dealing with music and a few other misc housekeeping activities.
Each interrupt is when the game software checks for players inputs, moves the graphics,
checks for points to be awarded etc. So really the hardware has dictated that this
occurs for each video frame and the length of how many instructions executed is not
critical as long as you don't overrun your budget in which case I suppose you could
lose a frame. Again, that is why I was careful in making the interrupt path of code
have the same cycle timing as the original.

c) The sounds that are different are handled by external analog hardware. The game software
simply writes to a latch and the external analog hardware produces the sound independent
of the game software timing. DDK since it is built on DKjr hardware so the sounds are
those of DKjr. The sounds are mapped as follows.
DK pound is mapped to DKjr crash
DK walk is mapped to Dkjr walk
DK jump is mapped to Dkjr jump.
None of these affect gameplay in terms of being able to acheive a high score.

So my opinion is for DK or DKJ you can accept a score on DDK.

That being said, lets talk about a couple other of my kits....

Asteroids: My asteroids HS kit has extended scoring. In order to implement this
I had to add extra instructions (and vector instructions) in the normal gameplay
sequence. This extra code is to check to see if extra digits need to be displayed
and display them if needed. This causes extra CPU cycles and extra vector engine
cycles if the additional digits are displayed. Vector games are a little different
in raster games in timings. They don't really have a frame interrupt at a constant
speed, instead they setup a list of vectors to draw, tell the hardware to draw them,
then in the background setup the next list of vectors to display. The 'timing' is
more a function of how fast it can draw all the vectors. The more vectors the slower.
the less the faster. I don't know for sure, but I would guess this can cause
very slight differences in the game play from a timing perspective. Not sure if that
makes it easier or harder?? Additionally with the extended scoring, when the game
rolls to 100K, it continues to execute with hard difficulty (the original game when it
rolled back over to 0 would have reverted back to easy mode for the first 30k). So
in that sense asteroids HS game is harder, as the player does not get the break of going
back to easy every time it is rolled (since it does not roll over).

Multipede: Centipede/Multipede multigame: Since this game is built millipede hardware,
I think a millipede score on a multipede would be acceptable for similar reasons as above
about how raster games do timings and how the patches were applied. However, for
centipede on multipede the patches are more complicated. They are more complicated due
to how the trackballs are handled. So the interrupt path for centipede on multipede is
longer. I don't think this affects gameplay, as again, for most raster games gameplay
timing is controlled by the frame interrupt. But I can't be for certain it it is easier
or harder or same.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

***********************************

At this time, the current TG world record will be reclassed accordingly to a separate category. We believe the score to be an incredible accomplishment in it's own right, and will always treat it as such, however for sake of purity, the reclass is necessary once the new category is added.

Additionally, Steve Wiebe contacted me this weekend and understands the situation and our position, and is in the process of acquiring a classic DK so as to compete on the real deal.

That being said, I trust that the matter is now put to rest to everyone's satisfaction. I just wanted to tie up the sole loose end and provide closure to the site where the information on the DDK conversion kit originated.

Robert

D_Harris
Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 12:54 pm
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Does that mean a completely different category, or the same with a "flag" denoting the specific(T.G. approved) hack?(Since these are now being tracked, completely separate categories are totally unnecessary in my opinion).

And since T.G. will now track another major hack(outside of Turbo Ms.Pac-man), what about certain Pac-man, and Williams' game(Robotron, StarGate, ect.) hack/s?

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 06:24 pm
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Hello Darren:

The platform will still be regarded as "Arcade", yet the title is not being considered a "Hack". Rather, it is being considered as a TG-approved variant in the arcade section of the scoreboard and upcoming Book.

The major hacks that TG tracks (Turbo Ms Pac, Super Galaxian, Super Missile Attack, can't be sure if there are others) are also listed in the arcade section, and are generally regarded as TG-approved "hacks" but are listed in the arcade category for simplicity sake.

Just like "Jungle King" and "Jungle Hunt", we will treat the two DK scores separate in the arcade category.

The DKJr score, however, will remain as is...there is sufficient evidence to substantiate that there is virtually no difference, including timing, between the two, as the conversion kit is DKJr based to begin with.

Hope that helps.

Robert

mspaeth
Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 07:50 pm
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That's just bizarre.

The only hardware differences between dk and dkjr is addition sprites, and modified analog sounds.

Almost no code changes are needed to make DK run on DKJr hardware, so if the changes needed to add the game switching the DKjr are considered negligible enough to not differentiate between DDK DKJr and real DKJr, the same code changes to DK would seem to be just as negligable.

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 11:58 pm
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Hello Mark:

Well, after the investigation and timing differences were noted, the prudent course of action was to track the two separately. The differences, unfortunately, are not as glaring as, say, the known ROMsets for "Marble Madness" or "Astro Fighter", but across 117 stages they do add up.

There were gamers that said the two HAD to be tracked separely, those that said "only if" the differences were significant, and those that said "not at all"...just so you know.

Robert

Rick
Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 02:11 pm
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Robert,
I can understand your interest in researching the differences in DK and DDK but isn't there some loss of objectivity when one of the experts analyzing the game for you is a current record holder on that title (Billy Mitchell)? After looking at the current book of records I see Billy Mitchell and Chris Ayra have a relationship that goes back to the original Twin Galaxies arcade so that appears to bring the objectivity level even lower, doesn't it? You know, buddies will stick together and back each other up.

After reading several postings from mspaeth, it would appear he is very knowledgable with computer hardware and software and probably would have been a better choice as analyst since he appears to have no stake in the outcome. What did the creator of DDK have to say about timing issues? Just my 2 cents.

Rick

Barry
Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 05:39 pm
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An explanation of how the test was conducted is in order. Two guys sitting on a couch watching a videotape can hardly be called scientific. Rick, it seems the creator's input you were looking for is in the first posting of this thread. From what he has written, I doubt any human could tell the difference.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, November 11, 2003 - 09:49 pm
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Barry:

Thanks for the reply. I agree...human players watching a tape is not absolutely scientific. However, consider that wach has 22+ years of experience at the title, moreso than the originating programmers. If anyone can visually spot timing differences, it's these guys.

Second, we have the extremely detailed opinions of one of the gamer designers which pretty much states that the games, in his opinion, play the same for record and scoring purposes. Third, I have data from a third source, Brian Kuh, who plays this one moreso than most gamers and who has recently achieved a kill screen proficiency.

Add up all the empirical data and we at TG believe that we've covered all the bases, and with the right sources. For sake of purity, the scores are split.

As for myself, I place a great deal of implicit trust and respect in the integrity of fellow TG Board of Director member, Bill Mitchell, and know that he places what's good for the gaming community first and foremost in all of his gaming contributions.

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 07:44 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"..As for myself, I place a great deal of implicit trust and respect in the integrity of fellow TG Board of Director member, Bill Mitchell, and know that he places what's good for the gaming community first and foremost in all of his gaming contributions."

The employees of Enron thought the same way.

Richard M.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 08:20 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anonymous' skepticism is understood and felt to a degree. I am willing to trust almost anybody at least a little. But I am unwilling to trust anyone absolutely.

Maybe the games do play the same so that an expert on the "conversion kit" version is an expert on the original. I think the proof of that would be for Steve Wiebe to play the original Donkey Kong to establish the record. His existing game should fall under a separate category.

And I see from Robert's post opening his thread that Steve is getting his own DK machine for this purpose. :-)

-- Richard M.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 07:01 pm
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Hello all:

The famous "Anonymous" posts yet again. This time, I do respect his/her opinion. No debate from me. However, I have to mention the following, which might be apparent to some but not to all...

-> Regardless of who you rely on for your scoring information and verification, know that the staff involved is likely small, less than 10 people (if even that many), none of which get compensated for their efforts

-> We do this in addition to full-time jobs and family concerns

-> In the precious few hours left after transit to/from work and what little eating/sleeping we enjoy, we dedicate that to the gaming community

-> It is in those few hours per week, which in some cases is almost a full-time job in itself, that we verify scores, watch performances, write articles, answer gamer inquiries, and tend to media requests

That being said, we do try our best to work with the resources at hand. Unfortunately, we do not have a multi-tiered group that can check the checkers and so forth...it's just us...we rely on ourselves and fellow gamers for the matters at hand.

Your "Enron" comment, though well understood, is an entirely different matter, as no monies are involved, only integrity. Say what you will about "Arthur Anderson" as well, but there too was monies involved. We are a free service provider for the time being, one which shares (moreso than most) results of investigations, extreme details of verifications, and more. Others do not share our enthusiasim for openess and full disclosure.

As for the trust I place in my colleague, know that there are five (5) Board Members, so a certain amount of check-and-balance is in place, for the sake of further maintaining impartiality within decisions affecting the gaming community. I believe that it is only prudent to have a check-and-balance system in place, trust aside, so that different perspectives are always consulted.

Again, your comments are well appreciated and understood, though I do not necessarily agree with the analogy in full.

Robert

Barry
Thursday, November 13, 2003 - 06:32 pm
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Robert,
My comments about how the test was conducted were meant to help you counteract the nay-sayers such as "anonymous." However, I had hoped a more scientific test had been conducted (maybe it was) since videotape watching can open itself up to scrutiny due to the analog properties of VCR's and minor tape speed differences between machines. I'm sure you took that into consideration beforehand. I do not envy your job!

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, November 14, 2003 - 01:35 pm
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Hi Barry:

Well understood. The different VCR issue is a main concern of mine when viewing "fastest completion" events, or comparing performances on titles where difficulty settings proportionately increase speed of gameplay action. But in general, we are all reasonable when it comes to this fact of technology. Not all referees will have the same VCR, and not all gamers will record on the same tape type or speed, so we try our best under the circumstances.

The problem becomes even more difficult when the title is relatively unknown, or brand new, but again, we try our best.

Even so, under the best of circumstances, nuances can and do exist. But we're practical and reasonable about that in general.

Thanks !!

Robert

Anonymous
Monday, November 17, 2003 - 07:54 am
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BTW, what is the last possible date for submitting scores for the TG book, and, is this date really the last date unlike all the previous "last dates" we've seen over the years? This is critical to my game plan.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, November 24, 2003 - 08:45 pm
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Hello:

I would strongly recommend that interested gamers submit scores no later than December 31st for sure. You might risk as late as January 15th, but just to be safe I'd try no later than December 31st.

Robert

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Donkey Kong high score kit

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JCox
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 02:14 am
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Does anyone have any experience or opinions on the Donkey Kong high score kit? I have DK model TKG4-UP and I am interested in having one of these installed. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to find one and also if it is easy to install? Does it come with good instructions and has anyone installed one themselves?

Zotmeister
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 10:56 am
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If you could humor an ignorant historian: What is this device you're referring to? What is its purpose? - ZM

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 03:55 pm
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Try www.arcadeshop.com I think they usually sell them. No opinion on it though. I don't have one in mine.

The purpose would be to preserve the high score table over power downs. I think they may also provide "Free Play" for the game (which normally has no "Free Play" option). I'm not sure if the "Free Play" feature was part of the same kit or a different kit.

On another note, I would love to find a true TKG2-UP boardset to buy or trade for. I have managed to collect a couple TKG4-UP boardsets, TKG3-UP chipset, and one TKG4-UP boardset with the Japan ROMs on them. But I would love to find an origional DK US boardset that had the ladder trick (barrel board) still intact.

Thanks

mspaeth
Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 07:53 pm
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www.brasington.org is the real source of the kit... arcadeshop is just a reseller

I believe the kit does add freeplay, and modified attact mode to avoid screen burn... (and IIRC, improved diagnostics).

I was considering picking one up just for debugging dead boards

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, November 05, 2003 - 10:42 pm
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I thought Scott stopped selling them directly and only sells them through electronicamusments (somehow connected to arcadeshop). Maybe I'm just remembering the DDK boards and these free play kits are still through Scott? Usually you get this kit installed as part of the conversion to a DDK I think. I've thought about getting one too. But never had a spare DK Jr. board and around $150 extra laying around

mspaeth
Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 05:09 pm
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DDK's were through D Vegro and Mike Haaland.

Brien King
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 11:43 am
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I have two of the High Score kits and they are great. I highly recommend them. I have a review of them on my site: http://www.arcaderestoration.com

Brien King

JCox
Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 02:59 pm
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Thanks for the input everyone. BTW, Brien, that's one great site you have there!

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Funspot Nov/03 Trip is History !!

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Robert T Mruczek
Monday, November 24, 2003 - 11:19 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

For the first time in 2003, I was able to take a vacation using my year 2003 vacation days !! And it's about time, too, as I am allowed to take twenty (20) days within a year due to my tenure (15 years...time flies), not to mention legal holidays and such. Being that November is almost over, I'd say it was high time that I took a break, I feel.

Hmmm...what to do on my vacation ? The logical choice (for me) was to spend it at Funspot for the entire week. My vacation experience started on Sunday (11/16) at approx 10:30am when I left my home for the 1:00pm flight to Manchester. For the first three competitions at Funspot, I was driven from New York. Took 8-9 hours elapsed time including stops for food and gas. Ugh. For May/02, I couldn't secure car transportation so I ended up taking a bus. Double ugh...and also took about 8-9 hours including stops and transfers !!

So, for my vacation, I decided what the heck, let's travel the way the birds do. Costs a bit more, but the flight was only 75 minutes once you took off. Just enough time to read my gaming magazine each way before the plane landed. But the fun part was explaining to the security officials that I had a Microsoft Xbox in my bag...not something they are accustomed to seeing through the scanner every day (that had to be viewed as if it was a computer or laptop. At least they did their jobs. Now if they did not question it, then that would have bothered me.

SUNDAY (11/16)

When I landed in Manchester it was nearly 2:20pm, and fellow gamer Greg Bond was nice enough to meet me at the baggage check area and drove me to Funspot towards where I was staying, the "Sun Valley" cottages which was walking distance from Funspot. I'm going to reserve cabin 5 again for the next tourney. Other than the fact that the TV sets (2 of 'em) did not have a video/audio jack for the Xbox system I brought for evening fun, everything was perfect. The hike to Funspot was not bad at all...a good stretch of the legs for someone who barely has as much time to exercise as I used to years back (blame my job for that). And in appreciation for the drive, Greg was treated to lunch at "Applebees" where I pigged out on two seriously delicious vanilla malts in addition to a steak. That was to be only one of two "healthy" meals for the week, the
rest being fried this and that except for Friday's lunch, but more on that later,

So...let's talk gaming !!

After Greg drove me to the cottage to check in, we headed straight to Funspot and into the main game room. As it was about 4:45pm by now, things were a little quiet. I saw Steve K, one of the world's best "Gyruss" players on duty and said a quick hello, and then saw Tina, one of the nicest people you will ever meet, both of which were on call at Funspot that eve. We started to play a few games here and there, nothing really serious, and then Shawn & Jason Cram showed up along with Anna
Cram and their mom. Some lengthy hellos and some getting re-aquainted chat was definitely in order as I had not seen anyone from this area since May of 2002, nearly 18 months prior. The guys were talking some serious "Zookeeper" strategies, and I started to get re-accustomed to playing "Star Wars" at TGTS and also some "Super Cobra".

My goals for the week were as follows...3.5-4.0M on "Star Wars" (TGTS), 500K+ on "Commando", 3500+ on "Depth Charge", and 120K+ on "Super Cobra". Of the four, the one I was most anxious to attempt was "Star Wars", to reclaim my TGTS record that was recently eclipsed by fellow jedi Mark Boolman at the May/03 Funspot tourney. My personal unverified best at "Commando" is 1.611M and I set 400K at the 2001 or 2002 tourney, so I knew I was capable of better. On MAME my average scores on "Depth Charge" were in the 3200 range, with my personal best (verified) at 3700, so a goal of 3500 was do-able. As for the 120K+ goal on "Super Cobra", I consider myself a decent player and needed to reach the 2nd maze to achieve that. I've done this before several times in practice, so felt it was within my reach.

I had some initial difficulty with "Star Wars"...reached 2.5M at most that evening, and only 53K on "Super Cobra", but had all week to keep trying. The clock went by fast and soon it was 8:00pm, and the kitchen was closed !! Stupid me forgot that small but important fact, so I picked up some pop-tart pastries from the vending machine, and I think some "Combos", as that evening's meal. Greg drove me back to my cottage at a little after 10:00pm and I went to sleep almost immediately as
I had been working until 3:15am on Sunday the day of my flight...and that was when I left for home to start packing. The fact is that I had been up since Saturday morning at about 11:00am or so, and by the time I got back to my cottage I was already up for nearly 36 hours. Sleep came fast, and although I woke up at least three times due to getting used to a new place to sleep, eventually I got some prolonged rest.

Oh yes, almost forgot...I saw Gary Vincent and Ken Sweet in the late evening before leaving for the cottage. Gary looked a little different with the goatee but Ken looked the same. My only regret for Sunday was missing my favourite shows right now, "The Simpsons" on FOX, "Alias" on ABC-TV, followed by "The Practice", also on ABC. Ah, well...that's what reruns are for.

MONDAY (11/17)

Woke up earlier that usual for a Monday at my job...I wanted to maximize every minute possible at the arcade, and also talking with the players. The cool thing was finding that one of my old favourite TV shows from the late 1960's was being shown twice daily at 8:00am..."Dark Shadows"...so I watched two episodes daily for the duration of my stay from 8-9am. Then a little dose of the "Jerry Springer Show", and when it ended it was 10:00am...time to make the hike. It was an uphill walk
the whole way, and carrying my Xbox in my bag the whole way did not exactly help. Hey...I'm from New York so I was naturally paranoid about leaving it in my cabin !!

Arriving in the arcade between 10:15-10:20, I checked out for familiar faces, and the first person there that I saw was Donald Hayes. "You're late !!" was the first comment he made. Blame a good "Springer" episode on that one, Donald. We had a good half hour discussion catching up on gaming related topics before we started to set some records (hopefully), or at least some personal bests. The first score I tracked was a 1.8M on "Zookeeper" by Donald, followed by an innaugural record on the "Spooksville" pinball title, which was 29,970 by Donald. I made a mental note to try that one later as it looked like a lot of fun. It was pretty quiet in the arcade...we almost had the run of the place for most of the day.

By this point, Jason and Shawn showed up. And I received a note from Anna Cram that David Nelson would be dropping by on Friday. Unless I'm forgetful, Greg Bond showed up, too.

Next up I tried some "Depth Charge" and started with 3,020 then 3,120 and finally set 3,540 points...one goal already down and lots of time to spare. Time for some "Super Cobra". I scored only 78K, my highest verified score but a far cry from my goal or my best unverified performance. My day was finished with a score of 1.091M on marathon "Robotron". Donald drove me back to the cottage tonight. One night down, but four (4) more to go !! This was already promising to be a great vacation.

TUESDAY (11/1

Tuesday was another hike to Funspot for me. The day started out slowly but picked up quickly as the day went on. Donald was already there, as was Steve K. Jason and Shawn showed up later and spent the entire day. Quite a few personal bests were submitted for the 2nd Book of records. Here are just a few of the most significant ones...

-> 3,327,828 on "Star Wars" (TGTS) by Donald Hayes. My best so far this day was 2.9M.
-> 59,580 points on "Spooksville" pinball...by me !! And I did this while...
-> 113,140 points on "Berzerk" (slow bullets/fast Otto) was concurrently being set by Donald.
-> 32,840 points on "Spooksville" by Jason Cram, now the 2nd highest verified score
-> 175K on "Crazy Climber" by Jason Cram
-> 2.1M on "Zookeeper" by Donald...a bit higher than earlier
-> 3,615 on "Monaco GP" by myself, and 3,218 by Jason
-> 822 on "Wheels 2" by Steve K

This night ended with Donald driving me back, and I went quickly to sleep as I was pretty tired.

WEDNESDAY (11/19)

The weather was wet and rainy, and I waited until 10:20am before deciding to head on over with a towel wrapped over my head (seriously !!), but Greg arrived with the guys and was nice
enough to give me a lift. The car was full so Greg stayed behind while they dropped me off and then returned for him. Much appreciated, guys !!

I mostly spent the day with Jason Cram. I started my day with a respectable 116K on "Super Cobra". We then set personal records on "Monopoly Pinball"...Jason won that one with 11.3M points and I reached 4.8M, just shy of an extra ball. We also tried "ATV" (all-terrain-vehicle)...not a traditional score-based title, but a heck of a lot of fun !!

Bryan Wagner arrived with Greg so I said my hellos and chatted a bit about his "Burgertime" pursuits. He came very prepared with a log book of threshold goals per level for lives, peppers and points.

Towards the middle of the day I upped by "Super Cobra" score a bit to 118K, and then did a 721K on "Commando" which was a very draining back-to-back experience. That was three of four goals down, for me, and one huge one to go. Steve K attempted a "Gyruss" (TGTS) record, hoping to eclipse the 1.3M set by Richard Marsh in May/03. He started great with 484K on his 1st life but the game fizzled and he ended up with a still impressive 825K. Not bad right after a long work shift !!

At some point in the day I showed the guys, including Gary who popped by, the capabilities of the Xbox. They were stunned at the graphics of some of the titles, especially "Simpson's Road Rage" and "DOA Beach Volleyball", but especially liked the humorous interactions from "Outlaw Golf".

Steve upped his score on "Wheels 2" to 838. Greg Bond had an awesome game at "Zookeeper", coming in at 18.5M for a new personal best. Later in the evening, Greg & Bryan took a break, and Shawn/Jason were hanging around other titles, so I thought I'd give "Star Wars" (TGTS) a shot.

Have to admit...I was feeling very tired about now, and had little reason to suspect that the next game would be one of the best performances I churned out in years. I started with a respectable 5 shields remaining by the 2.8M mark, and heard a message over the loudspeakers that the electricity would soon be shut off. The guys, I overheard while playing, were very instrumental on not letting that happen, because eventually I was at the 3.2M mark with 4 shields left !! The guys were very respectful of the good game in progress by not playing any "Zookeeper" which was right next to my game, and stood outside of my peripheral vision behind me. Greg said quite a few times "good, Robert" after particularly harrowing escapes.

As is usual for the title, however, sometimes things happen that are beyond your control...last second fireballs thrown at you right before the end of a wave, fireballs in just the wrong places in the trench, or coming at you right when you shoot for the exhaust portal. I ended up with 3 shields left by 3.4M points shortly after passing my own personal best. Up to that point I used the force only twice, and missed two tower bonuses (including wave 11). A fireball brought me down to 2 shields
at the 3.7M mark, and I let go of a "wave 11" tower pattern while at 3.9M. Honestly I was surprised to be hanging on for so long as I was "dog tired" as the expression goes. In the last wave I reached, I acidentally clipped a "wave 10" pattern tower too closely and lost control of my cursor momentarily, more than enough time for a remaining tower to peg me with a fireball. The final score was 4,044,601...not bad for an old man, I think !!

The players congratulated me and said that was a good game and fun to watch, and I was very pleased, of course, but too tired to truly exhult in the score. We left Funspot at that point, and I was very thankful that the power was kept on those extra 20 minutes. Greg and crew drove me back while I was in the back of his pickup truck...the cool area did wonders to keep me awake as I was feeling quite tired after all that. They dropped me off, and I went to sleep, content to know that the pressure was off on the last of my major goals for the week. Sure, my "Super Cobra" score was not quite 120K, but it was close enough, as the expression goes. I knew that the next day I'd be there for the players as a referee all day, and at most would play games like "Depth Charge" or pinball, to calm down, a bit.

THURSDAY (11/20)

The weather was still wet and rainy, and Bryan showed up to take me to Funspot. Thanks !!

Shawn turned in a score of 1.9M on "Star Wars" (TGTS) late in the day...very close to his personal goal of 2 million. This was the day that Richard Marsh was scheduled to show up, and he did. He tried, after a 4 hour drive, "Gyruss" at TGTS and got 349,850 on his 1st ship but only 562,200 in total...not bad after such a long drive, but almost 800K
away from his world record of approx 1.3M. Greg Bond made two back-to-back runs at "Tutankham" and did 106K on the 1st run, but the 2nd was much better and he pulled off 175,460.

Richard then tried for a new gaming category..."Galaga" on TGTS with 5 ships only. We hammered out the rules and will cross-check with our "Keeper of the Rules", Mark Longridge, when I return, but I believe we have solid decisions. His first attempt brought in a score of 323,910 points. Steve K then tried "Gyruss" again at TGTS and finished with 702,200 points, but what was incredible was his pace through the 1st two "Earth" cycles...he achieved 285K on the 1st completed cycle, and 297K on his 2nd cycle...a very respectable pace indeed.

Next on the hit parade, Richard attempted "Stun Runner" and racked up 609,160 points before a glitch in the game shut the game in progress down, or he could have done much better. Good enough for now, though. Shawn pulled off a massive score on "Zookeeper"...we knew he had something good going as he was deep into the game and pulled off a few 1M and 500K jumps and maybe even a 2M jump. The final score...19,267,000 which was not quite his 21M verified world record score, but his second best performance ever.

Another attempt was made on "Galaga" TGTS by Richard, and this one was much better...492,350 points. Not bad for now, and Richard knows that much better still is in the works for him...in this game he lost his 1st ship at a little under 20K. Greg cranked out a slightly better "Tut" performance with 178,460 and Bryan Wagner achieved 195,640 on "Wonderboy". I pulled off a score of 837 on "Wheels 2" which I was very content with.

I left at 9:45pm, earlier than usual because I wanted to see what the commercials indicated was a "must see" episode of "E.R.", a show I used to watch religiously until my work responsibilities changed. Usually I am still at my desk when it's on so this was refreshing, and yes, it was a "must-see" episode !!

I should point out that this whole week I enjoyed watching two episodes per morning of my favourite TV show from the 1960's, "Dark Shadows", and also a daily dose of "Jerry Springer" (and I sincerely hope that I never know or meet a person that was a guest of the show...well, most of the guests, I should say, as some are not that bad in comparison to the others). Thanks, Bryan, for taking the time to drive me back !!

FRIDAY (11/21)

Friday arrived...and so did Fred Pastore, the "Carnival" champion. The weather was good so I left a note on my door telling Bryan/Greg that I was walking to Funspot. I think I made it to the final walkway when a car cut me off...it was Fred who noticed me and asked if we could go for breakfast somewhere, which we did. Chatted a bit, then headed back to the game area by about 11:00am.

This was by far the busiest day for the arcade...up until now we had the run of the place with only a few gamers here and there mulling titles to play, but the weekend crowd kicked in and there were a good 20+ people there in addition to ourselves. Many still react strangely to the setup of a video camera and tripod in front of a title, but Gary said that they are used to it by now (most are).

In our 1st submission ever for the title "Super Sprint" by Atari (1986), Bryan Wagner hit 14,270 on settings that seem quite hard and need to be cross-checked with Mark Longridge, but it is the 1st submission on that title to my knowledge. Jason hit 56,360 on "Spectar", and in another 1st-time ever submission, a team score on "Warlords" was contested. The team of Jason Cram and David Nelson pulled off a combined score of 167,125. Donald Hayes pulled off 264,420 on "Tutankham". Greg Bond
upped his "Tutankham" personal best to 178,460.

Except for Richard who had to drive back on Thursday, all of us were there today...it had the feel of a mini competition !! Jason & Shawn Cram, David Nelson arrived, as did Fred Pastore. Greg Bond, Bryan Wagner and Donald Hayes were there, Steve K (double duty day). We made the most of the day getting re-acquainted after so many months. Not a lot of scores
were registered but the "Zookeeper" area was packed as usual.

Wer went out as a large group to lunch at "J.T.'s Bar-B-Que" and enjoyed ourselves for a good 90 minutes, taking a well deserved respite from a week's worth of gaming efforts. Being that I was there, now, since Sunday, that was nearly sixty hours at Funspot since I arrived...definitely a great vacation !! We talked gaming for the entire time which was always the topic of discussion at any given moment, and then headed back for some last minute record attempts.

David pulled off a very high score on "Depth Charge" of 3,890 points...not quite his personal best but his highest in some time. He and Jason hammered away at "Spectar" for most of the day, and their best scores by the end of the day were 66,970 for David and 57,030 for Jason. Not bad at all on one of the harder titles ever produced !!

Fred Pastore added two more personal bests to his roster of scores...3,130 on "Depth Charge" and 153,600 on "Land Sea Air Squad" on a cocktail table, reaching area 30 in the process. Fred and I have a tradition of playing this title with every Funspot trip...it's a very under-appreciated title, and a lot of fun, though very awkward to play with a cocktail controller configuration, but still a lot of fun. I pulled off 201K but missed my personal best. Oh well...there's always Funspot 2004 !!

We hung out gaming until the evening and actually through what would be supper, knowing that it would be a full 6 months before so many of us were here together again. Gary devoted a good portion of his afternoon to us, listening to what we had to say, and exchanging stories of old Funspot lore and such. By the time the day came to an end we were all beat...not mentally but physically from all the gaming.

Then the group of us went down to the Funspot Tavern near the bowling alley and grabbed a slice of pizza and a drink. While chatting away, Phil Hubbard was present, the reigning world champion on "Dragon Spirit". He listened in on our conversation with great interest as the Book was mentioned, and next year's tournament. I had a chance to say a personal hello to him before we went back to the game room for a couple of last minute attempts before the place closed, as the intercom kept saying "20 minutes to closing", then 15 minutes, then 10. Definitely a good time to try "Spectar" and "Depth Charge" !!

The lights were almost out and the group of us, including Gary and Steve K, chatted in the center of the game room for a good hour before saying goodbye to Gary and that we would be back in 2004 for the next tourney. We decided to go for late night pizza (and it was almost midnight by now), with David leading the way. Unlike the May 2002 competition pizza run, none of us got lost this time.

Once there, I have to both thank Jason & shawn, and regret at the same time, that they introduced me to "Moxie", a local favourite beverage to try. We all had our impressions of what it tasted like...mine being a combination of cough syrup and root beer, but most of us at least thought that cough syrup was definitely the primary taste. And then there was the after- taste which is an entirely different matter. Well, at least it didn't completely eat through the styrofoam cups we used. We put together two tables and chowed down & talked for some time, recounting some of the memorable moments from the week, including one youngster proudly proclaiming "I wanna be like Donald Hayes", and Gary's telling us how someone on a cell phone was telling the person on the other end "That guy...Donald Hayes...he's here, right now !!".

We also talked about recent score claims on "Zookeeper" that involved not one but multiple 30M point jumps, each one of which is the Holy Grail for that title. The guys had pulled off a 15M jump at best, to date. We talked about who would be there for the Funspot 2004 tournament (all of us, of course), and where we saw video gaming going 5 & 10 years from now. That made for a spirited discussion. And we also talked about Twin Galaxies and the status of the upcoming 2nd Book of Records.

When we were all done, we shook hands and said we would keep in contact on what gaming efforts we would be working on until the May/June 2004 tournament arrived. Then went our separate ways. Fred drove me back to "Sun Valley" where he stayed a few cabins down from me.

SATURDAY (11/22)

Since my plane flight was the next morning at 11:20am departure time, I had to be up early. As it turns out I didn't bother going to sleep at all, and eventually knocked on Fred's door at about 6:43am, all of two
minutes before his alarm clock was to go off.

McDonald's was the choice for breakfast, and we were one of just six people there, other than the workers. After a short breakfast we headed back to "Sun Valley" to check out and drop our keys off at the receptacle box, then headed to the Manchester airport terminal. Fred and I chatted the entire way about this and that, including, believe it or not, some
non-gaming-related topics, including how unlike my usual work-week I had only had a single soda the entire week (usually my weekly intake is 15 cans of "Diet Pepsi"...ouch on the teeth !!). Fred saw me in and we had a quick snack at a "Nestles" counter before my flight. I parted ways with Fred at approx 10:15am and he walked me to security. We shook hands and said we would see each other again in May...actually the 1st week in June according to what I now know of the next tourney.

Once again the Xbox caused an uproar at security. I had to be wanded by hand due to the metals in the labels of my jeans. I bought the latest issue of "Stuff Gamer" with Shannon Elizabeth on the cover which was reason enough to buy the issue, but mainly because of the write-up on the 50 most controversial games of all-time...but the cover was the definite selling point for me, because I convinced myself to buy it even before seeing the article on the 50 titles.

My flight was on time, and I arrived back in LaGuardia at about 12:30-12:45pm, and was back home by almost 1:30pm. This meant that I was still awake since Friday at 7:15am, so I was up for nearly 30 hours. My cat was happy to see me, the huge ball of fur that he is, and I quickly called Walter, Bill and Ron to let them know I was back, and according to news that I obtained from my parents who arrived a few minutes after I did, there was no train service this weekend from my home station
so I'd be home-bound and unable to answer E-MAILs or forum messages this weekend until after Monday.

I'm still very pleased with the vacation. Sure, the scores were nice and all, but seeing the players after 18 months made all my work considerations a definite non-issue.

And now that I think of it, I believe I'll fly from now on...when I consider that driving is 8-9 hours elapsed time with pitstops for food and gas, never mind the slow crawl out of New York City and thru Boston, my return time was in effect from 9:00am leaving Weirs Beach to 1:30pm walking in my front door. Not bad, I think, as that saves me about 10 hours round-trip travel time.

I started writing this article at 5:00pm Saturday, then went to sleep at around 10:00pm after being awake for nearly 39 hours. Woke up Sunday at 5:45am and started to finish it...and now it's 7:26am and I reached this point. My vacation odyssey has just one more task remaining...unpacking and reviewing my week's backlog of incoming mail. I'm feeling refreshed,
now, but not that refreshed that I will open up my new Hanaho "Hot-Rod" controller that arrived on schedule. Priority number one, once that's opened...the MARP and MAME "Super Cobra" records are dropping fast !! But I will need a yoke controller to take down the "Star Wars" TGTS record...I pointedly refuse to play with a mouse.

Just about 7:30am now...I have a whole day in front of me. Better get a move on and make it count. So thanks to all of the players who showed up for gaming action...that, to me, was the most important part of my vacation, and made for a truly memorable experience. And thanks to Gary for giving us quite a bit of his time on Friday, only breaking for the occassional emergency that came up. And on behalf of Twin Galaxies, thanks to all the players for providing me with so many awesome new
scores to crank into our database. I now finish this letter knowing that this has been the best vacation I've had in a very long time, and I'm already looking foward to next year's tourney...but NOT towards showing up for work on Monday !!

Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade champion
rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)

*****************************

briankuh
Tuesday, November 25, 2003 - 08:24 am
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About that McDonalds breakfast on Saturday morning, the Laconia/Wiers Beach McDonalds has free coupons that can be redeemed at Funspot for extra tokens when you spend $20.00, making the cost per token only 11 cents.

Carnival_Fred
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 11:46 pm
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(same post at TG)

Hi everyone

Needless to say, it's always a good time at Funspot and even more so with some "locals" present and a few "not-so-locals"!

Just a few random thoughts....

My take on Moxie.... Dr Pepper and cough syrup

Art, would be nice if you could get a flight to Manchester, NH

How'd Robert remember all that stuff????

The Pro & BeauB, anytime is a good time but there's no better time to be there than the Tournament

Fred's Taxi Service is hiatus until June 2004!

Once again, spent more time socializing but plan on much more gaming next year.

Even so, gotta spend more time at D A Longs.

Thanks to Donald for his Space Invaders help.

Thanks to Robert for the grub.

Thanks to Gary Vincent for spending some time with us.

Sorry I missed ya Richard. I arrived Friday.

What was that shady character loitering around Donald's poster doing anyway?

Looks like we're right at the half-way point!

Looking forward to next year

Carnival Fred

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Crazy Climber Settings

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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, November 28, 2003 - 11:31 pm
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Hello all:

I am in the process of re-verifying the settings for "Crazy Climber". The Funspot settings currently are set for 4 lives to start, yet I am fairly sure they should be 3. Just to make things official, I am awaiting word from Mark Longridge.

Robert

artz
Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 07:54 pm
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Hi Robert,

I am going just by the Mame romset which is 3 lives to start, 1 extra at 30,000.

This past May at Funspot I had a couple of 250k games, but couldn't remember if at that time they were set to 3 or 4 to start.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 06:08 pm
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Hi Artz:

Haven't heard from Mark yet, but I believe that "Crazy Climber" is indeed 3 men to start, and one extra.

Jason Cram had several attempts in which he reached but did not clear the 4th building on his last man, but did on his 5th life.

His best with a start of 4 lives was an impressive 300K+ !! Unfortunately, he finished building 4 and completed stages 5 and 6 on his 5th life.

Robert

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Comming to funspot from Dallas (cont)

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Anonymous
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 09:43 am
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Hi everyone my name is Sam, I am desperately looking for a "Space Ace" game to play. "Dragon's Lair" would be nice as well! Does Funspot have these games or are they planning on getting them? The last time I played them was in 1992 at the Circus Circus arcade in Las Vegas. Another game I would interested in is "Mystic Marathon" by Williams. I grew up in north Chicago btw and spent time going to arcades like "Space Fantasy" Silver Sues" and "Dennis's Place for Games".

Hope someone can help!
Mackuratyper@hotmail.com

Thanks
Sam

Bob C.
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 01:48 pm
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Sorry to say, Funspot does not have any of the games you mentioned.

Anonymous
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 05:01 pm
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I know they have a Space Ace in storage. Not sure about Dragon's Lair.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 06:06 pm
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Sam:

Have you tried the www.vaps.org site yet ? You might find an interested player who allows gamers to play on their privately owned machine. It might be hard to find a willing player, but you never know.

Of course your best bet, albeit an expensive one, is to locate and purchase either via auction or direct sale an authentic machine of each. I am sure that one or more gamers attending this site can be instrumental in assisting you should you choose to take this route. Good luck !!

Robert

Anonymous
Monday, December 01, 2003 - 06:12 pm
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http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/

You can find almost everthing about laser games on this site. Be prepared to shell out some big money for a working machine and even more money to keep it working.

briankuh
Friday, December 05, 2003 - 08:09 pm
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Wow, another player who likes Mystic Marathon by Williams! I've really liked that one since it first came out although I haven't found one in an arcade more than a few times. It's also a great game to play with two players simultaneously. Every one of those that I have played has had some defect in it where the game resets itself while you are still playing it. Does anyone know how many of these were made and if they all had that defect? It would be great to see some posts about Mystic Marathon here...I hadn't seen one of these for like 20 years and then there was one at the Calafornia Extreme this year.

Brian Kuh

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Thanks

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mike
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 03:23 pm
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Thanks for keeping classic gaming alive. i love the classics of the Eighties better than the games today. there's something about beating a high score. I miss the arcades of yesteryear. i think the kids today dont realize what it was like in the beginning it wasnt all about graphics ecspecially with the home systems. The atari didnt have good graphics the colecovision was an improvment and the nes was even closer to the arcade but not quite so. playing your arcade favorites at home wasn't as good as the arcade wich made it that much more exciting to go to the arcade on a saturday afternoon. Plus all those different analog sounds playing all at once wow. Anyways you have a nice collection there do you ever add to it and would you ever consider adding one of my favorites mousetrap.
thanks,
mike

mspaeth
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 05:27 pm
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Doh... just chopped up a mousetrap cabinet 2 weeks ago

(It was converted, and that cab is DAMN ugly)

Rick
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 05:40 pm
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Ouch! You chopped up a classic?

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 10:23 pm
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Funspot currently does have a working Mousetrap. It's over near the Qix machine.

mspaeth
Thursday, December 04, 2003 - 03:43 pm
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I've chopped up many classics... if you people would buy games that I post for sale here, I'd have more room and wouldn't have to chop so many cabs...

But let's face it... that's one God-awful ugly cab. There really wasn't anything wrong with it, and I had cabs that were in worse shape, but I couldn't imagine anyone EVERY wanting a game in that cabinet...

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Funspot Scoreboard.....Great Idea!!!

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Scootie
Friday, December 05, 2003 - 01:54 pm
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Why not???

I have read some of Gary's recent posts regarding the possibility of a Scoreboard at Funspot. It is a great idea and I hope you don't give it up just because of a few IMMATURE WHINERS!!!

Most of us who enjoy classic gaming are now in our 30's..It really saddens me to see how some people refuse to MATURE & GROW UP. I for one, would LOVE to see a scoreboard at Funspot and I would be Honered to have a score on there even if it is not "official" in the sense of TG. (It still will be an "official" Funspot score)

And to all you 30 year olds with the mentality & maturity of a 6 year old... If someone "knocks" down your High Score or breaks your "World Record"
Just Put another Quarter in and PLAY HARDER!!!

enough said!!!!

Scootie

PS Got up to the 5th building in Crazy Climber (last week)and broke 200G. My brother Eric also TURNED OVER DIG DUG (1,015,000)FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, December 05, 2003 - 02:30 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Sounds like the way things should be !! If you think about it, this is sort of like setting an Olympics 100M dash record that is not quite the fastest verified world record from, say, any other meet.

Room for recognition and appreciation for boths orgs, I'd like to think.

By the way...nice score on "Crazy Climber" !! I watched Jason Cram hit approx 175K on a 3-man start the week I was up there. That building 4 is tricky, all right.

The one thing we felt was almost unfair were the instances where you had two sections to climb up, split in the middle, and those signs fell down covering the width of an entire section. I don't think I saw Jason make it past that section without a game death, and I saw him reach that far almost ten times.

Robert

Rick
Friday, December 05, 2003 - 11:46 pm
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All it takes is a few immature whiners to give a business a bad name. Many people judge a business by what they can find out about it on the Internet. A few disgruntled people and their friends can wreak havoc on any business and scare off potential customers. Funspot can do whatever they please but I don't see anything good coming from this if they decide to run any type of board. Just my 2 cents worth.

Rick ;)

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, December 08, 2003 - 07:36 pm
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Hi Rick:

I actually disagree. If Funspot runs their own scoreboard the way Gary envisioned it, this will give the local players something special and very unique to shoot for, and anything positive like that is well worth the effort.

Remember in my article on my recent trip to Funspot that I overheard a young child exclaiming "I wanna be like Donald Hayes !!". Well, seeing Donald's picture on that huge poster may make someone say just that...or in the case of Carnival Fred, it might prompt the temptation to draw a moustache !!

Robert

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Space Invaders to invade again!

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Barry
Saturday, December 06, 2003 - 08:45 am
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/12/05/space.invaders.reut/index.html

Richard M.
Saturday, December 06, 2003 - 11:30 am
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There has been considerable discussion of this already on the TG discussion forum. Several have voice the opinion (which I agree with) that the new Space Invaders is really not worth the almost $3,000 being asked for. (Of course 10,000 people could prove me wrong on this point.)

I'm fully aware that in 1979 Space Invaders was all the rage. And I'm aware that the game continues to have its fans, and perhaps maybe even enough fans that the revival of SI by Taito would be profitable.

But at least to me, and likely to other people, this is not exciting news. I doubt that I would insert any coins into such a machine, and I strongly suspect that an arcade owner would find his $2,772 investment collecting dust and taking up space rather than making money.

-- Richard M.

Rick
Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 07:04 am
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Richard is correct. What was a hit in 1979 is not necessarily going to be a hit in 2003.

Richard M.
Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 03:45 pm
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Seems to me that I've read (not in the above link) that this machine will also have Qix, another Taito classic.

If this is true, and I see such a machine, I might play the game "just for Qix" (pun intended). But I still don't see the machine being worth almost three grand.

-- Richard M.

Zotmeister
Monday, December 22, 2003 - 03:07 pm
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Booooooooo... - ZM

Richard M.
Monday, December 22, 2003 - 05:55 pm
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Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. :-)

-- Richard M.

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Ulttra-rare Carnival Trimline found!

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mspaeth
Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 01:25 pm
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Check this baby out... awesome!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3259877249

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 07:27 pm
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I think Dwayne had one of these he used to practice for the 2002 tournament. He then sold it a few months before then for far less than this one is going for. Notice the joystick on the cocktail versions as opposed to the buttons. Seems like this would be more difficult to me! Cool to see the pictures of it though. Thanks Mark.

Rick
Friday, December 19, 2003 - 09:22 am
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I see they didn't get what they wanted for it.

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Late 80's game which involved driving and shooting your way over a lunar landscape while collecting crystals. Name this game!

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Scott Parsons
Friday, December 12, 2003 - 12:15 pm
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This arcade game I use to play in the late 80's. It involved driving over a lunar landscape avoiding rocks and craters which would damage the front of your vehicle if you hit them. The front of the vehicle was also used to collect crystals on the ground. The game also had a gun which you used to shoot aliens and such. Can you name this game?

Zotmeister
Friday, December 12, 2003 - 02:44 pm
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Educated guess: Night Stocker, Bally/Sente, 1986.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=8870

Look familiar? - ZM

Scott Parsons
Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 04:09 pm
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You rock!
Night Stocker it is!
Thanks Man!

Zotmeister
Monday, December 15, 2003 - 10:19 am
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No problem. I have plenty of experience at this sort of thing. What bites is when *I* can't remember one, because it takes ages for me to track it down and no one else can seem to figure it out. (That happened on this board a few months ago.) - ZM

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Scoreboard clarification

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Moderator
Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 02:51 pm
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The Funspot forum is for the discussion of classic game playing. Arguments and conflicting personalities should be addressed somewhere else.

Thank You

Zotmeister
Friday, December 19, 2003 - 04:06 pm
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Mynd you, m00se bites Kan be pretty nasti ...

Richard M.
Friday, December 19, 2003 - 06:25 pm
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And again, Moderator, I think a lot would be accomplished to lessen "arguments and conflicting personalities" by simply banning anonymous posts.

Zot: m00se bites?

-- Richard M.

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, December 19, 2003 - 10:24 pm
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The persons responsible have been sacked...

Sounds like a reference to opening credits of Monty Python's The Holy Grail to me!

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, December 19, 2003 - 11:56 pm
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Greg:

Don't forget...those that can be sacked can also be re-sacked...and so on. NEE !!

Robert

Rick
Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 07:09 am
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There must be an inside joke I'm missing.

Zotmeister
Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 09:02 am
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No, it's "Aaaaaagh", back of the throat.

By the official scripts and the computer game, it's spelled 'ni'. Or, perhaps more correctly, 'Ni!'.

I loved that stupid game. - ZM

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Two Challenges to Zotmeister !!

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Robert T Mruczek
Monday, December 15, 2003 - 06:08 pm
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Hello ZM:

Have a good one for you as you seem to have a wealth of knowledge about games of the past. Here goes. Two separate challenges.

Here's the 1st...

Back in the 80's I used to play a colour driving game which I thought was awesome. You had the option of driving over land, and in some cases you could even enter the water. Not overhead like "Spy Hunter", but from same perspective as Pole Position.

It was a fairly decent game, finite conclusion, some shortcuts, and the one thing I remember best was that the top scorer was allowed to enter twenty (20) spaces for their name.

Haven't a clue what the title might be. Simple driving, don't think you had weapons, and can't remember if you had gears.

Any idea would be appreciated. I'd like to see if it's available on MAME but can't recall the title.

Now for the second...

This one is a toughie. I know this because there is no way this one is available for MAME as it was from the days of "Sea Raider" (1976 and prior).

You and your opponent looked thru "Sea Wolf" style scopes at the playfield in front. One controlled a vivid green space ship, one controlled a red one. These were REAL model ships that you moved from side to side.

The terrain in front had craters, mountains and such. You could shoot at your opponent ship across the screen, that much I remember clearly. What I cannot remember too well as it has been nearly 30 years was if LED or cardboard objects travelled across the screen that you could also shoot.

Your "laser shots"...can't remember if they were seen travelling away from your ship, or if the target either was registered as being destroyed and all you saw was a flash, or if you cleanly missed.

This one goes back to the earliest days that I remember playing video games...I even remember playing "Sea Raider" which was what came before "Sea Wolf" !!

Any help on the 1st one would be appreciated. The second is just to learn a bit of nostalgia from my earliest days of gaming.

Thanks !!

Robert

mspaeth
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 05:21 pm
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First game is Change Lanes.

I don't think it's been in mame (assuming it is now) until very recently, since they hadn't cracked the microcontroller.

(And yes, I do have one

...but alas nobody ever buys the games I post for sale...

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 06:12 pm
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Hi Mark:

Thanks !! I only saw that one once in NYC in "Fascination" arcade. I was fairly decent at it, but never remembered seeing it in all the other arcades, or recently on MAME.

As for titles being sold, do you happen to have "Crazy Balloon" ?

Robert

RCorcoran
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 06:36 pm
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Mark:

Do you have a good condition Robotron you'd be willing to sell? I can't seem to talk Brien King out of his...

Zotmeister
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 10:10 am
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Change Lanes would likely have been near impossible for me - I'd never seen nor heard of the game, and my instincts would have lead my search down the wrong path. Incidentally, it's not in MAME.

Side note: Mark, are you the only individual listed as a manufacturer in the KLOV?

Now that other game with physical objects, I'm almost CERTAIN I've seen before. I don't know the name off the top of my head, but hunting this down will be a challenge I should enjoy. - ZM

Zotmeister
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 11:48 am
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Not a lot of companies made electromechanical games; I'm guessing either Allied Leisure or, most likely, Chicago Coin produced the game you inquired about. Unfortunately, little information seems to have survived about these games, so tying the name to the game will be quite difficult. If you, say, check the KLOV and look under those manufacturers, you may find a name that jumps out at you; unfortunately, none jumped out at me. - ZM

mspaeth
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 01:29 pm
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Ron:

Mike appolo and I picked one up in a bulk deal at a warehouse... it's kinda buried, but it'll be up for sale once it's back together and working.

(Since, of course mike and I both have one ;)

RCorcoran
Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 03:59 pm
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Mark:

Sweet deal! Can I e-mail you with a request that you let me know once you've posted it so I can bid?

Thanks

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Memory of sound effect 'multiple.. multiple..'

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fondmemory
Monday, December 22, 2003 - 10:23 pm
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I used to play a cabinet-style arcade game years ago at college in Birmingham, UK.. it was similar to 'defender' (might even have been defender except that I can't get to any of the higher levels of defender to verify it these days :-( lol)

I remember that by picking up certain floating nuggets at certain points in the game, the machine would proclaim 'multiple!' in a cheesy quasi-american accent and your ship would be joined by a set of shadows firing ammo at the same time as your main ship.

at the end of each level, there was a solid wall of red stuff to be blasted through, after which you ended up in a chamber confronted by a many-armed, floating ship which could only be destroyed by battering it many times with lasers & bullets & god knows what.. once destroyed it gave you a good rest however whilst it made a very satisfying pantomime of an explosion!

If anyone can suggest what this game might have been called I'd be very appreciative.. thanks.

fondmemory
Monday, December 22, 2003 - 10:31 pm
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- would have been around 1987 I used to play this.

fondmemory
Monday, December 22, 2003 - 10:40 pm
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- I remember the early levels seemed really hard at first, but were really easy once you'd figured out that if you started out at a certain point on the screen, you could pretty much go in a straight line at full pelt just blasting everything in front of you out of the way.. pretty soon you picked up a laser instead of bullets, then you got these 'multiples' all firing damn lasers as well & anything on the screen was yours..

Zotmeister
Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 11:26 am
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Sounds like a Gradius- or Salamander-series game. I seem to recall it was Salamander (also known as Lifeforce) that spoke and had floating power-ups (as opposed to floating credits that were to be spent on power-ups).

Tell me if this looks right to you:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9410

My memory of this game in an arcade is of watching someone blast through one of those solid walls; the game kept saying "Fire! Fire! Fire!". When he stopped firing and hit the wall, losing his last ship, the game said, "Told you so.". Sometimes I wonder if I just dreamed that happened. - ZM

fondmemory
Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 04:41 pm
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Thanks Zotmeister, bang on. Salamander. That's it. That's the one!

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Leprechaun - Harder than it Seems

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Robert T Mruczek
Monday, December 29, 2003 - 03:29 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

I'd like to request a favour from those of you who have...oh, about 20 minutes to kill.

I'm sure by now that you've heard of an arcade "Moppet" title called "Leprechaun". What
I'd like you to try is simply this...on default settings (starting lives 5 with 1 extra) see
how far you can get.

Specifically, I'm interested in what your personal reaction and opinion is once the game reaches level 6, and by that I mean completing 5 complete levels of 8 stages each and then dealing with what comes next. I think you'll be in for a small surprise, especially dependant on where the "Pot of Gold" is in certain stages.

The key stages I'd like your opinion(s) on are the "Kells" and "Munster" stages once you've reached this point...they would be the 1st and 5th stages of each set of 8.

That's it. Let me know what you're opinion(s) are. Sorry to ask you to subject yourselves to this, but I assure you, this is a serious inquiry. Thanks !!

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, December 29, 2003 - 03:53 pm
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For those who haven't heard of it, the Funspot DOES have this title hiding out on the kiddie floor somewhere. Look down. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, December 29, 2003 - 04:10 pm
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Hi Zotmeister:

Oh yes, I've seen it there near the large entrance between the bowling alley and the down staircase to the ski-ball machines. Just never played it for more than a minute before.

I'm hoping that someone can tell me if the game speed peaks at stage 41, or does it increase yet again at stage 57. Something is odd that the MARP world record is only mid-600K range.

Robert

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Roy Shildt sez it's time to declare a decathelon

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Roy Shildt
Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 02:28 pm
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Hello Everybody,

Surprise, surprise, surprise I'm still alive and celebrating my 100th death threat! I've recently been asked, "what have you done for video game playing?". The answer is alot that I'll never get credit for; but what I'd like to see is every video game player come together and ascertain what are the ten most important classical coin-op video games of the golden age (pre 1987 +/-) that best demonstrates the overall abilities of a great video game player.
In track and field the decathelon determines the greatest overall athlete. There are 3 categories of 10 events; 4 events running, 3 events jumping, 3 events throwing. Every time the decathelon is contested it is always the same 10 events, as it has been for the last 100 years. Now that the classical coin-op video games are a definitive finite # I feel that it is time for all good players to come together and declare a decathelon; 3? categories of 10 events. The categories that I propose are joystick/buttons, track ball, and gun system/driving.
I would hope that Robert Mruczek and Gary Vincent will comment because they are the leading spokespersons for their respective organizations.

Paul A.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 11:09 pm
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There was a place in Calumet City called Friar Tucks that conducted many contests back in the 80's. If they are still there, it may be a good centrally located place to hold such an event.

David Nelson
Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 01:50 am
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I'll bite. I sat down and just quickly tried to think of the first 10 games that come to mind when I think about "what games are CLASSIC games"
and my list immediately hit 15 :

Space Invaders
Asteroids
Frogger
(Ms.)Pac-Man
Donkey Kong
Missile Command
Defender
Centipede
Galaga
Pole Position
Star Wars
Q-Bert
Berzerk
Joust
Dig Dug

but then I looked through Funspot's list of classic games to see what I might have missed that should be included in an honorable mention classics list and this list grew to another 25 :

1942
After Burner
Arkanoid
Burgertime
Carnival
Dragon’s Lair
Gyruss
Jungle Hunt
Mappy
Marble Madness
Mario Bros.
Moon Patrol
Outrun
Pengo
Robotron
Scramble
Spy Hunter
Tempest
Tapper
Time Pilot
Tron
Turbo
Tutankham
Wizard of Wor
Zaxxon

If this list seems biased towards what Funspot has, it probably is, but it's only because I've grown up with Funspot since I was a little kid, and these games are all games that are fresh in my mind as CLASSICS because I've been around them at Funspot, and I really never got much exposure to any other games besides what Funspot has had. There weren't really any other/better arcades for me to visit around here growing up. I know there are TONS of games that I missed, and I'm not thinking of them because it's probably a game that Funspot has never had... like Bubbles, or Lady Bug. This list was compiled very fast, and just by brainstorming... so I know I've missed some GEMS. What's more I went way over 10 games, but it's a start.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 09:23 am
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There are a lot of factors to consider here, such as luck vs. skill, strategy vs. reflex vs. patternization, game length, variety of controls, and irreproachability. Any game with a trivial leeching point or easily terminal score is useless; any game that requires the player to basically get lucky is virtually useless; any game that can be marathoned is virtually useless unless it can be configured to prevent this.

Leaving popularity completely aside - since it should have nothing to do with selecting which games are the best tests of skill - I look back to my list of top ten hardest games from this summer, a list compiled with much the same criteria in mind. I would have no qualms whatsoever in including Armored Car, Rip Off, Targ, and Super Zaxxon in the ten; these are quite varied games with varied controls. Pole Position is well suited as the obligatory racing game; I suggest Marble Madness as the test of trackball skill. Shooting Master would seem to be a good choice for a gun game, with its high scoring priority on accuracy. The list needs a paddle game and a yoke/tank-tread control game, but I'm not so sure which titles should fill these roles. Lastly, Baby Pac-Man is all but screaming to fit in the final slot. - ZM

Barry
Friday, January 09, 2004 - 09:37 pm
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"...celebrating my 100th death threat!"

What does that mean?

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 06:35 pm
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Hi Barry:

Well, considering that Roy is running for the Presidency of the United States (I kid you not), perhaps he is already experiencing the same level of concern that elected Presidents have had to deal with over the years.

Just one possibility.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 06:33 pm
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I am serious about the the decatelon so please keep your comments to videogaming. People more concerned about themselves rather than the players will attemt to sabotage this effort. After consultation with many players
there is a revision to the idea; 12 events-4 categories
1)Track ball
2)Joystick w/buttons
3)Steering and driving
4)Gun system

So far I have missile command, millipede, and marble madness for track ball
Crossbow for the gun system and Robotron for joystick and buttons.
I would appreciate Robert M's serious input concerning this matter in consideration to the players. Name 12 games that represent the true overall ability of a player. I'm talking 25k+ in prize money to the winner.
Donald Hayes and dwayne Richard please respond.

derek
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 11:04 am
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Hi Roy,

Where were you thinking of having this event? Would availablity of a certain game be a determining factor?

There are very few classic gun, driving or even trak-ball games when compared to the amount of joystick games. Were you think 3 from each category or maybe just 1 from the gun and or driving category?

Derek

Roy Shildt
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:15 pm
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The contest will be in the L.A. area; dont worry about the games. Other scoreboards don't want this contest to happen so I need the players help and support on the choice of the games.

It will be the 4 categories, 3 games apiece. So far I have missle command, millipede, and marble madness for track ball- robotron for jotstick/buttons pole position for steer/drive and crossbow for gunsystem thats 6.

To David Nelson Zotmeister and others please list the 12 games that you feel best represents the testing of the skills of a videogame player. I hope that Don Hayes and Dwayne Richard have the balls to list 12.

If anyone feels that the 6 I have so far should not be in the 12- please list your alturnatives and why.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 12:50 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roy:

Just wondering why you keep stating that "other scoreboards" don't want the event to happen...especially since no one at the scoreboard I am associated with has not been speaking with you in months particularly due to the (___) placed against you, or for that matter to any other gamer asking them to avoid any other competitions.

Don't want to make a FEDERAL case out of things, and I am greatly RESTRAINING myself from saying more, but I am under an ORDER from my superior to stay relatively mum, and that's all I should say.

Oops...I think I filled in the blank from the 1st paragraph. Mea culpa.

Robert

PS - as you are running for public office, I do suggest you utilize spellcheck more often (i.e. "alturnatives")

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 05:55 pm
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Hello Roy:

I took the liberty of having a conversation today with an independant party.

I shared the idea of contests with big prize money and sponsorships with this individual, and he was very receptive.

This individual, which we have worked with many times in the past, has previosuly sponsored large prize money and contests in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they were met with great success.

However, once he learned that the idea was not originating from a recognized, credible source, he insisted that integrity was the most important element of such events, and therefore he immediately lost interest and discontinued that topic of our discussion.

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 01:13 am
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Hello all
Yes i too would certainly love an event like this if and only it was by a reputable individual or organization with great sponcership. As for a 12 game event it that would be nice but it would NO longer be called a "DECATHLON" probably something like a "Tho-Decathon" ThoDeca meaning 12 in Greek. Roy a 100 Death threats WOW what the hell did you do wrong this time? Roy it seems once again your the life of the party and who are these many players that you consult with and why dont they voice their oppinions on here like you? Also in your game selection i noticed you suggested Missile Command why dont you have a Gorf title there? and Roy my challange is still open to you anytime anywhere "Me vs You" on Missile Command you know the challange i made to you back at last years CGE the one where you said you need some months for practice. Robert the spell check would also apply to the above spelling of Decathlon not "decathelon" as some would say.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Roy Shildt
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 12:23 pm
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To all, especially the Funspot staff;

It should now be obvious whom (T.G.)is trying to discourage the selection process of the games and foil my efforts to put a contest together. Their dishonest, deceptive, behavior is what caused all the problems in the first place. They are a bunch of low talent prima donnas that would never win a real contest and want to spoil it for everyone else. EVERYONE PLEASE NOTICE the maturity level of the people you've entrusted to track your scores!!

Zotmeister
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 04:13 pm
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As a former math major, I can assure you the proper term would be 'dodecathlon', in the same way a twelve-sided object is a dodecahedron. (For you roleplaying enthusiasts, your d20 is an icosahedron; incidentally, an icosidodecahedron is, you guessed it, 32 sides.)

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 06:40 pm
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Roy:

1st - no one is trying to "discourage the selection process", especially not myself. Re-read your original post, then my own two. Your selection process is your own business. Not one of my posts discouraged gamers from selecting titles.

2nd - Do not allude that one organization is attempting to quash the efforts of others when you do not have empirical proof of this. That would be libel (assuming I spelled this correctly)

3rd - it is quite apparent that your tactic here is simple. With phrases such as (A) calling out two gamers to provide feedback if they have the (insert colourful word here), and (B) attempting to goad a response from an officer of Twin Galaxies, myself, by making it sounds as if I have to out of consideration for the gaming community.

That's why I debated a reply to this thread in the first place as any reply might add to the legitimacy of whatever you are planning. However, if I did not reply, well you quickly turned that around into some sort of obligation that I am shirking in my responsibilities to the gaming community.

Therefore, this will be my last reply on the subject, which I am sure will please some to no end as this is a discussion that really should not happen on a public forum.

I wish you well on your endeavors, Roy, so long as they do not expect or demand any further feedback from myself of members of my TG staff. Best wishes in your Los Angeles endeavor.

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 07:57 pm
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Roy
RE:"They are a bunch of low talent prima donnas that would never win a real contest and want to spoil it for everyone else."
Well Roy i've been called a lot but NEVER a prima donna and im not a woman opera singer incase you havent taken a look lately. For the remark of NEVER winning a real contest Roy you should go back to school and study "Todd Rogers 101" I have won contest like your self but the only difference was, it was contest after contest and i encouraged the same in other gamers to follow and win the fruits of winning. Does that sound like to you someone who would spoil the enthusiasm of gaming?
RE:"Their dishonest, deceptive, behavior is what caused all the problems in the first place."
What do you concider dishonest and deceptive, you sounds like a gamer that was mad because the spotlite was on other talanted gamers and not on "Planet ROY" all the time get with the program it's all about having FUN remember. I have done nothing deceptive nor dishonest in the time ive been with (TG) but only support the members of the gaming community to strive for their best. Their are other (TG) members that do the very same by posting their gaming strategies and INPS of games they played so that other gamers can best their own scores from reviewing those helpful tips.
In conclusion what i am saying is that we need to pull together as a gaming community so that we can seek the very best in video gaming enjoyment.
Oh and Zotmiester thanks for the clairification on the "dodecahedron" I guess i really can learn new things everyday.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Roy Shildt
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 08:27 pm
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To Mruczek,

I'm sure that you realize that by adding all irrelevant info such as "Roy running for president" etc. you waste peoples' time and space and impede what I'm trying to accomplish. If it were really true that you were not trying to quash my efforts you would simply name a list of 12 games which you can easily do. By failing to name 12 games you are not fooling anyone.
Todd, your memory is at a loss. I never spoke with you about a competition in missile command; tough, I am interested in what platform you want to compete on. The arcade version you play on losses six cities in a single round. I have never seen such a machine.
To Robert again, I do owe you an apology for some rude comments on the Funspot web. I'm sorry it wasn't my fault

Roy Shildt
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 08:36 pm
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Continuation of message to Robert;

After reading the summary of your funspot vacation, some people I know thought that you were a cartoon character created by Funspot. Once again I apologize and I can't say more because I don't want to make a FEDERAL case out of it. I'll just keep RESRAINING myself and keep ORDER.

Anonymous
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 12:44 am
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Roy
Now you are saying that I have memory loss. Why will you not admit while you were dressed up in your Roy awesome costume at the CGE2k3 you interrupted my Decathlon contest to show me all of your Glorious papers with the Hall of Fame stuff and ETC. That I also challenged you on Missile Command. You said" But Todd I'll need a few months of practice to get to where I use to be" and I said take all the time you need. Roy it would be on the platform of your choosing the place, time, or day is really irrelevant to me as long as you are in acceptance for some good clean competition. I also said that I was at the mid 600K mark at this game and you wanted to know why my score wasn't added in the Guinness Record Book and I said it was due to the Arcade location that I was playing at getting tired of submitting my scores time after time remember now Roy.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 05:20 pm
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Roy:

In the order of your comments of Feb 10th...

1st - my choice not to provide a selection of titles for your event does NOT equate to an effort to quash your endeavour. This is a simple concept that any SAT-level high school student can understand.

2nd - in what way, exactly am I "not fooling anyone", when I have no desire to participate or promote your endeavour to begin with ?

3rd - you said that after reading my recap, you spoke to "some people you know"...are these the same people that are always saying to you "Say, Roy, what about the high score hall of fame ?" and "Say, Roy, what have have you done for gaming lately ?" and "Say, Roy, let's make the decatalon 12 games and not 10".

These "people" you always seem to speak with, none of us ever seem to hear about. SO...name one person. Maybe one of them is named "Harvey", as in a certain rabbit, perhaps ? That would make sense.

4th - Your efforts to come off as being stately and diplomatic are a MAJOR contrast to your previous beligerant and corrosive verbiage that you have used previously towards Twin Galaxies staff members, myself included. And don't think I haven't forgotten a certain voice message that you left on my Meridian machine at work, which is still on the tape.

5th - as previously stated in my other Feb 11th posting, please discontinue mentioning me by name in any of your forum threads as I have no desire to participate in, or assist in, your decatalon endeavour.

That's all.

Robert

Fed Up
Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 09:27 am
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AAAAAAAAAAAAaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE SHUT UP ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick
Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 01:55 pm
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Fed Up,
Calm down. This is free entertainment and great gossip.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 06:25 pm
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Hi Rick:

Good point...my final comments are...

"Ecky, ecky, ecky, pa-ting, pang....NEE !!"

Robert

Roy Shildt
Friday, February 13, 2004 - 01:20 pm
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TO Everyone,
I try to keep my comments brief and to the point (as everyone else should). When someone goes on and on about irrelevant material and says nothing about games they are trying to impede the selection process.
I never agreed to compete with Todd or anyone else at this point. I will compete in the decathlon when it happens. If Todd is so anxious to compete with me why not name 12 games Todd. Missile Command will be there. Your inability to simply express your opinion on 12 games and ramble on and on about B.S. just shows how full of it you really are. Same goes for Robert. I would appreciate your honest opinion on games that I can use so that I don't have to listen to your whining and complaining when you get your behind whupped. Bill Mitchell will not compete because he is a coward and a fraud just like back in 1985.
So to Robert and the rest of Bill Mitchells' puppets let me help you guys out because you obviously need it-- Roy Shildt is an A-hole and a scumbag; Roy Shildt is a punk and a whoosie. Roy Shildt is full o' crap etc., etc., etc.---are you having fun yet???
Please don't say anything else unless it is about the selection of games.

ToddRogers
Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 03:08 am
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ROY
I really think it is time for YOU and I to discuss our indifferences one on one thru EMAIL so NO ONE else is dragged in by this pitter patter of MUCK..You can contact me thru toddrogers64@yahoo.com
Nuff Said

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Roy Shildt
Friday, February 20, 2004 - 03:51 pm
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I have nothing to say to you Todd; never did -never will. Get together with T.G. and name 12 games.

Arcadelisous
Monday, February 23, 2004 - 06:48 am
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Does anyone remember the name of the arcade game
where ther is a boucing ball and you shoot it, when shot the splits and you need to shoot them all untill moving onto then ext stage.

Zotmeister
Monday, February 23, 2004 - 10:45 am
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Pang, Mitchell, 1989 (known as Buster Bros. in the United States, distributed here by Capcom):

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=P&game_id=8971

- ZM

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Up and Down Question

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Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 06:42 pm
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Hello all:

Just started getting into this title again. Was hoping some of you had played this one before.

I have stages 1-4 pretty much down pat, but not as far as perfect patterns are concerned. Stage 1 I can get down to 23 seconds completion at best, but the big bonus is awarded for 19...haven't figured out how to shave off 4 more secs. But stages 2-4...I tend to come in anywhere between 39-75 seconds for now.

Stages 5 and 6 are where I currently am having problems, largely with the climbing and descending. Was hoping that one of you can offer advice on the descents especially as I'm having problems making last second adjustments for descents when an enemy vehicle heads into me at the bottom of the ramp. Also, is it possible to reverse-climb up the white ramps ? I haven't been able to do that for the longer ones yet.

As for climbing, far too often I start with a weak climb when I'm playing with caution, and the slightest interruption in a climb will force you back down into an incoming vehicle. I was wondering if there was a way to at least jump backwards while sliding backwards off a ramp.

Any suggestions ? Thanks !!

Robert

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Cash Prizes for Three (3) at Funspot !!

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Robert T Mruczek
Monday, January 19, 2004 - 07:56 pm
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Hello all:

Some good news...I am personally putting up a cash bounty on three titles that are at Funspot right now !!

The titles are "Spectar", "Super Cobra", and if you can believe I am saying this, "Leprechaun".

The rules for the cash prizes are posted on the TG site, and I am personally responsible for honouring the contract should anyone meet or exceed the indicated thresholds.

In simple terms, here is a synopsis of the rules...

Spectar - 3 ships to start, no extended play awarded for topping high score, MUST get 100K or more

Super Cobra - 5 ships to start, 1 extra at 10K, no continue allowed (not that you need one), MUST get 200K or more

Leprechaun - factory default with 5 lives to start, I think an extra is awarded at 30K (I forget), and you MUST get 1.5 million or more

All games must be taped. The full details are on the TG site.

All in all, over 35 "bounties" are being offered, and in just two days, two have already been claimed. The cash prizes range from small ($25) to as high as $200 for "Spectar".

Good luck to any and all who take up this challenge. And personally, I'm thinking that Gary may have a whole host of new players at "Lerprechaun" as a result !!

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 01:38 pm
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Great !!! Have a couple of questions

Since "Super Cobra" is a clone of "Scramble" Why not offer the same "reward" for the same score achieved on Scramble?

I've been meaning to ask you this before but What is your "obsession" with Leprechaun ? It's not a bad "kiddie" game in all fairness - but I certainly would not put it on the same level as your 80's classics (Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, Asteroids, Donkey Kong etc).

I first encountered "Leprechaun" at a Arcade near Waikiki Beach back in 1983. (The arcade - which was called "Fonandez Fun Factory" is still there (as of 1999)). I put a quarter in it - ended up playing OVER AN HOUR !! which was a record for me at the time (playing a game on one quarter) not to be broken again until 1986 when "Super Mario Bros."came out!!! (and it took me a lot more than ONE quarter to master SMB!)

Sorry for Rambling on like that - but I would consider Leprechaun a "lost classic" at best!

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 06:20 pm
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Hi Scootie:

The "Leprechaun" prize is in deference to one of Steve Krogman's wishes. He believes that the game is sufficiently difficult at approx 600K that it is not guaranteed to continue without incident due to the layout of certain stages, thus the moderate bounty on that one.

As for "Scramble", I am the personal record holder and can very well do so again, and I figured that of the two related titles, "Super Cobra" is the more prestigious to me.

Oh, I certainly don't elevate "Leprechaun" to the classic level, but part of me will certainly enjoy seeing a few interested players having to literally play on a chair or lower due to the elevation of the title !! That musing aside, it does get genuinely hard at some point, thus the call to arms for a record.

One more thing to keep in mind...2005 will most likely be some new bounties, so you never know what I may announce when that time comes. Best to keep passably in touch with your favourite titles at all times, just in case.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 10:16 pm
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Hello all:

Just to confirm..."Super Cobra" has a challenge rating of "Difficult", which is not the same as a game setting...it's merely my own personal judgement of how difficult that particular threshold will be to meet.

The settings are five (5) ships to start, one (1) extra at 10K, extra ships possible every completed "booty" stage, and no continues allowed (not that you would want to)

Best of luck !!

As for "Spectar", Adam Wood is the reigning, recognized world champion, now that the previous score of 151K was rescinded due being a bogus score. Sad to say that it was retained on our scoreboard for so long, but due diligence allowed the score to finally be removed.

Robert

Zotmeister
Friday, January 23, 2004 - 08:53 am
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Um... well... thank you! I guess I should have brought a video carema with me to the last Funspot tourney, since I broke 80K there and what I have on the TG scoreboard is less than that.

I may enter DecaMAME again this year; I noticed that Spectar is on the list, and of course you have a $200 prize riding on it, so I feel I should start playing it more - especially if it's now considered defending a record! - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, January 23, 2004 - 01:58 pm
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Hi Zotmeister:

The scores not taped from the Funspot 2003 competition were not made known to me, nor did I have authority to accept those for entry into the TG database. However, knowing that you broke 80K is exciting news. You are definitely a front runner for the $200 prize. Best wishes in your attempts to break 100K. I hope you do !!

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, January 23, 2004 - 01:58 pm
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Hi Zotmeister:

The scores not taped from the Funspot 2003 competition were not made known to me, nor did I have authority to accept those for entry into the TG database. However, knowing that you broke 80K is exciting news. You are definitely a front runner for the $200 prize. Best wishes in your attempts to break 100K. I hope you do !!

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 09:48 am
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Robert: There seems to be some confusion - or at least misleading logic - regarding what constitutes a valid submission for your bounties. The second rule states clearly - whether you intended it to or not - that ALL submissions must be videotaped, even if recorded via some other means (such as WolfMAME .inp file); other portions of the rules seem to imply that not all submissions need be in VHS format, and your "pending INP verification" notes seem to support that.

I have WolfMAME - do I need the video camera anyway? - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 07:30 pm
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Hi ZM:

Not at all. For WolfMAME submissions, just the INP will suffice. Videotaping is required for all other submissions.

Robert

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Want to learn about Spectar's prequel?

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Zotmeister
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 01:31 pm
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I just discovered this ever-so-delightful review of Targ, the game that Spectar serves as a sequel to, and I can vouch for its complete accuracy:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/coinop/arcade/review/R28581.html

Gary
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 03:30 pm
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Funspot used to have TARG back in the day.

mspaeth
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 08:11 pm
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Spectar and targ are jsut a romswap apart... very simple multigame to make if funspot wants to have both ;)

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 10:18 pm
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Hello all:

"Targ" is the harder of the two. Most players that can reach stage 9 on "Spectar" still may not have mastered reaching stage 4 or 5 on "Targ".

The enemies in that game seem to be more intelligent than in "Spectar", especially due to the fact that the overall maze is completely uniform.

Robert

derek
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 08:41 am
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Pretty funny review and I have to agree on the blandness that is Targ, it really is no fun. As far as Spectar that is a game I always passed and never played at Funspot until last years tournament. I could never remember if I had played the game back in the day but the look of the graphics made the game look like it should have been released a few years before actually was. (Exidy really had it's own uniqueness to controlls, sounds that can only be described as Exidy factor.) After you play a few games of Spectar you discover the game is kinda fun and very challenging. Though the collision detection is a bit suspect at intersections (and a bit frustrating) where you think you plenty of room to get by and suddenly you are collided into. That aside, it is definitely a game of quick reflexes and that 100k score will be quite a challenge but now that there is money riding on it, I am sure someone will break it. Does anyone know when the pattern of boards repeats? I am still struggling to break 50k...

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 09:19 pm
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Hi Derek:

The collision detection stinks on this one. The cars don't hug the turns, they are re-drawn already around the bend. So "close calls" where you wait near an intersection to fire often backfire on you.

I still believe that "Targ" is the more challenging of the two, simply because of the board layout which allows many more opportunities for enemies to abruptly change directions when you fire.

Robert

Zotmeister
Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 03:19 pm
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The collision detection in Spectar is not measured by sprite overlapping - it's by adjacency. If two sprites are *just touching*, that's a hit. (Stars are the exception; to collect one, you need to pass through the intersection it lies in.) At intersections, you may have better luck firing so that the target runs into the shot rather than the other way around.

This can work both ways, especially since a shot occupies the same sprite size (read: hit area) as all the vehicles in the game. When fired, it occupies the same space as your ship for a frame. I've managed to nullify shots from the Green Spectar coming at the Wummel FROM BEHIND by firing forward just as the shot would hit. If the enemy ships are travelling at a synchronous speed (I'm still working on just what that entails), and you time your first shot correctly, planting the Wummel's face in the outer wall and just holding the fire button can make you nigh-invincible, with vehicles dying when they touch you and the Green Spectar unable to shoot you. I demonstrated this at the last Funspot tourney, and it factored in my being able to complete one more level than one of the Crams did (sorry guys, I tend to get you mixed up - I only see you once a year, and never apart) to get the tournament top score for the game [which apparently would have been the TG record if it were taped]. I forget exactly what the score was - Gary, you have it anywhere? At any rate, the Ramships matched the speed of the Wummel exactly, and I timed the first shot right; the rest of the Ramships committed suicide against the Wummel in very short order. I tried it again on the next level when things started looking ugly, but it failed. It's very finicky, but I'm nigh positive that it's perfectly predictable and exploitable. It doesn't require an exact speed match - not by a long shot - but that does seem to be when the trick is at its most reliable. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 05:31 pm
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Hi ZM:

Ah...this explains why I have so much trouble dealing with close calls rounding a corner !! Thanks for clearing that up.

By the way, the greens appearances are somewhat predictable to a certain extent. I am starting to notice that I can guess where they are most apt to come out, and not by a sixth sense by any means, by because in running the stages the same way, the pattern is basically maintained, and completing the stage is just a very long pattern, so my guesses are probably just recollections from playing the same stages identically a few game tries beforehand.

Have you encountered the really long horizontal barrier in stage 8 yet ? It is THE most conducive to hunting in the game.

Robert

Zotmeister
Friday, January 30, 2004 - 09:08 am
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I don't hunt. The level-end bonuses are worth so much that I just try to get through as fast as possible. The game doesn't get any more difficult after the tenth stage, so I simply try to maintain a good momentum. Of course, if things get hairy, I rush to the outer wall...

The thing about trying to hunt - just hanging around to snipe Spectars - is that if the Wummel moves slowly or fails to collect stars, the Targ Ramships accelerate to warp speed VERY quickly. Perhaps a little hunting on the early stages may be beneficial, but not all that much, I figure. Once you get past the first few levels, you *need* to work quickly or you'll get surrounded by the Targs.

The intersections are very dangerous places. Sometimes - perhaps dependent on speed? - going through an intersection won't pick up the star sitting in it. Well, actually, sometimes picking up all the stars doesn't end the stage. There are more than a few quirky bugs in Spectar's logic. Many work both ways, though - for example, shooting an enemy while it's on top of the last star ends the stage. - ZM

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Favorite Videogame Villians!

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Scootie
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 06:03 pm
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1. Fygar-(Dig-Dug)- How many times has Dig Dug been "cremated" by this fire breathing dinosaur?

2. Evil Otto- (Berzerk) How can one resist this happy-go-lucky "sphere of death".

3. The Gorfian Commander-(Gorf)- The only enemy commander I ever knew that "promoted" me!

4. Hulk Robots - (Robotron)- How much less annoying would this game be if the Hulks were at least destructable by multiple shots (2-5)

5. Clyde/Sue - (Pac-Man series)- These two monsters always seem to get you when you least expect it!

6. Donkey Kong - (Donkey Kong)

7. Mario - (Donkey Kong Jr.)Talk about Creulity to animals !!!!

8. Ugg - (Q-Bert)

9. Fighter-Fly (Mario Bros.)

10. Jon Irenicus (Baldur's Gate 2)- While not a classic game ,(yet) I feel that Irenicus deserves special mention as that no other videogame villian has generated the "anger and rage" that Irenicus has. To anybody reading this who has played the Baldur's Gate series , you'll know what I'm talking about. Irenicus is the most evil and vile of villians I've yet encountered in the videogaming world. Only Evil Otto comes close to this level of evil!!!

Well....There you have it. My top ten Videogame villians (of all time).

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, January 26, 2004 - 10:27 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Here's my top ten...from what I can remember, that is !! No particular order, mind you, just the ten...

Sinistar - the stage-end enemy ("Run, Coward !!")

Berzerk - "Otto" is so coldly unforgiving if you're slow

Cloak and Dagger - "Doctor Boom" gets a vote from me

Road Runner - that "Wiley E. Coyote" is one of the most persistent villains that you can face

Street Fighter 2 - Sagat is one of the toughest of the top four bosses in that title by far

City Connection - all I'll say is "That @&%!?* Cat !!"

Pacmania - those greenish ghosts that jump with you are really annoying

Blaster - the "Space Cats" are really tough. The brains I can handle, but those cats !!

Tapper - that little guy in the black coat who shakes up those cans

Donkey Kong - those rotten fireballs !!

So, that's my ten. Who's next ?

Robert

briankuh
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 08:01 am
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Robert,

Sagat in Street Fighter 2? What about Sagat in Street Fighter #1? Now that's a really tough boss...

Brian Kuh

Zotmeister
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 09:28 am
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I doubt this will be a "top ten" sort of thing, but to name a few I think have been overlooked:

- How can a list of classic video game villains POSSIBLY be missing Terry? Okay, so in Joust 2, Deceptus is actually worse in my book, but still...

- The swarm of bees in 720. Nothing to be done, man.

- Paperboy's route!

- I've always preferred Wrong Way to Ugg.

- Did Robert mention the cat in City Connection already? Well, I'm mentioning it again. I don't care if it's supposed to be cheering me on. I *HATE* that bloody thing!

- Pacmania's green commons?! How about the GRAY ones that CAN'T be jumped? But Speedy (or "Pinky" if you're buddies) is the nastiest of the Pac-Man ghosts, and everybody knows it.

- The Green Spectar. Feel the love.

- Those guys in Rolling Thunder that are on fire, jump around all over the place, and shoot fireballs. Ick. And they do this over these tiny platforms, with lava below...

- The elephants in Zoo Keeper. Yes, they're worse than the lions. Far worse. Believe me.

- Wait for it... wait for it.... The HALLMONSTER (TM)! ...On second thought, scratch that. The HALLMONSTER (TM) bites the wax tadpole.

- That armadillo guy in Trojan.

- Would the Meltniks sink into a mirror, I wonder?

- One of the most evil inventions of all time: Crazy Climber's self-closing windows.

- Baiters.

- One of the most memorable enemy hordes one has to face is the Amidars. They are nigh-perfectly predictable, and yet they always seem to swarm in on you... they are also unique in that pressing the game's Jump button doesn't make your character jump but rather makes all the enemies jump.

- How on Earth are only two goldfish killing off my paint brushes?

- IN makes Hawk stupid.

- I think we can all agree the Qix needs to be here somewhere.

- How about those damn exploding bugs in Black Widow?

- ANY opponent in Butasan. What do you MEAN you haven't played this game? You haven't even HEARD of it?! Oh, MAN....

- "Welcome to your doom!" Yeah, so Altered Beast is '88. So what?

- The power-ups in Quartet...

- SWAG! What is that thing, anyway? ...Come to think of it, the ENTIRETY of Blue Print is an evil villain. The game's very EXISTENCE is an affront to justice.

- Stupid civilians in Shoot Out. OH NAW!

- Players of Chiller!

- And I have to save the end of this list for a shout-out to the Eliminator. The Sinistar WISHES it was you, man. You're the greatest. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 09:24 pm
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Hi ZM:

Ah, forgot about the Hallmonster from "Venture" !! Thanks for the reminder.

Glad to see I'm not alone in my disgust over that cat from "City Connection"

Another that irks the bejesus out of me is the UFO in "Super Missile Attack", the one that laser-zaps your missile bases. How annoying is that ??

One more thing...there's a certain enemy in "Peter Packrat" that can drive you to drink. I think it's the owl, but could be mistaken.

Robert

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Moon War -- High Scores

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mspaeth
Friday, January 30, 2004 - 04:27 pm
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So, I was playing some moon war up at FS this week on my way back from skiing, and I got a seemingly decent 15k pts which doubled my score from 2 years ago...

The world record on this title is in the 80-90k range, which seems pretty crazy... does anyone else play this game?

It's too bad that FS scores can't be accepted as "refereed", even on weakly contested titles. I'm certainly not going to buy a video camera and tape any games =-P

Mark Boolman
Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 03:44 am
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It'd be great if you could 'rent' camcorders at FS. I remember the wheel controller and the very uncomfortable button layout being quite painful to play. I think I scored 34k, but can't remember for sure, and hadn't played it before/since as it doesn't play well in mame. Take care, Mark

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DRAGON'S LAIR

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Gary Vincent
Monday, February 02, 2004 - 09:17 am
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WANTED: Dragon's Lair machine in good condition. Doesn't have to be in working condition.

Gary

Funspot
RT 3
Weirs Beach, NH
(603) 366-4377

mspaeth
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 03:41 pm
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Should have grabbed the dead one that was a $750 BIN on ebay last month

I still have some repro parts for this if you find a dead machine... you should prob bite the bullet and start by getting one of the repro DL discs so you won't have to deal with laser rot.

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 06:11 pm
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Yea, who knows how long they will remain available. Right now they are officially licensed by Don Bluth. I think I heard there are no plans to make another run unless there is enough demand. Get the replacment ASAP!

mspaeth
Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 09:54 am
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Greg:

Are you referring to the discs or the new game that came out this year? There's def not going ot be another run of discs, since the only factory in the world that was still making laserdiscs has since closed...

As for the new cabs, they're hideous, and are probably just a PC playing an mpeg -- so you might as well build your own daphne cab before running one of those (of course, you'd need dead DL hardware to be 'legal').

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, February 06, 2004 - 10:02 am
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I was referring to the discs. At around $150 (last I knew) it seemed that the supply would soon dry up. I didn't heard about the factory closing. That sucks. Probably the price is WAY up by now then. If not it would be a good move to get one soon.

I'm not sure if I heard about the new cab you refer to. I know of Daphne and have played one using the mpeg as well as playing regular dedicated machines using the replacment LD player. I've also played the new enhanced ROMs (at CGE2k3). At that time I though I heard a little something about a new cab but wasn't sure what they were referring to.

To have in an arcade, I would want an origional cabinet running dedicated hardware with probably the LD player swapped to the newer version and playing one of the newly pressed discs.

Question: If you find an origional Dragon's Lair LD and it is in good condition. Can you care for it in a way to prevent the pitting? Or is it just something that is going to happen sooner or later?

Am I imagining this or did I hear that you can insert the PC version CDs of Dragons Lair into a PC and use them as footage for Daphne?

Zotmeister
Friday, February 06, 2004 - 10:25 am
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To the best of my knowledge, Daphne can use the standalone DVD versions of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace (published by Digital Leisure) as video sources, and Daphne will add the scoring to the system. I'm pretty sure I've done this, actually. I should probably experiment with it more, especially given how the raw DVD versions have bugs (or at least my copies do). I haven't heard anything about the PC-specific CD version, but it wouldn't surprise me if that works as well. - ZM

Derek
Friday, February 06, 2004 - 03:34 pm
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Greg, I still have a fairly large collection of Laser Discs and the pitting you are referring to is what is called laser rot. It has to do with the way the disc was pressed together. Discs are actually in two pieces and glued or pressed together and if air or other impurities get in between your disc during the pressing process or if the glue was slightly off your disc will show speckles over time. Even if the disc was shrink wrapped in a humidity controlled room it would not matter and generally rot shows up within two years and then may degrade the disk to the point it is unplayable. But that is very rare and i would say any original disks that are perfect would remain perfect for as long disk players will actually be around to play them...

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, February 06, 2004 - 06:11 pm
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I do have Daphne. I do have the DVD version (actually repackaged to say Xbox) and I also have the PC version. I always wondered if I remembered correctly that you could use them. Thanks Adam.

Derek,
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I never understood why it happened before. I'm guessing the manufacturing process has gotten better over the years and the latest batch produced from the now closed plant are very unlikely to have problems in the future. Does this sound reasonable? If so it would be worth the cost now I would think. I turned down a mostly functional DL a few years back for $400. The guy sold it and has another but doesn't have any interest in selling now I guess Daphne and the DVD play close enough. I'm not sure I wanted that attract mode voice constantly going through my head coming from my basement (while it was turned on anyways).

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Rob's Challenge - Leprechaun

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Scootie
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 01:11 pm
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Hey Everyone

In spite of what I posted a couple of weeks ago (Regarding Rob M's challenges), I decides to put my token where my mouth is and attempt at least some of Rob's challenges.....

Leprechaun - This was a "tough" one - first there was the issue of "pride" so I went early in the day when Funspot was relatively empty. Even though - I still got a couple of "stares" from passers by. (Why is a 6 1/2 foot dude playing a "tots"game?)

The game itself was (initally) easy. I made it to a little over 300,000 before losing my first guy.

Around 450,000 on the Munster forest level (and every lever thereafter) The Leprechaun suddenly speeded up , and I mean SPEEDED up !!. The leprechaun was moving SO FAST that it made Sonic the Hedgehog look like a SNAIL in comparison!!!

My guess is that the designers of the game did'nt want the kiddies "hogging" the game for hours on end so past a certain point the game becomes "nearly impossible" no matter how good you get!

My score - a mere 550,025

After a little more practice - I'll go for Super Cobra.

Peace
Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 07:34 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Yeah, what happens after awhile, as Steve indicated, is he gets quite zippy.

The game has several stages per level, some of which are more difficult than others. In particular, the stages where no portals exist, or all four edges are barriers, are the hardest.

Of course you won't really think much until you get to level 5 and up. Most players, self included, sounded like the Brave Sir Robin character in "Monty Python's Holy Grail"...we took one shot at it and exclaimed "THAT'S EASY !!"

Who woulda thunk'it ?

Robert

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Comments on Dragon's Lair & Space Ace

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Scootie
Monday, February 09, 2004 - 11:43 am
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[soapbox]

DRAGON'S LAIR IS JUST NOT THAT GOOD!!

Having read the previous posts, I'm wondering what all the fuss is regarding Dragon's Lair.

Dragon's Lair (and Space Ace too!) is a game that COULD HAVE BEEN A LOT BETTER!! Even back in 1983, when it first came out, I was not too impressed.

These Games are more like 5 minute cartoons. You have little (if any!) control over the character (Dirk). With classic games being updated & re-released, Dragon's Lair is a good candidate. Not much would have to be done either!! Just give the player FULL CONTROL OF DIRK AT ALL TIMES!!!. Otherwise the game is fine the way it is (This goes for Space Ace as well).

If the designers had gotten it right the first time; Dragon's Lair could have been A HUGE HIT, putting it in the league of Pac-Man or Donkey Kong. The fact that it became moderately popular was due to the "novelty" of a laserdisc based game, not because the gameplay was that great. A good example (especially back then) of putting graphics over gameplay.This game is not worth reviving unless the fundamental issue of "control" is issued!(This goes for Space Ace & DL 2 as well)

PS I do have a Commodore 64 version of Dragon's Lair. Far more playable than the arcade version!!

[soapbox]
Scootie

Zotmeister
Monday, February 09, 2004 - 04:06 pm
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Um, you *are* aware that Dragon's Lair has no sprites, right? That may well be beside your point, and you may feel all these FMV games are fundamentally flawed due to the control scheme (and I don't necessarily disagree with you), but I should think it rather difficult to engineer a game of that style and level of detail, with or without sprites (think of how many would be needed!), even today, much less over twenty years ago.

Yes, it's graphics over gameplay. It *is* just an interactive cartoon, and not that interactive at that. But that was what it was designed to be - a different style of "game", not so much a game as a video, and certain game comparisons aren't really fair to judge it by. (No one seems to think any less of 2001: A Space Odyssey due to lack of interactivity.)

Or was this a big joke of yours? I can't always tell. - ZM

mentalenforcer
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 12:29 am
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My favorite of these laser games is Cliffhanger.

I thought it had the most entertaining "movie" of the group.

I'd be interested in getting a copy of this one if they have or will rerelease it.

Just something about a samaurai taking on a helicopter in a sewer.

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Say Rob, about that Super Smash TV bounty...

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Zotmeister
Monday, February 09, 2004 - 05:40 pm
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...you probably didn't think about this much, but there's a lot of ambiguity in the use of your term "board". Are you referring to just the very first room (challenge ends as soon as you step through that first exit after the map appears) or the entire first studio (including the defeat of Mutoid Man)? If the latter, do the studio-end bonuses count or not? People on the TG boards seem to have 'studio' in mind, but it seems like you meant 'room' to me. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, February 09, 2004 - 06:27 pm
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Hi ZM:

Just the very first screen...the challenge ends the moment the map appears when the last enemy is destroyed.

I will post a clarification on the Bounty Forum page. Thanks for pointing it out.

One more bounty is thisclose to being taken by someone...I have a score of 98,980 in WolfMAME INP file right now, so someone is getting really close to the 100K score $200 bounty !!

Robert

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A comment about the "decathelon"

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Scootie
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 08:21 pm
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In case Roy S was not aware of it (probably due to his over-inflated ego!!), Robotron is not a good representative of the "Joystick / Fire Button" category.

Robotron (if you've ever taken any time to play it-or even look at it) does not even have a fire button, rather a second joystick that the player uses to fire in any direction.

Perhaps I could suggest Berzerk. It is a true representative of the joystick/fire category and like Robotron, the theme is focused on shooting robots.

If it MUST be a game with different kinds of robots to shoot, may I suggest Frenzy.

peace
Scootie

PS Looking forward to hitting Funspot this weekend!

Roy Shildt
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 - 08:56 pm
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To Scootie,

I greatly appreciate your consructive criticism. You are right- I don't know which game would be better robotron or berzerk. That is why I'm asking for input from the players such as yourself. That's input for one game. Can you do me a big favor. When you hit funspot can you get together with the guys and name 11 more games in the categories I've stated. I would greatly appreciate it.

You see Robert, Scootie insulted me in the proper manner. A simple one liner backed up with honest input and good information. Please follow his sterling example!

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 04:47 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roy:

Please do not refer to me by name in all future postings. I have nothing to do with your endeavours, nor do I wish to be associated to you via forum thread in any capacity.

Robert

Fed Up
Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 09:25 am
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"Please do not refer to me by name in all future postings. I have nothing to do with your endeavours, nor do I wish to be associated to you via forum thread in any capacity."

To Robert: This entire Roy battle is annoying. If you don't want the guy using your name stop replying to his messages and egging him on with your comments.

To Roy: Have your contest and quit whining about people you think are trying to stop it. Why do you need their approval?

My guess: These guys have some problems between them and due to the FEDERAL RESTRAINING ORDER they cannot battle it out on the Twin Galaxies forum so they use this forum as a loophole.

Fed Up

Zotmeister
Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 10:10 am
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Where's that Moderator from the "Scoreboard clarification" topic when we need him? - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 06:28 pm
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Hi ZM:

I already sent Gary a previous E-MAIL indicating I had no problem with him deleting every single reply that I made in related threads, so the moderator is at least aware of the goings-on.

As to "Fed Up", I agree...no future postings from me on the matter...agreed !! My apologies for the back-n-forth.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Friday, February 13, 2004 - 02:16 pm
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To everybody,
Fed up- who are you? The reason I need input from the other players is so that I can get an idea on what games should be in the final selection. I have not been served with any papers, so any reference to a Federal Order is a joke. Hopefully the persons trying to sabotage the contest game selection process have failed. Scootie- what are your 11 games?

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Help me remember the name of this game

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Anonymous
Friday, February 13, 2004 - 06:49 pm
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Around 1980 I played a strange game and I wish I could remember the name.

It was in color and had a definite Japanese tilt to it.

You would fly a space ship around, firing at an enemy base, sort of like Star Castle but much more detailed.

At some point you earn additional "pods" that you would link up your ship.

I seem to remember that you could "nest" the pods inside your ship sorta like those russian dolls) but I'm not %100 about this.

Zotmeister
Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 12:19 am
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I need more to go on than that. Is it a vector game, like Star Castle and Eliminator are, or is it a raster game? Can you describe the controls? - ZM

Anonymous
Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 02:01 am
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I would be very happy if you reminded me the name of a game (I played in 1990)... you had a small yellow bird (walking) .In its way through stages appeared many creatures (I think it could change weapons and there were some boxes (black with a white X) that helped you go to other or bonus stages...

Nikos

Zotmeister
Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 11:46 am
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That second game may be The New Zealand Story, Taito, 1988:

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=N&game_id=8859

I still have no idea on the first one, although in all honesty I forgot it was sitting there unanswered. - ZM

Anonymous
Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 12:43 pm
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Thanks a lot
it was very important for me

Nikos

Anonymous
Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 02:55 pm
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I 'd highly appreciate it if you helped me again.Do you know what to do to run this game? (I 've tried it with some old and new MAME versions but there are "missing files")...I don't have other arcade games (only pacman) in PC because I don't have free time but I want the specific game (loved playing it on holidays in childhood)
Thanks for your time

Nikos

Zotmeister
Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 11:13 am
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The problem with MAME is that it is driver-based, and as such is looking for a ROMset with a specific layout which may or may not match the actual software. In theory it does, or it will, but it often takes several versions. Chances are that if you have a ROMset for this game and MAME doesn't run it, then it is either an incomplete dump or a MAME-based pre-final dump. Two options, I suppose: 1) Find another emulator that might not care [I know Raine supports TNZS]; 2) Acquire an edition of the ROM that makes MAME happy [alt.binaries.emulators.mame is a good place to get polite requests answered].

One possibility is that The New Zealand Story is one of those titles that MAME requires a BIOS file for - that is, the hardware itself has ROMs that the driver also needs. Those are always a bloody nuisance, since there's no convenient list anywhere anymore (not since the closing of mame.dk) telling anyone if a particular game needs a particular BIOS file. - ZM

Gregory Erway
Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 01:48 pm
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I'm not the best person to ask this. But this is the way I understand it based on what I've been told in the past. Kind of a "MAME for Dummies" thing.

Suppose you had 2 games like Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Each game board has 7 ROM chips on them. Each of these ROM chips are dumped to a file and stored. MAME would use these ROM images and treat them as though they were burned on actual chips. Now suppose the difference between the games was minimal. In this case the mazes are different, the characters look different, the fruit is different, but the overall game play is very similar. Well you might only have 2 ROM images that were different between the games. 5 ROMs would look exactly the same if you dumped them from the Pac-Man and the Ms. Pac-Man boardsets. In order to save space, MAME knows that when loading Ms. Pac-Man, it can get some of the ROMs out of the Pac-Man zip file. So it loads the 2 from the Ms. Pac-Man zip file and 5 from the Pac-Man zip file. If you only had the Ms. Pac-Man zip file you would be missing 5 of the ROMs needed to play the game. (now this info above is not accurate for Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man and is only used as an example).

From what I see, it looks like there are 3 different versions for the game you are looking for:
tnzs.zip
tnzs2.zip
tnzsb.zip

I suspect that you have only one of these and it won't play because the game requires images in one of or both of the other zip files. Try getting all 3 version zip files in the same directory and trying again.

I was able to get it (tnzs) to run on a Linux version of MAME (xmame (x11) version 0.56 (Nov 29 2001) and I'm pretty sure I don't have an BIOS issues on this game).

Here is what each zip file includes:
Archive: tnzs.zip
inflating: nzsb5321.bin
inflating: nzsb5323.bin
inflating: nzsb5319.bin
inflating: nzsb5310.bin
inflating: nzsb5322.bin
inflating: nzsb5320.bin
inflating: nzsb5317.bin
inflating: nzsb5311.bin
inflating: nzsb5316.bin
inflating: nzsb5318.bin
inflating: tnzs.txt

Archive: tnzs2.zip
inflating: ns_a04.rom
inflating: ns_a05.rom
inflating: ns_a02.rom
inflating: ns_a08.rom
inflating: ns_a10.rom
inflating: ns_a07.rom
inflating: ns_c-11.rom
inflating: ns_a13.rom
inflating: ns_e-3.rom
inflating: ns_a12.rom
inflating: tnzs2.txt

Archive: tnzsb.zip
inflating: nzsb5326.bin
inflating: nzsb5324.bin
inflating: nzsb5325.bin
inflating: tnzsb.txt

Here is what is loaded when I try to run tnzs in MAME:
loading rom 0: b53_10.32
loading rom 1: b53_11.38
loading rom 2: b53-08.8
loading rom 3: b53-07.7
loading rom 4: b53-06.6
loading rom 5: b53-05.5
loading rom 6: b53-04.4
loading rom 7: b53-03.3
loading rom 8: b53-02.2
loading rom 9: b53-01.1
done
Using a Visual with a depth of 24bpp.
MIT-SHM Extension Available. trying to use... Success.
Using Shared Memory Features to speed up
Actual bits per pixel = 32... Ok
Using 16bpp video mode
Game uses 512 colors

Zotmeister
Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 02:35 pm
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Ah, yes, I hadn't even considered the parent/clone issue.

MAME, being the driver-based emulator it is, likes its ROM files to have nice neat names to match its conventions. These conventions can change from version to version, especially when a World version of a game that was only supported in its Japan version or a bootleg or something is added. So, unlike, say, NeoRage or Lazarus, you can't just say "This file is a game ROM and I want you to load it" - it has to be named just what MAME wants it to be, like tnzs.zip or tnzsb.zip. It may be possible that you have a fully functional MAME ROM that just needs to be renamed! - ZM

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Roy Shildt and Twin Galaxies

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Walter Day
Monday, February 16, 2004 - 12:12 pm
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Twin Galaxies believes that anybody who steps forward with intentions to create a good contest deserves the support of the public. So we hope that the players examine Roy Shildt's offer with respect.

The players will make their own decision, deciding whether to either extend their support or deny it.

Though Twin Galaxies respects the final decision, Twin Galaxies cannot get involved because we are already financial over-committed to producing the book and supporting our own annual contests.

Whatever the outcome of this event, we hope all the players find it an enjoyable and constructive experience that benefits everyone.

Regards,

Walter Day
Twin Galaxies Editor

Roy Shildt
Friday, February 20, 2004 - 06:44 pm
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To Walter and others,

It doesn't cost anything to render an honest well thought out opinion on which 12 games best represents and tests the overall skills of a classical videogame player. Though myself (Roy Shildt) and Twin Galaxies have our differences, I appreciate your support because you are a part of the public.
If your respect is genuine, you can simply render a 12 game opinion. If not, then your motives are questionable along with the rest of T.G. behavior. Please respond.

Regards,
Roy

P.S. Everyone can benefit from my effors including Twin Galaxies.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, February 23, 2004 - 11:14 am
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Roy:

Twin Galaxies is under no obligation to provide any such opinions. We respect the fact that you wish to host a competition on you own volition and wish you the best in your efforts.

No conclusions should be drawn by our not providing any opinion(s) on the matter, I must stress.

Whatever scores result from your competition, we will surely honour those that are taped according to TG policy on score submissions for entry into our database should the gamer(s) elect to do so.

Best of luck with your competition.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Monday, February 23, 2004 - 04:04 pm
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To Robert Mruczek,

It is true that you are under no obligation to provide any opinion on games, but you would if you really wanted to support my efforts to create a good contest. That would be simple, costless, and non-obligatory. You certainly have enough time and effort to voice your opinions on other matters; you even listed 10 games for Scootie.

I question the motives of Walter Day in even posting any message at all. I believe his motive is to smooth things over with Gary after all the horrendous messages you've left recently; Robert.

Actions speak louder than words.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, February 23, 2004 - 05:09 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roy:

MY horrendous messages ? What forum threads have you been reading ?

Walter's posting was strictly to point out that TG has a non-competetive stance with respect to any competition that you may wish to creare. Further, that we have no quarrels with your efforts to engage in such an effort, and that we are actively NOT trying to adversely affect any endeavours that you engage in.

Why do feel the need on this site/forum to voice how you "question the motives" of an 3rd party organization ? This forum is not for that purpose. To quote your own words, stick to the gaming. Politics and gaming do not mix.

No "smoothing over" is necessary...I spoke with Gary myself for nearly three hours back in Nov/03.

Going forward, you CAN consider the ten choices that I gave to "Scootie" representative of choices that I, as a gamer, believe are significant as a top 10.

That being said, please use the Funspot forum for gaming purposes only. Further usage of it to promote any purported animosity between TG and individuals is not what this forum is for, nor do I believe that others really care to read about this anymore...especially not some of the younger gamers that frequently login to this site.

Robert

Walter Day
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 12:19 pm
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To the Players:

Lots of questions on why TG does or does not get involved with every contest. This answer applies to all contests and not just the one that has been discussed herein.

Unfortunately, there are not enough contests. even more unfortunately, there are not enough qualified contest organizers.

Still, Twin Galaxies turns down a lot of invitations to be asociated with contests every year. Its hard to make a contest work. The amount of sincere work and sacrifice involved can be extremely demanding. Also, the amount of knowledge based on experience.

For example, a very big production, with lots of sponsors, promising lots of cash, can be seen at this web site:
http://www.thevgames.com/site.php

With barely 1 week before their season kick-off, they still havent got details posted for any of their 30 cities. No news updates, no members on their forums, etc., etc.

And their staff is very experienced and they actually got the attention of many great supporters. Still, they may not be able to launch their product.

The reason that contests are hard to pull off is because you have to convince people you can do it before they are willing to work with you.

They check your references, your resume, your history. Even sometimes check your credit report. You are scrutinized. You have meetings. They eyeball you across the table. They take months to decide. They interview you again and again. You have to prove everything about yourself at every point. Remember, the behavior of the contest organizer will be remembered by the public and it will reflect heavily on the brand name sponsor.

Thats if your asking for money. For instance, $25,000. If theres no money involved, then you can do your contest in your garage.

But with sponsors involved, committing machinery, cash, etc., the spotlight turns on you and there is never-ending scrutiny. The real person is revealed to the world, not their rhetoric.

I am writing this so that the players will see that we wish no ill will to this particular contest, but are refraining from any association at all because the organizing body still has to prove itself for a few years of regular contests.

Good luck to this contest.

Walter Day

Rick
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 02:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walter and Robert,
I don't know why you guys bother responding to any of Roy Shildt's postings. It is obvious he is provoking you into a response for a reason. Anyone with half a brain can see he’s setting you up to be the bad guys if his contest fails. By constantly throwing out the “TG is trying to ruin my contest” line, he has something to fall back on if it does fail. He’ll follow it up with a “See, I told you so” response and pass the blame onto you for his shortcomings. I stopped responding to him when I figured out he's a nut.

Rick

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 06:28 pm
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Hi Rick:

Agreed. I had previously decided not to reply, as I realized the same thing that you did. Unfortunately I later chose to make a defensive response as opposed to letting it slide, against better judgement. Shan't happen again.

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 11:17 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the disclaimer at that website Walter linked to:

"By entering each Entrant, Participant, Player, Finalist and Winner assumes sole liability for injuries, including personal injuries and/or damage to property, caused or claimed to be caused by participating in this Tournament..."

I don't know about you, but I refuse to join a video game tournament where someone could legally kick the [expletive omitted] out of me. If they have cause to believe that someone will become physically injured playing in a VIDEO GAME TOURNEY, count me out. What do they think they're running? - ZM

Robert TMruczek
Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 01:01 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Zotmeister:

Agreed. That's a very iffy proposition to consider, at best.

Gary was VERY mindful of player injuries at Funspot 2002 when the lightning struck and the lights went out, and there were no such disclaimers necessary. That's why Funspot is in comparison a class act.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Thursday, February 26, 2004 - 03:23 pm
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To Everyone,

I don't expect Twin Galaxies to be involved in my contest in any way unless they want to be. All I ask for is an HONEST opinion on what you think the 12 games that I use should be-THAT"S ALL! The reason being is so that I can gain a reasonable consensus among the players. T.G. claims to be experts in the field, so if you disagreed on my choices then perhaps I can make a progressive change.

Roberts 10 game choice that he refers to is 10 not 12, and doesn't adequately cover the 4 categories that I stated. Offering a frivilous choice is worse than no choice at all.

Walter and Robert are not fooling anyone; I hope.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, February 26, 2004 - 05:01 pm
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Roy:

In case you missed it, I was replying to SCOOTIE'S post, not your request for ten games. No one's trying to fool anyone, here...I was replying to SCOOTIE !! Geez, lighten up, dude. Not every reply is about your contest.

Robert

Ben Davidson
Thursday, February 26, 2004 - 11:57 pm
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HOLY COW BATMAN!!!!!! maybe this aught to be settled the old fashon way like with "BOXING GLOVES" behind the tool shed. I also wonder who would win in a yelling contest if the other participant in the contest was deaf maybe we should take the same concept with this guy and tone a deaf ear to him he seems to be so stuck on himself.

Avid Player Ben
A.K.A Boy Wonder

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, February 27, 2004 - 10:16 am
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Hi Boy Wonder:

"ZOWIE !!", "KAPOW !!", "BIFF !!", "ZOT !!"

Nah, don't think I'll take that route. I'd much rather watch the "Quiet Man" with John Wayne. Besides, I'm a gamer, not a fighter.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 12:29 am
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To Ben Davidson,

I,ve already suggested a friendly boxing match between myself and Roberts' puppet master Silly Bitchill. As a result I'm being threatened with a Federal restraining order.

Are they both good men? Good men always know their limitations.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 10:16 am
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Roy:

Dude, give it a rest, all right ?

As for limitations, we're still setting personal bests on gaming 20 years down the road, so I'd say that we actually don't know our limitations, and if the scores keep getting higher, then we never hope to !!

Robert

Ben Davidson
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 01:05 am
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Mr Roy Shildtz
You know you can also create wrestlers in the shape/simularity of the people on here that you speak of in certain wrestling games for the Game Cube.Then you can make who ever you want to loose or win in a match and beat them for as long as you like. Who's the "Puppet Master Silly Bitchell" I've never heard of him before is he a wimp or something that you wanted to box him. Word to the wise "Only the ignorant don't know".

Ben Davidson
A.K.A Wonder Boy

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 01:27 pm
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Hi Ben:

Hah !! That's a great suggestion...taking out frustrations against a virtual recreation of whoever you have a beef with.

When my friends and I used to play NBA Jam for the SNES, one of us would always play the Clinton/Gore combination via code, and the other would try not to make baskets but instead to shove the bejesus out of the opponent. Made for a fun but low scoring game.

Robert

Gregory Erway
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 04:00 pm
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Roy,

I've tried to put up with your postings. I've tried to listen to your concerns. I've tried to talk sense to you about laying low and to stop the attack against Billy and TG. You've even said that maybe I was right. Although I have not sided with your beliefs, I have tried to understand them.

You have now crossed the line. Between your post above and the post as "Howard Stern" in the other thread, I have become fed up! I now wish to publicly request that you do not bother me any further either via phone, e-mail, forum posts, postal service, or in person. I do not wish to further any communication with you.

Gregory Erway

To other Funspot Forum readers: I'm sorry to post this here. I do not wish to further fuel this ridiculous and disrespectful one sided battle started by Roy against an establishment I very much respect and support. In addition, I want to thank Funspot for providing this wonderful forum for our discussions and for trying to put up with this guys posts. I hope this guys posts don't somehow ruin it for everyone.

Rick
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 04:31 pm
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OMG! You gave him your phone number and address?

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 05:34 pm
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Hi Rick:

Wasn't intentional as I understand it. Greg had a private family matter that required some personal information to temporarily be on his home number. Somehow, Roy got ahold of that, called it, and then learned of the other information, and as I understand it, has contacted Greg on several occassions since.

Gamers, I echo Greg's previous sentiments here in all respects.

Robert

Gregory S. Erway
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 06:43 pm
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Well, while at the Funspot tournament last year, Roy showed up near the end of the tournament. I knew very little of Roy except for he goes by the nickname "Mr. Awesome". My fraternity name is "Awesome" and I use the AWE initials for all the games i play. So I did talk with him about that. Also Roy is a recognized record holder and that sort of thing demands some respect so I had no reason to hold back my home number when he asked me if he could have it.

In January, my father-in-law passed away down in Florida and my whole family had to make the trip down quickly to clean up the estate (my wife is was in charge of everything). While getting ready to leave from the hotel to pick up my father-in-laws ashes, Roy called my cell phone, whos number was left on my home answering machine saying that if there was an emergency I could be reached at that number. Apparently, Roy felt figuring out which 12 "deca" games to put in a tournament is considered an emergency. I told Roy that I was not at home and why I was in Florida and we were getting ready to leave. The response was, "Sorry to hear that. You do know I'm trying to come up with 12 games..." (basically all in one breath) Taken back a little, I started to engage in the discussion, then just flat out told Roy I just couldn't talk at that time. He has since called a few times back here at my home number. The first time he called at 10:30pm and kept me on the phone until 12:30am. I then told him it was late and I really needed to go to bed. At that point he insults me by telling me that it's my fault cause I'm very long winded. (Something which by the way is the truth but he had just as much to do with that as I) I thought I could talk some sense into him and get him to stop making a fool out of himself and to stop trying to make TG look bad. But in my heart I knew a day would come where I would just have to say stop calling. Well the day is here!!!

Ben Davidson
Monday, March 08, 2004 - 12:34 am
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I think ROY at some point will defend his reasons on why he thought it was so important to have contacted you during such a serious time.I'm sure ROY will have some explaination validating the importance of his phone call and why he continued on about the 12 games in question that would have his precidence over another ones grieving time.I hope ROY will understand the pain that he has inflicted by his selfishness and maybe ROY will do a U-Turn and absorb some of the above statements to realize what had happened. Some people are just driven to the point of no return Mr. Erway I am sorry for your family's loss and you have my condolences even though it is 2 months after.
Word to the wise "EGO-is how one measures vanity"

Ben Davidson
A.K.A Wonder Boy

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, March 08, 2004 - 02:13 am
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Hi Ben:

Personally, I'm a bit relieved that Roy publicly stated that he issued his "friendly challenge" of a boxing match with Bill Mitchell. Between that, bothering fellow gamers at home and elsewhere, and resorting to derogatory name calling against Bill Mitchell in a recent post, what more can be said about his current frame of mind.

But I shouldn't talk...I'll let Roy speak for himself.

Hello...Roy...where are you ? You've got some 'splainin' to do, as Ricky Ricardo used to tell Lucy back in the day.

Robert

mentalenforcer
Monday, March 08, 2004 - 07:29 pm
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[R:] Hey Lucy, I'm home

[L:] Oh Ricky, you're so fine
[L:] You're so fine you blow my mind
[L:] Hey Ricky, hey Ricky

[R:] Oh Lucy, you're so fine
[R:] You're so fine you blow my mind
[R:] Hey Lucy, hey Lucy

[L:] Oh Ricky, you're so fine
[L:] You play your bongos all the time
[L:] Hey Ricky, hey Ricky

[R:] Oh Lucy, you're so fine
[R:] How I love to hear you whine
[R:] Hey Lucy

...

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, March 08, 2004 - 09:41 pm
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Hi MentalEnforcer:

Cool...I liked that Weird Al Video, like how they worked in how Fred comes over and eats all of the pretzels and spills all of the beer. (WHAAAAA !!)

You play those conga drums, every single night
You wake up little Ricky in the middle of the night...a true classic !!

Robert

Scootie
Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 08:37 pm
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Hey Everyone..

First of all - Greg...I am sorry for your loss and offer my sincere condolances.

I have been reading these posts with great interest,and it seems to me that Roy is being VERY IMMATURE & SELFISH. I, more than anyone, would LOVE to see a classic video game contest with a decent amount of prize money. However, I feel that Roy is looking for a scapegoat in case his contest fails, or more likely, never gets off the ground.

Also, I might add (to Roy) that it is EXTREMELY RUDE to call someone on their private cellphone UNLESS it's a Life or Death emergency. I do not consider as trivial as requesting a list of 12 games a life or death emergency.

By the way Roy.....check out some of my lists if you want advice on what is a GOOD game. Scootie doesn't play games that suck.

peace
Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 09:42 pm
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Hi Scootie:

I got a kick out of your last comment about not playing games that bite.

Back in high school, my friend and I would make a practice of exchanging the worst possible game titles for the Atari 800 (his system) and 2600 (my system) as Christmas presents.

One year I gave him a plethora of bad ones. Well, they ALL were pretty cool, but some bit big time.

"Orc Attack", "Spies Demise" and "Salmon Run" were three of them...games you love to hate. I also gave him "Zeppelin" which was entirely in German (that was interesting...playing a game programmed with foreign text), "Dog Daze" and many, many others.

In for good measure I threw some good ones...

Sea Dragon
Caverns of Mars
Phobos
Protector I & II
Pacific Coast Highway
Preppy (or "Preppie" ?)
Shamus
Bruce Lee
Jumpman

Ah...dem were da days !!

Robert

Scootie
Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 11:20 pm
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Hey Rob

Looks like your friend got the better of you . Why are you giving him "good" games like Jumpman and Bruce Lee when he is giving you what he percieves to be crappy games ?(just a concidence that you happened to like some of them).

Anyway Rob, I hope you understand that life is too short to waste on playing crappy games, when there are so many good to great games out there that I still have not played weather they are classic, recent, or current. That is not to mention the great games yet to come.

Rob, when we were kids, say back in 1980-1982, did you ever imagine that games would become as "real" as they have become in such a short timespan? Just compare Atari Football (the one with the x's and o's) with the the Madden NFL or NFL2K series, or compare Atari 2600 Home Run with the PS2 or X-Box version of MLB 2003. Video Baseball, as well as any other videogaming genre, sure has come a LONG WAY in a Quarter Century.

Compare 2600's Adventure(1980), or Infocom's "Zork"(1980), with Baldur's Gate II(2000). More than any other videogaming genre, Adventure/RPG has REALLY COME A LONG WAY in just two decades.

Just think of HOW GOOD games will be in another 15-20 years from now, and even then, we will still be ANOTHER two decades from collecting our first SS check.

Talk to you soon.

peace
Scootie

Scootie
Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 11:21 pm
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Hey Rob

Looks like your friend got the better of you . Why are you giving him "good" games like Jumpman and Bruce Lee when he is giving you what he perceives to be crappy games ?(just a concidence that you happened to like some of them).

Anyway Rob, I hope you understand that life is too short to waste on playing crappy games, when there are so many good to great games out there that I still have not played weather they are classic, recent, or current. That is not to mention the great games yet to come.

Rob, when we were kids, say back in 1980-1982, did you ever imagine that games would become as "real" as they have become in such a short timespan? Just compare Atari Football (the one with the x's and o's) with the the Madden NFL or NFL2K series, or compare Atari 2600 Home Run with the PS2 or X-Box version of MLB 2003. Video Baseball, as well as any other videogaming genre, sure has come a LONG WAY in a Quarter Century.

Compare 2600's Adventure(1980), or Infocom's "Zork"(1980), with Baldur's Gate II(2000). More than any other videogaming genre, Adventure/RPG has REALLY COME A LONG WAY in just two decades.

Just think of HOW GOOD games will be in another 15-20 years from now, and even then, we will still be ANOTHER two decades from collecting our first SS check.

Talk to you soon.

peace
Scootie

mspaeth
Friday, March 12, 2004 - 06:13 am
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Ahem!

Did I just see someone dissing "Spy's Demise"?!

That game was ingeniously simple, and ridiculously hard... Loved it on my II.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, March 12, 2004 - 06:15 pm
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Hi Mark:

Oh, it's a great game all right...but my memories must be clouded by the fact that no matter how hard I tried, this title frustrated the bejesus out of me !!

There was one title we had for the 800 called "Probe 7" that I personally thought was awesome, but never got to finish it. He thought that "Rescue on Fractalus" was (at the time) an awesome achievement.

I also enjoyed playing "Hazard Run", "Zombies", and had a BLAST playing "Dandy", especially the level generator. To me, it was just as much fun as "Gauntlet". "Zombies" was harder, and was like a hybrid between "Gauntlet" and "Crystal Castles", to me.

Hardest 800 game for me to attempt to get good at, however, was "Necromancer". That one was tough as nails for me !!

Robert

Roy Shildt
Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 10:14 pm
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To Everyone,

Referring to Billy Mitchell as Silly Bitchell is a joke. I can't believe that you people are that sensitive. I'm not going to waste time on this. I think that you should all go join a knitting club.

Scootie
Friday, March 19, 2004 - 12:13 pm
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Hey Roy

I thought it was pretty funny.

Scootie

Roy Shildt
Friday, March 19, 2004 - 07:34 pm
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To Scootie,

Thanks for input that can even be construed as positive. I hope that Greg Erway is not upset.
I might have to turn in my knitting needles and take up shuffle board.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 05:52 pm
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Roy:

Some jokes are best left unsaid. Misinterpretation is quite easy, and almost inevitable, especially considering the tone of the message that followed.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 02:34 pm
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Actions speak louder than words so I sent Greg a card.

'Nuff said.

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Scootie's "list of ten" games that represent the classic era!

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Scootie
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 05:39 pm
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Pole Position (Driving)
(Ms.)Pac-Man (Joystick)
Berzerk (Joystick/Fire)
Space Invaders/Asteroids (Directional Buttons)
Dig Dug/Mr.Do (Joystick/Fire)
Spy Hunter (Driving)
Centipede/Millipede/Missle Command (Trackball)
Clowns/Breakout/Tron (Paddles)\
Galaxians/Galaga/Astro Fighter (Joystick/Fire)(space themed game)
Baby Pac-Man/Space Ace/Dragon's Lair (Unique*)

There is my list of "ten" games that best represent the "classic" era of videogaming. This is NOT any sort of endorsement, just my opinion.

* Baby Pac-Man was unique in that it was the ONLY (as far as I know) game that blended two genres (videogaming and pinball) of games together. Space Ace & Dragon's Lair are unique in that they are laserdisc "games" which means that you are basically watching a 5 minute cartoon - with an occaisional "beep", alerting you to move the joystick or fire

peace
Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 05:49 pm
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Ho Scootie:

Here's my list...it crosses over a huge timeframe as you can see, and tends to favour the more intense titles (with some exceptions)

In no particular order...

Stargate
Robotron
Millipede
Crazy Taxi
Tempest
Mortal Kombat II
Pengo
Crackshot
Lunar Lander
Road Runner

A little bit of everything here. Some driving skills, track-ball skills, joystick, and even the unique controls of "Lunar Lander".

Pure action and mayhem samples are included, some "thinking-required" puzzle type titles (Pengo), precision aim titles (Crackshot), and basically something for everyone.

Robert

artz
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 06:27 pm
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Here's mine!

1. Space Invaders
2. Asteroids
3. Galaxian
4. Defender
5. Centipede
6. Pac-Man
7. Ms. Pac-Man
8. Dig Dug
9. Tempest
10. Donkey Kong

Sorry Tron & Donkey Kong Jr, you barely missed making my list.

These is no way represent my favorite games, but what I believe to be the best classic games in the opinions of most gamers who can remember playing these in the late 70's/early 80's.

Gregory S. Erway
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 10:23 pm
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I believe the game Caveman (by Gottlieb) was also a video/pinball hybrid. Baby Pac was the best of the two though.

mspaeth
Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 09:49 am
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Granny and the Gators was the other bally/midway video/pin hybrid. It has a quite unique gameplay, unlike the boring old pacman of pacman (granted, you do have to earn your power pellets on the pinball playfield before chomping dots).

I actually like caveman... played it a bit at an auction in jersey... the game part was a little too easy though.

Zotmeister
Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 10:21 am
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Baby Pac-Man is a video game that just happens to have a pinball mini-game built into it. Caveman is a pinball table that just happens to have a video mini-game built into it. I've played both, and it really depends on my mood which I'd prefer at any moment. - ZM

Roy Shildt
Friday, February 20, 2004 - 06:21 pm
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To Scottie (and others),

I'm assuming that you are essentially responding to my (Roy Shildts') request to name 12 games that best tests the overall skill of a videogame player; as the track decathlon best tests the overall skill of an athlete. I started with 10 but went to 12 because 10 wasn't enough to cover the very broad range of varying skills.
Once again 4 categories-12 games:

1)Track ball-misslecommand-millipede-marble madness
2)joystick/buttons-Robotron-Berzerk?-spy hunter?-hypersports?-Joust?
3)driving/steering-pole position-return of the jedi?
4)Gun system-crossbow-Hogans' alley?

Scottie, you have mentioned that you thought that berzerk was better than robotron because robotron had 2 joysticks. It doesn't matter; it's just a question of which game best tests the skill. Also, just because a game is more popular doesn't mean it's a better choice. Sometimes a game is popular because it is easier to play; which essentially eliminates maze type games such as the Pac-mans etc., the Donkey Kongs etc. not to say that records on those games are fine achievements. Recently I had a discussion with someone about the choice between centipede and millipede. At first they thought that centipede was a better choice because it was more of a classic, but they agreed that millipede was harder and better tested the skill. Also, a harder game may not be a better test of skill. Super missle attack is much harder than missile command but it was created just to suck-up quarters and does not test the skill nearly as well.

Scootie, hit Funspot and consult with the guys and please revise your list with these considerations in mind. Plus- You didn't name a shooting game.

Peace

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The next time you're at the newsstand...

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Zotmeister
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 08:22 pm
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...check out the latest Electronic Gaming Monthly. There's a two page spread on Walter Day and Billy Mitchell.

I haven't read the whole thing, but I did check out part of the Mitchell interview, and I'd wager that I actually *could* portray him. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 09:19 pm
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Hi Zotmeister:

Can't wait to see the article...sounds like a good one. Don't forget to buy an American flag tie to look the part...that's a must !!

Hmmm...wonder who can play "Captain Canada" while we're at it ?

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 10:55 am
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I know a couple of people who would make great Captain Canadas. No one you know, most likely. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 12:58 pm
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Hi Zotmeister:

I think every Funspot event needs a "Captain Canada", whether it's Rick Fothergill or another player from up north. We should have an honourary cape handy for the next event, so that the Great White North is duly represented in full regalia !!

Robert

Galagaman
Sunday, February 29, 2004 - 04:40 pm
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Nice story on Walter and Billy. Maybe Billy can post his secret for making girls cream for all of us!

Zotmeister
Monday, March 01, 2004 - 01:25 pm
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Please tell me your last message was missing a letter. - ZM

David Nelson
Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 03:00 am
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No, sadly the article in the magazine was missing the same letter.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 07:28 pm
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Hello David:

Someone needs to send EGM editors a reminder of one simple little option...SPELLCHECK !!

Anyway, on occassion an incorrectly spelled word can be amusing. Some of you older forum readers might remember that on the classic TV show "Odd Couple", the Myrna Turner character (as played by Penny Marshall) was seeing a guy named "Sheldn" as they left the "O" off his birth certificate. That was a running joke on the show for several episodes.

Robert

Galagaman
Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 08:03 pm
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Cream is spelled correctly and would not appear as a spelling error.

mentalenforcer
Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 08:32 pm
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Sounds like an Addams Family recipe. Vanilla, sugar, cream, ice, and girls. Stir for several hours. Probably goes well with those girl scout cookies. (made from only the finest girl scouts)

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 11:28 pm
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Hi MentalEnforcer:

Anything's possible. Hmmm...I wonder if Martha Stewart knows the recipe ?

Robert

Howard Stern
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 03:30 pm
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Yo Dudes,

When Lorrina Bobitt was released from observation a reporter asked her, "what will you do now?" To which she replied, "I'm on my way to Disneyland."

When she got there she hooked up with Billy Mitchells' checkbook and they will produce his life story as "Lies on the Razors Edge".

Billy Mitchell should expect a shortened film career.

Rick
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 04:28 pm
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Howard Stern posts here? This forum rocks!!! LOL

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, March 05, 2004 - 05:30 pm
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Hi Rick:

I think that's really Al Franken claiming to be Howard. You know, "Lies, Lies and More Lies".

Robert

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Scootie's list of top five Colecovision games!!!

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Scootie
Friday, February 27, 2004 - 07:06 pm
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Hey Everyone

Here it is...

1. Smurf Rescue - A good platformer - for 1982 standards. Good graphics/music and a "cute" game based on the popular animated series.

2. Roc-N-Rope - An original, unique and underrated game. This is the best home version of this game around.

3. Pac-Man - Atarisoft had a WORKING PROTOTYPE of this game (I have it on my Coleco Emulator). THIS IS - BY FAR - THE BEST HOME VERSION OF PAC-MAN I'VE EVER SEEN (YES- IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN THE ATARI 800 & COMMODORE 64 VERSIONS). Why Atari NEVER RELEASED THIS ARCADE PERFECT RENDITION OF PAC-MAN IS STILL A MYSTERY TO ME. Perhaps it's because the 5200 version SUCKED in comparison!!

Too Bad - Atari could have made major $$ on this one. Considering how many times Atari & Coleco F****D UP, it's no wonder that the crash happened when it did, and when the smoke cleared, all the old players (Atari, Mattel, Coleco) were history. Hello Nintendo & Sega.

4. Carnival - Yes, this game does get monotonous after a while, but it's an ARCADE PERFECT rendition. It's also the first cart Eric & I got after we got our Colecovision back in 82 (we received DK & Mousetrap with the console).

5. Q-Bert - One of two games from Parker Brothers that we had (the other being Frogger). ARCADE PERFECT - identical to the C-64 version.

Honorable Mention goes to Turbo, Frogger, and Defender.

peace
Scootie

Todd Rogers
Friday, February 27, 2004 - 11:01 pm
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Greetings:
My Top 10 Colecovision games are

1 DECATHLON
2 PITFALL
3 LADYBUG
4 FRENZY
5 VENTURE
6 LOOPING
7 SMURF
8 ZAXXON
9 TUT.
10TURBO

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Eric Ahlers
Monday, March 01, 2004 - 12:51 pm
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Hello Everybody:

My top 10 Colecovision games are.....

1. Mr. Do's Wild Ride
2. Looping
3. Mousetrap
4. Carnival
5. Venture
6. Smurf
7. Zaxxon
8. Q-Bert
9. Turbo
10. Donkey Kong ( for all its faults, i still loved playing this game at home )

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, March 01, 2004 - 04:49 pm
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Hi Eric & Scootie:

Didn't know "Mr Do's Wild Ride" was an available CV title...I have to get that one.

As I have played few CV titles, I have no choice but to list a top 5.

1st - Montezuma's Revenge
2nd - Miner 2049'er
3rd - Frenzy
4th - Venture
5th - The Heist

Robert

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Scramble question

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Eric Ahlers
Friday, March 19, 2004 - 06:33 pm
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Greetings all:

I just started playing Scramble again and i can't get through the first level. At the end of level 1 there is a lone tank/target on the ground between two tall structures. I can't hit this target and it is getting very frustrating. I am playing it on easy setting on my Playstation (arcade classics emulator).

Can someone please help!!
Thanks
Eric

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 02:10 pm
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Hi Eric:

This is the final object to shoot. You're in luck in that once destroyed, you need not escape without running into a building. Shoot or bomb the object and then you're golden. Just takes some practice.

Robert

Eric Ahlers
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 04:41 pm
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Hi Rob,

The final target is at the bottom of the screen, right after one of the tall buildings which makes it impossible to shoot with your "fire" button..it seems this must be done by dropping a bomb, but, i've tried repeatedly. You get 3, maybe 4 passes before you run out of fuel.
I was a good Scramble player back in the day. This is why it is hard to swallow. I get up to this point evry time without losing a life and then sit helplessly as i pass over these bulidings trying to hit the final target with a well timed drop of the bomb.

Rob, I've tried so many different approaches. I'll go slow, fast, medium...to no avail.
I really want to get this as i am getting tired of playing the first level over and over again....
MORE HELP PLEASE....Eric

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 05:46 pm
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Hi Eric:

I know the exact area you are referring to. And I've played both arcade and Sony PS1 via "Konami Classics".

Basically, once in the "booty stage" after you exit the maze, you should be on top and pushing forward all the way. Once you clear the tall building that has the booty behind it, push straight down on the joystick so that you travel downard on a 45 degree angle until the tail-end of the ship is perpendicular to the next smaller building to the left of the booty.

At that moment, pull straight down and back on the joystick so that your ship moves straight down and it's tail end hugs the wall closely. You have enough room, when brought down low enough, to bomb or shoot (or both) the booty target. At this point you can crash your ship without fear.

If you have MAME access I highly recommed watching an INP to see how it's done.

Robert

Zotmeister
Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 10:35 am
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It can be shot, with the gun, and although you don't lose a life if you hit a wall after destroying it, you don't *have* to hit the wall after shooting it, either. Like Robert says, it's a matter of getting the ship to hug the walls going up and down. Just like getting through the maze in section 5, you just need to pull forward to make room.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, March 25, 2004 - 11:55 am
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Hi Eric:

One hint...When you are attemtping to get into position to shoot it, as opposed to bombing it, I typically keep my eye on the tail-end of the spaceship so I can line it up with the edge of the building and safely go straight down to hit the target.

Bombing works, too. But fire both, just in case. After all, it's not just another job...it's an adventure !!

Robert

Eric Ahlers
Friday, March 26, 2004 - 01:48 pm
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Greetings Rob and Zotmeister:

Thank you for the tips !!
I have not had a chance to try yet, but am setting aside time tonight to conquer this.

Is it possible to fly (kamikaze) into target ??

Also, Rob, please advise TGTS for Robotron and Joust. I play these titles on the Williams classic arcade...PS1..I'm pretty sure dificulty set to 10..not so sure about lives to start or extra men..(20K,25K,ETC)

Thanks again,

Eric

Eric Ahlers
Friday, April 02, 2004 - 09:20 pm
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Hey Rob and Zotmeister,

I Just completed the first level !!

could'nt have done it without you guys.

Thanks again

Eric

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Tried to register for the tournament but couldn't

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Scootie
Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 06:26 pm
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Hey Everyone

I'm up here in NH once again for a long weekend of gaming at Funspot. I tried to register in person for the tournament but was informed that there were no applications printed yet(I always prefer to register in person for whatever the event or cause may be). Anyway, I'll be up here in NH until Sunday (3/27). Hopefully Gary is reading this and I'll be able to sign up before I leave.

Also set some NEW HIGHS this weekend....

Donkey Kong - 103,500
Depth Charge - 3020
Lunar Lander - 1750 (2 tokens-1800 fuel)
Dig-Dug - 617,350 (51st level)

Two 500,000 jumps on ZooKeeer IN A ROW! Unfortunately the machine decided to "reset" itself(probably due to it's aversion to static electricity) in the middle of my game.

peace to all
Scootie

mikeenphoppers
Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 06:49 pm
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hi scootie. the zookeeper strikes again huh ?.i hate when that happens.peace. mike e np hoppers.

mikeenphoppers
Monday, March 29, 2004 - 04:59 pm
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hi scootie. ask mr shawn cram " what's up yo "?,with the zookeeper man.i'm sure he has an interesting answer for the reset,static settings for the zookeeper settings. haha. peace . mike e np hoppers.

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Hey Todd Rogers-Robert says Billy and Dwayne are NO SHOW

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Roy Shildt
Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:23 pm
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Hey Todd,

I spoke to Robert Prozac on the phone Thursday and he said that Billy Mitchell and Dwayne Richard are not coming to Funspot this year. I thought you said they were coming? What's up with that?

P.S. Hey I spelled your name right.

Scootie
Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:49 pm
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Hey Roy

Sorry to hear that. I understand that there was to be a Missle Command "showdown".

If you still plan on showing up, I propose a mini-tournament of 10 games between the two of us. We each pick 5 games - 6 or more wins (is declared the better gamer!). Since you are so interested in competition Roy; I'll give you a good dose of it if you take me up on my challenge.

peace
Scootie

Scootie
Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:57 pm
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Roy

Also, let's stop with the name calling OK. Show a little respect & compassion for your fellow gamers!

Scootie

Todd Rogers
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 09:32 am
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ROY
I'm not sure of what Billy's ,Dwaynes or Roberts plans are and cannot answer for them and I don't recall having answered for them before. I will be attending the event and also plan on setting some new HighScores on GORF, Berzerk and Gyruss along with our long awaited Missile Command competition.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Gregory S. Erway
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 09:57 am
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Todd,

Great news. Glad to hear you will be there. I look forward to seeing you again.

Scootie
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 03:21 pm
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Hey Todd

Just was wondering HOW good you are at Gorf. I would like to play you if possible. Once again, I can make it to Space Avenger on 1 or 2 lives!

Scootie

artz
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 04:29 pm
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Todd is the record holder on Gorf with a score of 659,990 per TG's scoreboard.

Todd Rogers
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 04:34 pm
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Scootie,
Im rather OK at GORF I get to the Space Avenger status every once in a while ) GORF has always been one of my favorites and if you want to play me sometime on it Certainly im up for a go on it.
P.S. Just bring a chair and a game boy in between changes

Greg,
Its always a pleasure to watch you play Tapper as anyone can attest its like going to school watching you play that game i'll look forward to seeing you there too.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Roy Shildt
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 06:58 pm
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To Todd and others,

I just spoke to Greg Erway on the phone and I promised him no more name calling. I apologize to him and even Billy Mitchell. I was just trying to generate competition Howard Stern style. If Billy is not going to Funspot I may or may not attend. I told you it's me against Billy that was the deal. I don't care who else plays.

PerfectPacman
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:00 pm
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Roy, what do you mean about a showdown between you and Bill. You and Bill do not play anything in common. I thought that this was suppose to be between you and Todd Rogers.........Chris~~~224,880~~~Berzerk

Scootie
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 08:11 pm
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Hey Todd

Is your record on Gorf based on 3 ships or 6?

Scootie

Todd Rogers
Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 10:41 pm
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Scootie
I have always only played with 3 ships,If i played it with 5 ships the game would take to dang long. I have flipped 1Mil pts on GORF several times on both settings regular and hard but since the arcade that i played it at was getting tired of submitting my scores all the time the flip overs were not submitted. Not that it mattered because in 2002 i played GORF at FUNSPOT to Walter Days request and stopped my game at a little over 500k because i didnt feel that i had a real reason at that time to beat my HighScore.I had over 300k on my first man and one of the Newspaper reporters that wanted to do an interview on me asked me "Todd am i bothering you and your game you dont mind if i ask you a few questions do you while you play" I entertained the reporters request and thought to myself how the heck is someone going to do a worth while interview and still maintain a great game at the same time after all i was at that time supposedly was going for the World Record. Again Scootie im still open for some friendly game play on GORF if you are still interested, unlike one other player avoiding me for some game play.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Scootie
Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 09:26 pm
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Hey Todd

I'm always up for some friendly competition - looking forward to meeting you at the tournament

peace
Scootie

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Roy - Please Explain

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Robert T Mruczek
Monday, April 05, 2004 - 07:12 pm
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Roy:

Just an honest question, deserving of an honest response.

You said that in 1984 you did a previous 1.4M score, yes ?

So, if Walter Day invented TGTS for Missile Command in 1985, how could you possibly have played at such settings before that ?

I think that's a fair question, don't you ?

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, April 05, 2004 - 07:15 pm
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Roy (and all):

Brief correction...you said you did the earlier score for the 1985 Guiness Book. I assumed you set it in 1984 being that the book came out a year after the fact, so mea culpa on stating that it was 1984.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, April 05, 2004 - 10:43 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

New information has come to light that we are now exploring which might shed light on the earlier 1.4M score and the question of whether the equivelant of "TGTS" existed during that performance. More on that as it unfolds.

Robert

TJT
Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 06:06 am
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Hes score would've been about 20Million with bonus cities... So there were atleast equal settings used, right.

I see earlier score being true, as he did show up personally at later event(1,6M) to show hes skill.
If somebody would lie about hes skills, he would not HAVE shown up in a later competition.

Is there somekind of witch-hunt being at progress here? Do you really think 600k can not be beaten because one player can not do it. Ridiculous.

Maybe there is more to it in this thing, something I've not read at earlier messages.
Anyway, time to go knitting now...

Roy Shildt
Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 06:57 pm
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To TJT and others,

Thanks For noticing the witch hunt. In the 1984 tournament I played missle command on the NO bonus city setting and achieved 1.4 mil+. I don't remember the exact terminology they used but is was tournament settings. I am now searching for a copy of the 1985 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records where it appeared.

Anonymous
Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 08:33 pm
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So for the Funspot Tournament in June will Missile Command be left at 1 bonus city every 10,000 (as is) or set to no bonus cities?

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, April 06, 2004 - 09:15 pm
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That's entirely up to Gary V.

Robert

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Robert Mruczek Challenges Roy Schildt

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Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 01:51 pm
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Roy:

I'm laying the gaming gauntlet down...formally and publicly for everyone to see. Here are the terms...accept them if you dare. I go as far back with TG as you do (Jan/84 earliest submission) so we're from the same era.

You say you're too old to play MC as well as you used to...that's a crock. Here's what I suggest we do.

YOU play Missile Command at TGTS. I play Star Wars at marathon. Let's see who gets the highest percentage of their TG world record.

Considering your game takes 2 hours, and mine would take 2 DAYS, I'd say you have the advantage here.

For example, all YOU would need to do is score 850K to force me to play Star Wars for 24 hours...if Gary lets me, that is.

I guarantee that you do not have the guts to accept this challenge...and I will play my game after all of a half hour's practice run first. YOU can take as many runs as you like. And I guarantee that I will still beat your percentage hands down.

C'mon Roy...break out the Ben-Gay and crack those knuckles...you have yet another formal challenge to answer to. And I'll do it, too. Can you ?

I'm waiting.

Robert

Roy Shildt
Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 10:35 pm
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You need to contact Howard Stern and tell him to put us both on his show! Whoever wins gets to date a porn star! Of course you'll need written permission from mom.

Anonymous
Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:46 am
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Predictable

Mark Boolman
Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 02:30 am
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Well, if he does accept, I hope you'll use the cockpit one;)

Anonymous
Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 06:59 am
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It should be played on the top secret, special cheating version of the machine with a 6" trackball and a 4.275" screen.

Anonymous
Friday, April 16, 2004 - 09:29 pm
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I can't spell learn to spell Roy's name right!!

I excell

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Funspot Tournament - "Junior Division"..

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Bry Guy
Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:44 pm
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Gary,

I am looking forward again to bringing my family to Weirs Beach this year for vacation/tourament. I understand there might be a womans division this year? I wanted you to consider a Junior Divsion, meaning players are say, 12 and under. I know 2 kids who would love to be in one. I believe if you promoted it, you would have a good response. Where there's video games, theres kids. Most parents who have children in this age group remember the classic games and probably would like to play also.

If this is not feasible, I'll just enter my kids in the regular tournament.
Any objections??
Please consider this as my 7 and 9 year old are bugging me to death about it! LOL!
Looking forward to June!
Later,
Bryan Wagner

Scootie
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 09:29 pm
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Hey Bry Guy

The only game at Funspot for kids of that age is "Leprechaun".

Scootie

Scootie
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 09:34 pm
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Hey Bry Guy

Where there's video games, theres kids.

I hope you don't let your kids play games like "Half Life", "Doom", or "Mortal Kombat".

enough said

Scootie

Anonymous
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 10:26 pm
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There were some kids there last year that were a royal pain in the ___!!! The three of them were running around yelling at each other and just being a nuisance. My vote is NO kids. No offense Bry Guy and I hope they weren't your kids. Some of us pay quite a bit to get to this event and encouraging kids to be there isn't really what I want to see.

Mark Boolman
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 10:44 pm
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hey, scootie. My daughter is 8 and son is 6, but my daughter kicks my but on return of the jedi, and she can complete the hard level(wave 5) on star wars(usually) at tournament settings. Both of them love playing mame games on their xarcade controller---when they get punished, worst thing to them is no games. I think it could be a good thing to have a junior division, but anonymous does have a valid point---keep your kids under constant supervision(and sometimes this applies to adults as well)---don't bother someone playing a game until they are done---just a little distraction can cost someone a record score and quite a bit of time also.

Vidiot
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 09:07 am
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I remember those kids! You could hear one of them screaming from acroos the room because the other kids were teasing him. Their father was competing on pinball and Gary spoke to him about the kids behavior but it didn't help. I'm with anonymous... no kids, please.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 02:52 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

All I'm hoping for is no screaming babies in a carriage sounding off "WAHHHHHH !!" when a world record is being set, or at least when a serious game is being contested. Can't speak for myself but the gamer in question might consider that a major distraction.

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 06:06 pm
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Hey everyone

I don't want screaming kids either but on the other hand there is (with most kids anyway) a certain time (or age) when maturity takes over impulse.

I say let the kids come - as long as they are 12 or older. I'm not too worried about a kid of middle/high school age causing a disturbance like last year*.

* I was not at last year's tournament but I assume that these kids who caused the disturbance were in the 3-9 year age group.

peace
Scootie

Vidiot
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 07:38 pm
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Rough guess, those kids were 6,8,10 years old. Uncaged zoo animals would be a good description. Dad didn't give a s**t they were being annoying and distracting players. I'm against kids because once you open the door to kids how do you tell one person their kids are good and tell the other their kids need muzzles and a leash? Just my 2 cents.

Mark Boolman
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 08:41 pm
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Vidiot
It's quite easy to tell someone that they need to control their kids; in fact, it's the parent/guardian's job to do so. I don't let my kids out of my sight, but if they do sneak off and do something they shouldn't or are bothering others, I want to know. I do however realize that not everyone is of the same mind when it comes to supervising their young and might take offense...I say tough...if they don't want to hear complaints about their kids, they'll do something...like make them mind or take them home. Provided the conversation language is kept civil and polite, no parent/guardian should be offended by being told their kids need controlled. If that doesn't work, then it's up to the mngmnt to take action just as they would if anyone of any age was causing a problem

David Nelson
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 01:10 am
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I suppose a possible compromise could be arranged if a junior tournament were held in an area away from the main tournament; like... Guam? Just kidding... perhaps over in the small area leading towards the Golf Center? You could have a few choice machines moved over there. Anywhere else would probably be too far away for parents to check in, and would be a pain for referees to maintain. You would certainly want to clearly rope off these sections from one another stating clearly that the main tournament floor is a "No Kid Zone".
Don't label me a KID-hater, I'm not one... but I for one have to agree that I feel the tournament should be KID-FREE. There's too much at stake and many people come from WAY too far away to have a world record game botched from kid distraction.

Jenn
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 02:12 am
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We know you want all the kids to come to your house Dave. And what was your address again? Just kidding.

I agree with Dave.

**Don't label me a KID-hater, I'm not one... but I for one have to agree that I feel the tournament should be KID-FREE. There's too much at stake and many people come from WAY too far away to have a world record game botched from kid distraction.**

Rick
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 06:46 am
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Have Gary construct a sound-proof chamber that would fit over the game allowing just enough room for the kid to fit inside and play.

Scootie
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 09:14 pm
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Hey everyone

Everybody seems insistant on no kids - fine with me - but where do we make the cutoff. I thought my idea of 12 & over was fine but perhaps there are others who feel more comfortable at admitting kids over 14, 16, 18, 21?

I still say my idea of 12 & over is the most sensible. I know of a few teenage kids (2 of whom live in my building) who are VERY MUCH INTO THE CLASSICS. When I asked one of them why - the response was that there was much more ORIGINALITY in games back then.

Just look at most of the games on today's consoles. Almost everything is either a

3-D Platformer
Driving/Racing game
Fighting game
Sports game

peace
Scootie

Richard M.
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 08:36 pm
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Although I have had games ruined by pesky kids, I have also had games ruined by obnoxious "adults". And many kids really are well-behaved -- it depends in part on the quality of their parental supervision.

Therefore, I have mixed feelings about a tournament "no kids" policy. There were a few brats in last year's tourny who were annoying, but I'm not sure one should disallow all kids under a certain age due to an obnoxious few.

I do think that if Funspot decides on no children in the tournament that 12 years is a reasonable age cutoff. But as Bryan said, where there's video games, there are kids.

Parents should take the responsibilty of seeing that their children are reasonably well-behaved. If children are not apt to be behaved, then their parents should not bring them into the tournament area.

-- Richard

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 11:36 pm
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I definatly remember those kids. In fact, as I tried to beat my 5-man record on Tapper, they knocked over my video camera/tripod. I caught it and died. I was at 1.69 million as opposed to my 1.83 million record. Although they didn't contact the equipment previously in the game, they certainly were a distraction and spent most of the time over by the Enduro Racer bouncing around (which was right next to Tapper). I could clearly see the father ignoring them down on Spookville pinball with not a care in the world.

Here is my main point. I don't have a problem with kids coming of any age. Keep them under control. BUT, in this case these kids were NOT registered players in the tournament. They should not have been in that area at all. Signs were clearly posted that only registered players should be in that area of the gameroom. (unless I'm remembering previous years and last year there were no signs). I think the kids should be allowed if officially registered with a name tag. Look, distractions are part of playing in an arcade. I can live with that. I like playing at Funspot tournaments because I know the other players are respectful and will support other players in their quest for records. That includes knowing when to talk with the player, when to keep it down near an potential record area, moral support when needed. We all make mistakes. I myself got a little loud next to Mike's interview table in the past and probably ruined his recording. (Sorry Mike) It happens. But overall I know people try to be considerate. Non-registered kids running around playing tag and knocking over equipment and not being controlled by the parent falls outside of the considerate range.

It's Gary's tournament to run. I can go along with whatever he decides. I think it's good this subject came up for his consideration.

Zotmeister
Friday, April 23, 2004 - 09:57 am
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"I myself got a little loud next to Mike's interview table in the past and probably ruined his recording."

I myself got a LOT loud next to Mike's interview table and DEFINITELY ruined his recording, so don't feel too bad. (You'd think that there'd have been a scorekeeper tied to the FRONT LINE during the interviewing, but no... none in sight...) - ZM

Vidiot
Friday, April 23, 2004 - 08:43 pm
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"I myself got a little loud next to Mike's interview table in the past and probably ruined his recording." ZM

You probably did ruin his recording because you certainly threw my game off. A little loud is a little understatement. The score girl had been behind me only a few moments before you screamed for her and I was only a few feet away from you. There was no need for an such a loud exclamation especially from a fellow player.

Anonymous
Friday, April 23, 2004 - 09:58 pm
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Vidiot,
Review your post. It would seem you have quoted Gregory S. Erway and creditied it to Zotmeister. Who is your remark intended for?

Vidiot
Friday, April 23, 2004 - 11:29 pm
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Sorry Gregory, It should have been..

"I myself got a LOT loud next to Mike's interview table and DEFINITELY ruined his recording, so don't feel too bad. (You'd think that there'd have been a scorekeeper tied to the FRONT LINE during the interviewing, but no... none in sight...) - ZM"

The girl writing scores couldn't have been gone more than a few moments because I remember her being behind me just before the scream. I remember that because she was good looking!

Gregory Erway
Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 08:50 am
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No problem! Actually I was referring to the 2001 contest where I was talking in a fairly normal voice to another player right next to the table. I didn't understand what Mike was doing at the tournament as it was my first time. I didn't even realize he was conducting an interview at the moment. Felt pretty stupid when I got the "look" Sorry again Mike.

I don't think I've ruined anyones games. At least I hope not.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 08:54 am
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Hello all:

Hope you had a good weekend. I couldn't help but realize that we all were commenting largely on the vocal aspects of this topic...amazingly, no one mentioned "sticky joysticks" from the youngsters who might be holding sweets in their hands. Yuck !! That's the last thing I'd want on a joystick, trackball or buttons...especially after a 350+ mile trip.

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 10:18 am
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I think the act of gaming threw off Vidiot's sense of timing. There was no scorekeeper anywhere in view for a full thirty seconds before I called at full volume, and I had full view of the front line, the head table, and down the second row of machines. If I had *seen* *ANYBODY*, I wouldn't have called - I'd have waved. My bellow was my only resort. Admittedly, my bellow could likely have been heard in the Braggin' Dragon from where I was, but for all I knew that's where the refs were.

If I disturbed anyone's game, that player has my sympathy. Mike Stulir (I know *exactly* what the "look" Gregory is referring to is) definitely has my sympathies, and I expressed such to him. However, I vehemently deny any *blame*. It's not my fault. I shouldn't have to walk away from a score just because no referees are within sight. Are zone-based shifts too much to ask for? Honestly, there should always be a ref within *eye*sight that can see a raised hand. Refs shouldn't need to be called *verbally* at all. Besides, the game anyone else was playing at the time wouldn't have counted for anything if they couldn't get a ref either. My call was my last resort, and that's exactly what it came down to.

I always seem to have at least one curious outburst each year. First year, as Rick Fothergill's then-world-record was achieved, I found myself needing to address the crowd around the machine to request a ref. EVERY REF ON THE FLOOR WAS WATCHING HIS GAME. Judging by the applause, I'm guessing his game was finished when I called anyway, but still... A couple of years ago I had made it to the fourth stage of Sky Shark on one plane, and I was quite excited - I'm sure my cry of "YES!" permeated the floor rather nicely. (It was promptly followed by a not-so-loud cry of "Sorry..."; it didn't need to be as loud seeing as I had everyone's attention at that point.) And then, of course, there was the year I made a particularly devastating verbal fumble, in front of everybody, gathered together in the golf center, the nature of which I cannot completely explicate on this family-viewable message board [it was just a single letter that jumped words on me...]. I'm *EXTREMELY* sorry for that one. I don't know how I manage to generate such lewd Spoonerisms... I swear it isn't intentional.... - ZM

Bryguy
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 10:39 am
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Hello all,
I have spoken to my kids very sternly and told them NO outbursts whatsoever! NO loud talking or "Daddy, look at my score!" etc. My kids are rather good at the classics. They play on my MAME machine. Once a month I have a tournament for them rather like Funspots. 7 games, based on a percentage. $5 to the winner.

I was going to give them a chance at acting mature and participating. I also know the importance of quietness when going for a record.
This is a special occasion for them and I dont want to see them blow it. If they cant behave they wont be allowed in the tournament area, plain and simple.

Thank you for your input.
Bryan

David Nelson
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 11:50 am
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Oh my god that's so cute. A special 7-game tournament just for your kids, that's adorable. Do they win equally as often? What kinds of games do they play in the monthly 7-game contest? What games are your kids really good at? Any world record material there. I'd be willing to bet that there's at least a handful of games at Funspot that have NO world record listed with Twin Galaxies. They could probably get in "the book" pretty easy on something. Now I look forward to meeting them.

Vidiot
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 02:04 pm
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Dear Zotmeister,
The act of gaming did not throw off my sense of timing, thank you. Just admit it, your action was annoying, rude and very disruptive to the other players. I CLEARLY saw the girl standing next to me and was talking with her less than two minutes before you screamed at the top of your lungs for a ref. Correct me if I am wrong but both Ken and Gary were seated less than 5 feet from you talking with Mike Stulir. If it was OK to disturb the other players it would have been alright to disturb them and get your score logged. If you believe more referees should be in attendance tell them to hire more for the next tournament. Hell, I'd even chip in some dough to get you a personal referee if you promise not to scream again.

PS: Ken and Gary, what's your opinion on this? Both of you were right there and HAD to have heard this go down.

Zotmeister
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 02:34 pm
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First post: "...couldn't have been gone more than a few moments..."

Second post: "...was talking with her less than two minutes before..."

I rest my case.

I may be mistaken, but I believe Mike was recording that "lost episode" deal at the time, sans Ken or Gary; if either of them was present, a tap on the shoulder would have sufficed! I could have reached either of them from where I was if they were right there next to me, and I'd like to think I *certainly* wouldn't have called out across the entire arcade for someone sitting right behind me... - ZM

Ken Sweet
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 04:13 pm
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Hello,

For the record, Gary & I were being interviewed by Mike Stulir at his table during the above-mentioned outburst, behind the tournament games and close to Adam. I remember because we nearly fell out of our seats when it happened!

Adam, you must not have seen us before calling out. Maybe someone was blocking your view or in the excitement of the moment you missed us.

All of the listed incidents were unfortunate, but disruptions will ocassionally happen. We all have to do our best to minimize them.

Regards,
Ken

Gary
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 05:22 pm
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I was sitting within arms reach of Adam with Ken Sweet to my right and Mike Stulir to my left.

Gary

Scootie
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 09:41 pm
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Hey BryGuy

I hope your kids are not that good that they can knock off my.......

631,250 at Dig Dug
302,350 at Crazy Climber

or my 1200 on Lunar Lander.....

peace
Scootie

PS That would make me look bad - and I've been playing (on & off) the classics since they were current.

mentalenforcer
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 10:26 pm
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I agree with Greg Erway that any registered player should be allowed, regardless of age. One of the things that bothered me the most when I was young was all the age discrimination.

--

"The girl writing scores couldn't have been gone more than a few moments because I remember her being behind me just before the scream. I remember that because she was good looking!"

And it was Zotmeister's yell that distracted you?

I think I remember the yell, but I must've been on the other side of "Wheels", because I don't remember it being that loud.

Vidiot
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 11:01 pm
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"First post: "...couldn't have been gone more than a few moments..."

Second post: "...was talking with her less than two minutes before..."

I rest my case."

Zotmeister, what does this prove and what case are you resting?

"I may be mistaken, but I believe Mike was recording that "lost episode" deal at the time, sans Ken or Gary; if either of them was present, a tap on the shoulder would have sufficed! I could have reached either of them from where I was if they were right there next to me, and I'd like to think I *certainly* wouldn't have called out across the entire arcade for someone sitting right behind me... - ZM"

Ken and Gary's posts indicate they and Mike were sitting behind you, exactly where I remember them being. I also remember the three of them glaring at you for your outburst.

(Back to the original topic)
I never saw an age limit on the event and there was a space at the bottom of the entry form for a parent to sign for a player under 18 just like all the TG events have. Funspot may not have a special event for kids but there doesn't seem to be a "kid ban" in effect if they are contestants. There was a young kid there a few years back who looked about 10 years old.

Vidiot
Monday, April 26, 2004 - 11:10 pm
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"There was no scorekeeper anywhere in view for a full thirty seconds before I called at full volume, and I had full view of the front line, the head table, and down the second row of machines. If I had *seen* *ANYBODY*, I wouldn't have called - I'd have waved. My bellow was my only resort. Admittedly, my bellow could likely have been heard in the Braggin' Dragon from where I was, but for all I knew that's where the refs were."

The two people running the contest were sitting next to you but you couldn't see them? Ken and Gary, for the good of the contest, please stop using your Klingon cloaking device.

Anonymous
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 06:35 am
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qws

Anonymous
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 06:37 am
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typing with color is cool!

Rick
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 08:01 am
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Who opened the box of Crayons and let the kids play?

Zotmeister
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 11:10 am
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I was obviously mistaken about Gary and Ken. If I had seen them, I must have thought they were busy and shouldn't be disturbed - flawed logic given what I did, I know. In retrospect, I can see how it may have seemed ruder (to me, at least) to butt into the interview than to call the floor. It's "personal" as opposed to "impersonal", you see. [This, incidentally, is pretty much the reason people would rather go on national talk shows to air their dirty laundry then just discuss matters in private. But I digress.]

Of course, Gary told me afterwards that he supposedly had a ref stationed at the front line during the course of the interviews, or so he thought - he noted that there should have been someone there (other than himself and Ken). There wasn't, a fact he conceded (needless to say, my bellow got him to promptly see the lack of refs I saw) - beyond his immediate control, perhaps, but he was in charge, so he was the one to resolve it, and I felt he did. Or at least, I trust he did. I doubt this will happen again because I doubt it will need to. People screwed up, and we all settled up.

... Except you, apparently, Vidiot. You should have said something ten months ago! That's a long time to harbor hostility. Or would talking to me about it have been "personal", as opposed to the "impersonal" posting about it to this message board? I think you see my point now. (Speaking of "personal" and "impersonal", it's no secret that my name is Adam R. Wood. What would yours be?)

Oh, and I apologize if I thought it was obvious, but "two minutes" does not equal "a few moments", this being my justification of my remark regarding your sense of timing. That was the case I rested. If it makes you feel any better, obviously my sense of timing was off, having incorrectly named who was sitting behind me at the time of my transgression.

We've both found logical flaws in each other's arguments. Therefore, we owe each other apologies. I'm sorry that I disturbed your gaming last year - I genuinely felt, at the time, that it was necessary, and I would have been happy to resolve it with you back then if you had approached me on it, but your concern is still valid and true, and I am in no position to judge against impersonality, and so I sincerely apologize. That's your apology - give up your name if you want a more personal one. Your turn to apologize. - ZM

Vidiot
Tuesday, April 27, 2004 - 06:59 pm
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"We've both found logical flaws in each other's arguments. Therefore, we owe each other apologies."

I did not yell, I did not disturb the other players, I owe you nothing. Nice try but this is 100% YOUR fault and YOU were the one to bring the subject up on 4/23/04, not me.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 10:19 am
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I would apologize to everyone else who (for some torturous reason) may still be reading any of this for ever giving this technicolor jerk the ammunition to say anything at all, whoever he is. I have no further words for someone who cannot acknowledge logic, apologies, or even his own name. I will not be checking this topic again; if anyone has anything to say on the matter, email me. - ZM

Gary
Friday, May 07, 2004 - 08:52 am
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Allow me to explain how the tournament runs each year. (Ken, please add anything I may have missed). First, I would like to say the tournament is a labor of love and not a money making scheme. There are many of you who have heard me say that time and time again but it is worth saying once more since there appears to be some dissention in the ranks from what I’ve been reading. I’ll break the tournament down into sections and explain each of them.

REFEREES: The referees at the tournament are Funspot employees and as such, they are on the clock during the entire tournament so, after four long days, adds up to a tidy sum of money. Many of you have mentioned volunteers in the past. On paper that may seem great but having been personally involved in three different non-profit corporations I can tell you from experience that volunteers are hard to come by and for the number of hours we need to cover for this event, it would be next to impossible. The other problem is Funspot is a business and as such, is subject to the labor regulations imposed on the state and federal level. The fines for having non-employees work for no pay are huge and for liability purposes, we cannot have anyone performing a service for Funspot who is not a Funspot employee and on our payroll. I could go on forever explaining workman’s comp and such but you get the picture. Besides the above-mentioned issues, using our employees as referees offers the best insurance for impartiality for scoring. Using fellow game players could pose a problem if a score is questioned and the person who logged it was the best friend of the person who set it. If you think that wouldn’t be a problem, take a look at past threads on this forum to see how quickly people will jump to conclusions. If you need further proof, ask Walter or Robert for their experiences.
Every thing I do at Funspot has to be in the best interest of the company and any events I schedule are approved by the Lawton family and after which, I re-cap the event for them. In an effort to keep costs down, I cut the number of referees last year to 3 on Thursday and Friday, and 4 for Saturday and Sunday. I cannot let the expenses of the tournament get out of hand. Take some time to do the math on this one also: 3 to 4 employees per day, 12-14 hours each. $$$$$$$

GAME SELECTION: This question was asked again last week. We do not reveal the tournament games until the first day of the contest. This is the only way to assure the most level playing field to start with. As we all know from reading this forum, there are many tournament entrants at Funspot every weekend. Announcing the games a year in advance or even a week in advance would give these folks a huge advantage over those of you who cannot be here that often.

WHY DO YOU CHARGE SO MUCH TO ENTER: Yes, potential tournament players have asked me that question. The entry fee doesn’t begin to cover the cost of running this event. For $35, you get 200 tokens (a $34 value), a souvenir coffee mug and four days of tournament play. Out of those entry fees comes the prize money for each of the events. Let me use last year as an example: 60 contestants x $35 each = $2100 received. Out of that came the prizes, $200 color, $200 monochrome, $200 pinball and $100 for the four days of mystery tournaments = $700. Now we have $1,400 remaining.
Every year we try to have new and exciting classics for you to play at the tournament. For those of you who restore and repair your own games I’m sure this is nothing new but I’ll explain it for those people who may not be fortunate enough to have a personal arcade in their basement. Old games are not reliable, old games are not profitable, old games consume a lot of repair time. I’ll give you one example of a tournament game from last year to give you some idea of what I’m talking about; Spooksville Pinball. Along with the other treasures we dragged out of the shop, Spooksville was one we really wanted to surprise the players with since we were sure that most had never seen a game like this. To make a long story short, this game was in storage for over 20 years causing Randy to spend 25 hours on this game alone to get it running for the tournament. Have you ever had a game repaired in your home by an outside person? They don’t get $15 per hour do they? Fixing games for the tournament is very expensive and we’ve been at it for over a month now to have more classics ready for June.
So, with the $1,400 remaining after prizes you can easily see that our payroll costs for repair and referees far exceeds what we take in.

GET SPONSORS: The idea of sponsors has come up many times. You can count out all the big names like Sega, Midway, Nintendo and so on since what we are doing won’t help them sell new home consoles or cartridges. Companies will not sponsor an event that they do not receive a benefit from.

I hope this clears up some of the questions that have been asked lately and we all hope to see you not only at the tournament, but whenever you can get to Funspot

Gary

Ken Sweet
Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 07:08 pm
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Absolutely. I'll just add that there are even more scattered costs associated that are not listed in your summary. Acquiring games and parts to repair them with, for example. Or printing up the signs, testing and adjusting all the games for perfect play and settings, getting the word out to people with press releases, and so on.

The tournament is very expensive, but truly a passion that will continue to be worth it as long as people stay positive, keep coming back, and keep enjoying themselves. Hopefully, that will be a long long time.

Ken Sweet

Scootie
Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 09:11 pm
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Hey Gary..

A few Questions.....

1. PART TIME / TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES FOR THE TOURNAMENT - This way, you are in compliance with state/federal labor regs. I can't imagine this being a problem in a state like NH where there is a LOT of seasonal employment. In summers past - I have worked at an Inn up in Conway, and at AMC's Pinkham Notch Hostel.

2. SPONSORS - Instead of Nintendo or Midway - How about trying the "Second tier" like Activision or
some other mid-sized gaming company. I mention Activision - since they are more oriented to the retrogaming community than Nintendo or Midway and have issued quite a few retro - oriented releases.

3. GAME SELECTION - The way you are currently doing it is the best and fairest way possible. However, certain people (those of you who go to Funspot EVERY WEEKEND) are still going to have a HUGE ADVANTAGE over the rest of us using MAME to practice.

peace
Scootie

Rick
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 07:58 am
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Gary,
Why do you even bother attempting to please these people? Most of the threads here are nothing but bitching and whining about the tournament or each other with very few thank you's thrown in. Stop banging your head against the wall for no reward.

Scootie
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 10:24 am
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Hey Rick

It sound like YOU are the one who's complaining?

PS Thank you's are always in order DURING/AFTER the event-not before.

peace
Scootie

TJT
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 08:30 am
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Part time employees to only stand behind when you are playing to confirm your score, not good idea.

Be happy Gary is doing enough now, getting new games, fixing them etc.

USD 35 is not much, you geeks. Do you think 1000 players will show up ;)
I don't even understand how it's now profitable to acquire more old games. How about a MAME cabinet Gary...

Tommi, Finland

Rick
Friday, May 21, 2004 - 06:56 am
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Hey Scootie,
I wasn't going to respond to your comments but what the Hell, I will. My remark was based on the comments posted in this forum over the past five years from people who have attended the tournament and then complained afterwards. It is also directed at those people who feel it is necessary to post every little problem they have with a game no matter how insignificant it may be.

This forum is not the only place to find the whiners, the comments posted on the pinball user groups over the years were insane! Funspot has about 25 pinballs (do any of YOU remember when they had about 50) and these people were telling other players not to go there because the machines do not work 100%. Give me a break. I have brought this up in conversation with Gary on numerous occasions but he still continues the tournament. If it were me, I'd think twice about it.

Scootie
Friday, May 21, 2004 - 11:19 am
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Hey Rick

I do not consider myself a "whiner or complainer" although there are enough people on this forum who are.

I have never attended a tournament yet and am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to attending it this year. As for the machines - I have found Funspot TAKES VERY GOOD CARE OF THEIR GAMES - I would not have been going to Funspot the last 15 years if they did not.

Rick - I do agree that with some people - what should be a hobby or intrest becomes an obsession. There are some people out there who take retrogaming a little too seriously!

Are you coming up for the tourny?

peace
Scootie

Scootie
Friday, May 21, 2004 - 07:20 pm
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Hey Rick...

I apologize for the "comment" on the original post. I was not refering to you as a complainer - it just seemed that way according to the thread you posted. Again - I know there are some people who complain a lot on this forum - and I appreciate what Gary does - running this tournament. Also Rick - this yearly tournament has given retrogaming the respect it deserves.

When I first downloaded MAME - back in 1997 - I knew of nobody that was into retrogaming. Now 7 years later it has become popular enough to spawn numerous compilation CD's on modern consoles.

Rick - I enjoy retrogaming(and gaming in general) too much to take it THAT seriously, as some on this forum do. While it would be GREAT for me to break a world record at Dig Dug or Crazy Climber; I am NOT obsessed with doing so.

peace
Scootie

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Scootie's list of top ten arcades!

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Scootie
Friday, April 16, 2004 - 09:16 am
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Hey Everyone

here it is....

* indicates that the arcade is still in operation

1. Funspot* (Laconia NH) - obvious choice for 1st place - The GREATEST variety of games; classic and current.

2. Gameland (Flushing/Whitestone NY) - If Gameland were still around in it's 1981 state it would probably push Funspot down to 2nd place. In 1980-1983 this was THE ARCADE. Many many games (3 floors worth at one point!) also remember playing a game that I liked very much called Kaos. I have not seen this game since 1982 and hope that Funspot can eventually aquire one.

3. Super Amusements* (Flushing/Whitestone) - Another great Queens arcade with 2 large rooms full of games. Unlike many other arcades, Super A kept a good selection of games until the mid 90's. Now it is a mere shell of it's former self

4. Gameworld (Provo, Utah)- In the summer of 83 my Brother Eric and I spent the summer with our Grandparents in scenic Provo, Utah. This arcade had many games and a lot of variety, but I also remember many of the titles (and in many cases the cabinets too!) were clones.

5. Fernandez Fun Factory* (Honolulu, Hawaii) - This arcade - located in the lobby of the Sheraton Waikiki had over a hundred games (back in 1984) most which were authentic (not clones). It was at this arcade where I first tried "Leprechaun" and remember spending almost 40 minutes playing it on one quarter. As of 2000 this arcade was still in operation

6. Station Break (Penn Station, NYC) - One of two GREAT Penn station arcades. I remember most games being set to difficult levels and 2 (not 3) lives to start.

7. Time Out - (Penn Station, NYC) - the other Penn station arcade. Most games here were on normal settings

8. Galaxy - (Sunrise Mall - Massapequa, NY) - This arcade only had about 30 games but they were GREAT games. This is where I got hooked on HyperSports and Berzerk

9. Sophistakids - (Flushing NY)- A small arcade with only 20 games but MANY MEMORIES. This is where I got hooked on Crazy Climber and a Donkey Kong clone called "Crazy Kong". CLosed in 1984

10 . Super T, Barone's, Miracle on Kissena, 7-11 - (small local backroom arcades) - none of these places had more than 10 games - but they always kept a good selection.

Scootie

Zotmeister
Friday, April 16, 2004 - 09:58 am
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There is or was a HUGE arcade in Pennsylvania, near a university, that had hundreds of machines with a great variety (the Funspot is far more specialized); I was there about a decade ago, so I have no idea if it's still open (or indeed what the name of the place is or was), but if it is, they'd likely be tied with the Funspot in my mind.

This one I *know* is closed: Fred Pastore has a shirt for a former arcade simply called The Gameroom, which used to exist on Huntington Avenue in Boston. I visited the place quite frequently when I resided there for a couple years. It was... interesting. Mostly positive, though. Excellent place for pinball, particularly. - ZM

mspaeth
Friday, April 16, 2004 - 02:24 pm
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Here's my list:

1. Mike Appolo's House
30+ games in the basement
8 pinball machines
100 more games in the barn

It's all games we like (otherwise, why whould he and I have bought them?!)...and everything's maintaned well. (Fire Bob.)

Penn State used to have some good arcades, but I heard there was a BIG auction in State College earlier this year, so it's safe to assume they're gone.

The Gameroom on Huntington closed about 3-4 years ago, also ending with an auction (which wasn't publicized by the collectors who knew about it until the day after, so they got a lot of great deals, and everyone else got nuttin')

Scootie
Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 03:52 pm
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Hey Mspaeth

Private collections don't count as arcades.

Scootie

mspaeth
Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 10:29 pm
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When they're big enough they do

Richard M.
Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 11:20 pm
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Mark,

Not if the general public cannot access the games. And that is strictly up to the owner and can be changed at a moment's notice.

-- Richard

Scootie
Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 11:51 pm
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Hey Mark

Richard stated my point. While the private collection you mentioned is impressive, it does NOT count as an arcade unless it is accessable to the general public during normal daytime/evening hours.

Going by your logic Mark, I could say that my bedroom is the GREATEST ARCADE in the world. After all, I have a fully loaded Pentium III with several versions of MAME, THOUSANDS of games, and a great controller for most games.

peace
Scootie

mspaeth
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 01:07 am
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No, that's the lamest excuse for a gameroom ever, since it has no arcade games whatsoever.

In any case, I'm sure there are many 'arcades' that don't meet your criterion of public accessability during 'normal hours'.

Does funspot cease to be an arcade during 'bike week'?

RIchard M.
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 02:10 am
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Mark,

I would say Funspot is an arcade during Bike Week just like Funspot is an arcade at 4:00 in the morning -- even though it is closed for business. But there are times when I can reliably visit Funspot and can expect to plunk tokens into the games and play.

As for Mike Appolo's place, well I don't even know the guy. I would regard visiting his place to play his games as being trespassing. So while it may well meet your criteria for being an arcade, it isn't of very much use to the gaming public if they can't play the games.

I don't even share Scootie's requirement that the arcade be open "normal hours"; I basically think there should be a consistent time when they would be open to the public. A private collection could not possibly meet the criteria of consistency, whereas a business like Funspot does automatically, even in spite of "Bicycle Week."

-- Richard

Rick
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 08:53 am
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Does funspot cease to be an arcade during 'bike week'?

I think they cease to have customers that week. Trying to get there is an adventure all by itself.

Gregory Erway
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 02:36 pm
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Oh what the heck. I'll throw in the Websters definition. I guess that if THE Funspot arcade decided to place their games randomly instead of in a row, it would cease to be an arcade.

ar·cade ( P ) Pronunciation Key (är-kd)
n.

1.
1. A series of arches supported by columns, piers, or pillars, either freestanding or attached to a wall to form a gallery.
2. A series of arches employed for decorative purposes.
2. A roofed passageway or lane, especially one with shops on one or both sides.
3. A commercial establishment featuring rows of coin-operated games.

tr.v. ar·cad·ed, ar·cad·ing, ar·cades

To provide with or form into an arcade: closed off and arcaded the narrow street.

Zotmeister
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 12:55 pm
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The current pertinent Merriam-Webster definition as of the Eleventh Collegiate is "an amusement center having coin-operated games". They don't have to be in rows anymore, but they do have to be fun. - ZM

Carnival_Fred
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 11:31 pm
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I'll second Adam's thoughts on the Gameroom in Boston. Not a big place, that's for sure. Not sure what time period he was there, I was there in the early - mid 80's, since I went to Northeastern Univ which is right across the street. That's where I played when I sent in my original TG submissions 20 years ago for Carnival, plus they had great, imo, pinball. I actually won 3 t-shirts for beating posted scores on pinball (manager shut me off.... I'm not a good pinball player, but I was persistent) and I somehow saved one of them from way back then. If my memory serves me correctly, I won them on Embryon, Xenon, and Firepower.

Can't say I've been to arcades in Utah and Hawaii like Scootie, so I'm limited to local ones....

Maybe Mark S remembers "1001" on Mass Ave???? Small place but a sort drive away.

About 40 minutes away was Fun & Games in Framingham, Mass and was still open a few years back.

Oh, (the)(!) Funspot

Carnival Kid

artz
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 07:10 am
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In Houston, the best gamerooms were "Games People Play". There were a few of them in Houston. Don't know if these were only local to Houston or if they were nationwide. They had everything. Arcade, putt-putt, go carts, battings cages, bumper boats... The one on the north side of Houston had a lot of the older games. I played a lot of Crazy Climber here. They also had Death Race, Lunar Lander, Star Castle. This was also the first place I saw Centipede.

There was a second one in North Houston called "Family Fun & Games". Great high school hangout back in the days. Both arcades had around 40-50 games each.

mspaeth
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 10:53 am
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I've only been in boston for 7 years, and the only places I've played games are Jillians (had a dozen classics when I got here), the MIT student center (occasional pinball), and Good Time in slummerville.

I stopped in fun & games recently, and they had a good array of recent stern pinballs, but nothing else of interest.

Zotmeister
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 01:02 pm
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The MIT Student Union is an INCREDIBLE bastion for pinball. They have the finest-tuned machines anywhere I've been. - ZM

Gregory S. Erway
Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 11:39 pm
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Hershey Park (Amusement park in Hershey, PA) had one of the best classic electromechanical collections I have ever seen. They also had a lot of nice classics at one time. I have not been there in years. I expect it is not in it's previous glory but probably still pretty nice. Anyone been there lately?

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Recent Interview

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Robert T Mruczek
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 07:33 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

I was asked a few questions during a recent gaming-related interview, and quite honestly I did not know all the answers. Here are some of the tough ones. Just for the sake of knowing, now that the interview is over, I was wondering if anyone would care to take a guess at some of the possible answers.

Question (1) - "The Legend of Zelda" was a quest-based title that involved multiple connected visual screens where the player controlled a moveable character and interracted with the environment and enemies. What was the earliest such title commercially available, arcade or home console, that allowed a player to roam about freely in a level comprised of connected rooms/sections ? (Text-based adventure titles don't count)

Answer (1) - I thought "Adventure" was a predecessor for sure, but then there is also "Quest for the Rings" for the Odyssey 2. However, I am sure that even earlier titles may exist. Not sure how old "Space Dungeon" is, but technically, allowed a player to wander about an enclosed array of connected areas.

Question (2) - Was "Defender" the first "side-scroller" ?

Answer (2) - for some reason I thought it was, but suspect I am wrong. However, I said that if "forward" scrollers was a question, I'd have to say "Bump and Jump" or "Up and Down" are possilities.

Question (3) - What was the first "boss" character in a video game ?

Answer (3) - good question, never really thought about that much. Well, "Yie Ar Kung Fu" is pretty old, but never really played some of the absolute oldest titles from the 80's that religiously. Anyone care to venture a guess ?

Robert

Scootie
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 08:27 pm
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Hey Rob.....

Answers to your questions........

1. This is the easiest of the three. If 8 bit computers such as the Commodore 64/Atari 800/Apple II series count as "home consoles" than I would say that Ultima I is the answer. Ultima first came out in 1980 and was the first RPG style (as opposed to text) adventure game and certainly the first game in which you could "roam freely" between rooms/areas.

2. Actually, I think that "Vanguard" was the first "side" scroller. On the home front I remember playing "Stampede" on the 2600 before Defender came out in the arcades. Stampede was certainly one of the first side scrollers for the 2600.

3. This is a good one!! I was about to say Bowser or King Koopa from Super Mario Bros. HOWEVER....

Ghost-n-Goblins came out just before SMB (1985) so I would say the various goblins (or dragon) at the end of each stage....

I remember another game that came out in 1984 - a full year before the two games mentioned above. The game was Kung Fu Master and the enemies at the end of each floor that you had to fight would count as "boss" characters. Unfortunately, I don't know their names....

Hope that these answers help.

peace
Scootie (the wise)

Mark Boolman
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 08:51 pm
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how about the mother ship in gorf? it's kind of like a boss being that multiple(excepting the sweet spot) hits were required to kill it, but it simply repeated the same boss; sure there are some earlier, though...phoenix???

Scootie
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 09:08 pm
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I don't consider flagships to really be "bosses" in that sense. Mukor (Blasteroids) is a much better example of a "boss" in a "space" game.

Scootie

Scootie
Monday, April 19, 2004 - 09:16 pm
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Hey Rob

Actually, I remember playing a 3-D maze/dungeon type adventure back in 1979. The Game was Deathmaze 5000 (already had been out for almost a year) and the platform was the TRS-80 line of computers by Radio Shack. I remember being able to move freely between different rooms and pick up/drop objects. There was a time limit in which you had to escape the maze.

Scootie

Zotmeister
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 01:46 pm
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I can't seem to recognize anything earlier (by copyright year) than Phoenix, whose alien certainly counts as a boss in my book. It is possible one of its year 1980 contemporaries may have it beaten; does Moon Cresta (a.k.a. Eagle) have a boss? - ZM

Zotmeister
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 02:08 pm
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I'm also coming up empty on scrolling games earlier than Defender. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 05:54 pm
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Hello all:

Thanks for your input. I did a MAME sort by year and could not find an earlier side-scroller than "Defender", either, although within that year, who knows if earlier existed based on a MAME sort...hard to tell.

As for bosses, yes, the Phoenix ship counts as one. In general terms, a "boss" is thought of as a character or entity that represents the end of the challenges for a stage within a game, or even the game itself.

For example, the big-plane in "1942" could be considered a boss, as could the alien head at the end of "Arkanoid" or even the Dracula character in the Atari 2600 game "Ghost Manor", or "Bowser" in NES "Super Mario Brothers".

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 09:08 pm
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What about Vanguard?

Scootie

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Jus' playin' with the formatting

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mentalenforcer
Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 11:16 pm
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Pretty Color

"What can brown do for you?"

Tic-tac-toe, anyone?

X

 

This is cool!

artz
Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 06:22 am
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Most suckers would go for the middle box, but I would take the bottom right one.

mentalenforcer
Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 11:42 pm
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Like this?

X X

O

artz
Friday, April 30, 2004 - 08:03 am
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You got me . Looks like I'm the sucker!

Mark Boolman
Friday, April 30, 2004 - 05:22 pm
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"...the only winning move is not to play"
W.O.P.R.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, April 30, 2004 - 06:22 pm
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Hey Mark:

While you're on the subject, I have a question for you.

When David Leightman was in McKittrick's office getting grilled, and McKittrick left for a moment, how did Joshua know to call McKittrick's phone to reach David, thinking of course of was Falkan ?

I've always wondered about that one.

Of course the REAL reason to watch the movie is to make fun of the fact that at the beginning of the movie, his character is playing "Galaga" and loses a ship before 100K right before classes start.

Robert

David Nelson
Friday, April 30, 2004 - 06:50 pm
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Joshua doesn't call McKittrick's office. When Dabney Coleman leaves for a minute, Matthew Broderick logs on to the computer terminal there in the office using the same password (JOSHUA) as he used in his bedroom, and the system responds once again as if it were Falken.

I've tried that phone trick that David uses in the phone booth, and it sure does work. At least it did back when I was in high school; I think the phone company has since remedied that loophole.

Gregory Erway
Friday, April 30, 2004 - 07:42 pm
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I love those old movies with classic arcade scenes in them. War Games had some real good arcade scenes.

What other movies had good arcade game scenes?

- Wargames
- Tron
- Maximum Overdrive
- Hollywood Zap

Mark Boolman
Friday, April 30, 2004 - 08:28 pm
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Robert, David is correct.
Greg, T2, but not that old.

Scootie
Saturday, May 01, 2004 - 09:06 pm
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Hey Everyone

How could you forget the movie "Joysticks"

Scootie

mentalenforcer
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 02:51 am
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There must be a lot of them, but I can't think of many offhand.

"The Last Starfighter" of course had a videogame in it. "Never Say Never Again" had a unique video game "...the battle for the domination of the world begins. Spain. 15,000 dollars..." or something like that. I seem to remember a game at least in the background of "Running Scared". And Berry Gordy's "The Last Dragon" had a videogame connection of sorts, as the bad guy was named Eddie Arcadian.

Unfortunately, I'll never be able to forget "Hollywood Zap". "Sorry about your car, man."

One more just came to mind. "Blood Sport" had Karate Champ or something in it.

Mark Boolman
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 04:25 am
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Does this cover them all???
Movies with Video Arcade Games (in alphabetical order)
Accused, The - 1988
Video games in bar scene.

Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, The - 1984
Star Trek?

Airheads - 1995
Captain America

Airport '77 - 1977
Pong Doubles cocktail

America 3000 - 1986
Space Duel, Centipede, some other

Arthur - 1981
Lunar Lander?

Arthur 2: On the Rocks - 1988
Millipede

Back to the Future - 1985
Wild Gunman

Back to the Future Part II - 1989
Wild Gunman, Pacman

Bad News Bears, The - 1976
Older yellow cabinet - Sprint?

Bean - 1997
Ms. Pac-Man in the background in the bar scene. Possibly a Galaga next to it. Shot is too blurry to tell.

Behind Enemy Lines - 2001
There is a mounted gun game behind a Terminator 2 pinball in the scene where troops are searching for him through the mall area. Can't tell what it is, but maybe someone out there can identify it.

Better Off Dead - 1985
Punch Out! and what looks like a caberet Gorf. Sound of Ms. Pac-Man in the background . In the restaurant you can see the side of a Robotron and the back of a Pac-Man.

Big - 1988
Defender, Out Run, Spy Hunter, Track & Field table, some Nintendo games, Centipede, others. Arcade scene.

Blood Sport - 1987
Karate Champ

Blue Velvet - 1986
Either a golf or driving game. Shot is too far away to tell.

Body Double - 1984
Centipede, a Nintendo game, and some other.

Boomerang - 1992
Some games in the background when they are playing pool. Shot is too blurry to see what they are.

Brother From Another Planet, The - 1984
Pole Position, some others

Bustin' Loose - 1981
Sprint 2?

Can't Buy Me Love - 1987
Afterburner II, Hang On, Rygar, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, Asteroids Deluxe, Konami Basketball, 1942, some others.

Cloak & Dagger - 1984
Cloak & Dagger

Clockers - 1995
Virtua Fighter

Color of Money, The - 1986
Tron, Stocker

Comic Book Villains - 2002
Killer Instinct

Crow, The - 1994
Kangaroo and some other game (Taito game, I think, maybe Zookeeper).

Dawn of the Dead - 1978
Night Driver, Star Trek, F-1, Sprint 2, Duck Shoot, Gun Fight

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown - 1987
Gravitar, Thayer's Quest, Tempest, Tron, Centipede

Donnie Darko - 2001
Outrun and a cockpit game (check deleted scenes in the DVD)

Don't Tell Her It's Me - 1990
Narc

Doom Generation, The - 1995
Mortal Kombat

Double Dragon - 1993
Arcade scene. Double Dragon, some others

Dude, where's my car? - 2000
Tekken 3, Time Crisis II, House of the Dead, San Francisco Rush, Daytona USA 2, a few other modern games

Eddie Macon's Run - 1983
Defender, some others

Encino Man - 1992
Rad Mobile

End of the Line - 1987
Pac-Man

Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 1982
(in order of appearance) Pac-Man, Gorf, Pleiads, Deluxe Space Invaders, Tempest, Kick, Star Castle, Lunar Rescue, Missile Command, Super Cobra, Centipede, Video Pinball, Asteroids, Space Invaders. Defender appears in the TV editted version.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986
Karate Champ, Mario Bros? Sound effect of Pac-Man dying, but no Pac-Man around

Footloose - 1984
Zaxxon, Tac-Scan, Congo Bongo, Astro Fighter. When the preacher shuts off the radio, you can hear the sound of Pac-Man dying, but no Pac-Man around . In another scene, and Asteroids is being moved on a truck.

Ghostbusters - 1984
Star Castle, Missile Command? Q*bert?

Goonies, The - 1985
Cliffhanger, Track 'n Field

Gremlins - 1984
Star Wars, Atari Force Liberator? Centipede?

Grifters, The - 1990
Ms. Pac-Man

Guy Thing, A - 2003
Donkey Kong, others in laundry mat scene.

Heavenly Kid, The - 1985
Pac-Man, Donkey Kong

High School High - 1996
Rolling Thunder cabinet ("Homeroom Homicide"), Star Castle cabinet ("Classroom Carnage")

Hollywood Zap - 1995
Arcade scene. Zaxxon, Joust

Honeymoon in Vegas - 1992
Arcade scene. Race Drivin', others.

Hot Dog...The Movie - 1984
Pac-Man in bar-scene

House Arrest - 1996
Centipede

Hunter Will Get You, The - 1976
Tank, Wheels?

Jaws - 1975
"Killer Shark" (Sea Devil by Sega), Computer Space

Jaws 2 - 1978
Death Race, Dominoes

Jekyll & Hyde... Together Again- - 1982
Pac-Man, Vanguard, Kick, "Grand Racer" (sitdown Grand Champion), Space Invaders, Tank Battalion

JoySticks - 1983
Pole Position, Moon Patrol, Galaxian, Centipede, Pac-Man, Defender, Millipede, Pooyan, Solar Fox, Scramble, Jr Pac Man, Pinball, Jungle King, Asteroids, Front Line, BattleZone, Space Invaders, Americana (strip machine, credits says Computer Kinetics Corp. designed it; emulated in MAME as Streaking by Shoei), Space Dungeon, Ms. Pac Man, Gorf, Joust, Super Speed Race GP V, Super Pac Man, Qix, Satan's Hollow, Tempest, Berzerk, Carnival, Star Castle, Hustler

Juggernaut - 1974
"Ping Pong" (some variant of Pong)

Karate Kid, The - 1984
Galaga, Qix, Centipede,Moon Patrol, Champion Baseball, Pole Position, Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Joust, Ms Pac-Man

Last Starfighter, The - 1984
Last Starfighter machine

Magnolia - 1999
Frogger

Man on the Moon - 1999
Ms. Pac-Man. Player start music is played twice in a row when he is not even near the machine

Maximum Overdrive - 1986
Star Castle, Time Pilot '84, Tempest cocktail

Midnight Madness - 1980
Star Fire, Death Race, Indy 800, Atari Football, Space Invaders, Speed Freak, F-1, Tank 8, Cobra Gunship, Fonz, LeMans, Jet Fighter

Midnight Run - 1988
Joust

Net, The - 1995
Darkstalkers

Never Say Never Again - 1983
Gravitar, Centipede

Next of Kin - 1989
Donkey Kong, PacMan, Front Line, Merit Trivia, BurgerTime?

Nightmares - 1983
Pleiades, Asteroids, King And Balloon, Missile Command, Rip-Off, Scramble, Star Hawk, Venture, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Tempest, others.

Night of the Comet - 1984
Tempest, Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe

Ninja III: The Domination - 1984
Bouncer

No Small Affair - 1984
Star Wars, Ms. PacMan, Q*bert, a few others.

Over The Top - 1987
Mario Bros, Nintendo vs. System cabinet, Punch Out!

Parallax View, The - 1974
Pong

Parenthood - 1989
Bad Dudes, some others.

Philadelphia Experiment, The - 1984
Lunar Lander, BattleZone

Piranha - 1978
Shark Jaws (Atari/Horror Games)

Plains, Trains, and Automobiles - 1987
Centipede, Galaga?

Poetic Justics - 1993
Street Fighter II Champion Edition

Private School - 1983
Asteroids

Psycho II - 1983
Battlezone, Ms. Pac-Man

Pushing Tin - 1999
Centipede

Rancho Deluxe - 1975
Pong

Real Genius - 1985
Food Fight - college dorm approx 10 minutes into movie.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins... - 1985
Asteroids - Remo and Chuin Walk by it after departing the Wonder Wheel in Coney Island.

Replacement Killers, The - 1998
Arcade scene. Mortal Kombat, others

Robocop 2 - 1990
Bad Dudes, Midnight Resistance, Sly Spy, Dragon's Lair, some other Data East games.

Rocky III - 1982
Star Castle, Crazy Climber, Asteroids, Astro Fighter, Space Encounters, Magical Spot, Space Invaders, and an old driving game.

Running Scared - 1986
Battlezone - in Billy Crystal's apartment, Tempest, Centipede - in Tattoo parlor.

Russkies - 1987
Rush'n Attack

Scanners II: The New Order - 1991
A scanner trashes an arcade. Many titles including Operation: Wolf?

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 1978
Bandito, Shark Jaws, Sprint?

Something Wild - 1986
Galaga, Defender, Yie-Ar Kung Fu, Ms Pac-Man

Soylent Green - 1973
Computer Space

Species - 1995
Centipede, Missile Command

Spring Break - 1983
Galaga. "You need more thrust."

Strange Brew - 1983
Two unknown arcade cabinets. When Bob powers up the games, you can hear the death sound from Donkey Kong, and Centipede sounds are in the background

Suburban Commando - 1991
Joust, Centipede, Afterburner, some others?

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - 1987
Unknown mini

Table for Five - 1983
Centipede, Asteroids?, Tempest?, Super Bug?

Tank Girl - 1995
Super Pac-Man, some other one.

Teen Wolf - 1985
Centipede

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990
Arcade scene. Bad Dudes, Narc, others.

Terminal Velocity - 1995
Turbo

Terminator, The - 1984
Asteroids

Terminator 2 - 1992
Afterburner, Missle Command, Trog, Space Invaders, Hit the Ice, NBA Jams, Narc. Sound of Atari 2600 Donkey Kong in the background

Terms of Endearment - 1983
Asteroids, Defender

Thing, The - 1982
Asteroids Deluxe

Things to do in Denver when You're Dead - 1995
Virtua Fighter

Tightrope - 1984
Ms Pac-Man in background of bar scene

Toy, The - 1982
Centipede, Ms. Pac-Man?, Space Duel - in kid's bedroom

Tron - 1982
Space Wars, Battlezone, Atari Football (2 and 4 player), Rally X, Asteroids Deluxe, Tailgunner, Sprint 2, Berzerk, Atari Basketball, Omega Race cockpit

Twilight Zone The Movie - 1983
Tempest

Used Cars - 1980
Space Invaders

Van Wilder - 2002
Cruis'n USA, Ms Pac-Man. "I know Ms. Pac-Man is special. She's fun. She's cute. She swallows."

War Games - 1983
Galaga, Ms Pac-Man, Jungle Hunt, Zaxxon, Donkey Kong, Centipede, Asteroids, Sinistar, Pac-Man, Tron, Major Havoc, Tutankham, Gravitar, Dig Dug, SubRoc-3D. Gorf is heard, but not seen.

Welcome to the Dollhouse" - 1995
Buster Bros.

Wizard, The - 1989
Playchoice 10, Double Dragon, Baby Pac-Man, Super Off Road, some others

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Other movies rumored to have video games in them
Toys
Outrageous Fortune

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 07:31 am
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Now that is an awesome list Mark. I have to assume you found that at a website. Was there some sort of search option at imdb.com or something? In not could you post the URL?

I have bought many of these movies JUST for the video game scenes.

Nice work.

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 07:36 am
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Oh, got another one.

Mystic Pizza

I could care less about the movie. One of those I ended up watching with my wife. Chick flick. But even in those you get lucky somtimes. I remember irritating her by watching one section of the movie in a half daze then all of a sudden jumping up, grabbing the remote, and rewinding to point out 3 video games in the background of the scene. The most obvious was a Robotron: 2084 but I seem to remember thinking there was a Ms. Pac-Man too.

I remember watching some TV shows in the past that had small arcades in them. Like saved by the Bell at the food joint. They seemed to just make up games to throw in there. Never could figure out what games they were.

mikeenphoppers
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 08:52 am
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did the movie " rollercoaster" have some video game scenes ? mike e np hoppers.

Gary
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 08:52 am
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Greg,
I could never figure out why they always changed the names of the games on TV either. It probably had to do with copyright infringment or maybe the game manufacturers wanted a royalty to have their product on the show. One particular game that comes to mind is Defender. On an episode of CHiPs, the sub-plot revolved around a contest they were having on Defender but the marquee had been changed into some generic name.

Scootie
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 09:59 am
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Hey Everyone

I remember Ricky's living room in "Silver Spoons" having bunch of games - can't remember what they were though?

Anybody know???

Scootie

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 11:01 am
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Definatly there was a Tempest on Silver Spoons. I think a Ms. Pac also. I think he had 3 vids and a pin.

David Nelson
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 12:17 pm
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A similar subject came up when I was at work the other day. Video games in TV shows. I remember an episode of Friends in which I think Pheobe can't stop playing a Ms. Pac Man machine that someone brought into the apartment. Then one of my co-workers was telling me about an episode of Seinfeld where one of the guys is playing Frogger like crazy and there's a funny sequence of a frog with someone's head on it hopping through traffic, damn I haven't seen that one? I think there's also an episode of News Radio in which Dave Nelson (great name) is like a champion player at I think Defender?

What others am I missing. Not TV shows that you can just SEE a game in the background, but like ones where a game is a major part of the show. And how can I watch them. I gotta see this Seinfeld one.

Mark Boolman
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 01:58 pm
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Hi, Greg. The list is on brentradio.com; specifically:
http://www.brentradio.com/ArcadeGamesInMovies.html
...hmmm, for some reason that didn't show as a link, but if you do the cut/paste thingy...there's a similar thread on rgvac-google.
if we expand the 'arcade' to include future games, then original Star Wars has a holographic dogfight style game in the cantina scene.
TV series that I remember having games consistently was 'silver spoons'...don't remember what games, but there were games in the kids room/playroom as I recall...also the 'south park' michael jefferson/jackson episode.

Mark Boolman
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 02:00 pm
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well, I guess it did create a link; didn't look that way in the 'add a message' box.

artz
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 02:06 pm
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The Seinfeld episode was about George and Jerry visiting an old high school pizza place that they used to frequent. George recognized the Frogger machine and saw that his initials were still listed as the high game. The pizza place was closing for business so George purchased the Frogger machine and was trying to find a way to move it without pulling the plug, which would erase the high score table (and thus removing any remaining trace of his existence on this earth, his words). One of the final scenes has George trying to get the game across a busy street and that is where they do the top down perspective with all the games original sound effects. Great episode!

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 06:14 pm
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Yes, that is one great episode. Very well done. Pretty funny that they added "high score initials" for Frogger though.

Scootie
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 06:56 pm
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Hey everyone

One of my FAVORITE Seinfeld episodes!!!

Scootie

Scootie
Sunday, May 02, 2004 - 06:58 pm
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However!!!!

I don't remember being able to list my initials in Frogger. I have played it at Funspot recently and it saved my high score, but I don't remember it asking me for my initials.

Scootie

Zotmeister
Monday, May 03, 2004 - 12:56 pm
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Wasn't there an episode of Taxi where one of the drivers became so addicted to the Pac-Man machine, the boss started giving him his salary in rolls of quarters?

Ah, The Wizard... The Last Starfighter and Cloak & Dagger are better game movies, but I had a crush on Jenny Lewis as a kid... she's gotta have her Pops.... - ZM

TJT
Monday, May 03, 2004 - 06:26 pm
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There was Tron at colour of money? Pool hustler movie with Tron in it...perfect!

Here's one link with some nice pics, allways been one of my favourite links.

http://www.mameworld.net/movies/

Brian Kuh
Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 11:40 am
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In one of the episodes of Silver Spoons, the character played by Ricky Shroeder gets another game as a present. The name of that game is "Man Hole" and his character exclaims the name of the game several times after he receives it. They don't show the game actually being in play, although the character "pretends" to play it. As much as I liked that show, it's some pretty bad acting where they are trying to make you believe that he's playing the game. The game's appearance was that of a Bootleg Non-Dedicated Cabaret/Mini With No Side Art. In most of the episodes shot after that one, that game is almost never on the set.

Rick
Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 01:06 pm
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MAN HOLE!!! How did that ever slip by the censors! They must have had some gay writers on the show.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 01:56 pm
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Hello all:

I remember an episode of a show called "News Radio" in which one of the characters relived his childhood as "Stargate" was purchased for the newsroom staff enjoyment.

There was a "Diff'rent Strokes" episode in which Willis was a videogame pro, and the game he played was tried by Arnold who died quickly, but later became so good that he challenged Willis and beat the score.

Then I recall an episode of "Greatest American Hero" where Ralph Hinkley used his costume to somehow get good at a video game to discover where it ended as part of some puzzle he was trying to solve. They even played "Pinball Wizard" as the background music there.

Not sure how many of you know this, but a BAD movie called "Ninja III: The Domination" featured the video game "Bouncer", a title I personally have yet to see, as a game in the star's apartment.

Wonder how many other episodes featured video games so prominently ?

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 05:01 pm
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Hey Rob

I remember the episode of Diff'rent Strokes that you're talking about. The game that Arnold challenged Willis in was "Space Sucker" - a Galaga variant - I think......

peace
Scootie

TJT
Tuesday, May 04, 2004 - 07:04 pm
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"Man hole" was actually a game&watch game here in Finland. I think you guys propably played it too: Four holes, 2up 2 down...men walking and your aim is to move a bridge between those four holes and prevent them falling into water.

I did make over 999 at dif B ;)
(And no, I don't remember ever thinking about double meaning of the name)

Zotmeister
Wednesday, May 05, 2004 - 09:46 am
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Manhole (note the proper lack of a space - some people, I tell you...) is a readily accessible Game & Watch title - it's the one that comes with the e-Reader. - ZM

D_Harris
Monday, May 10, 2004 - 09:10 pm
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There are three arcade games in "Bowling For Columbine". They are only shown for two seconds(14min,32sec. into the DVD). :-)

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

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Is Roy still coming for the Tournament??

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Scootie
Saturday, May 08, 2004 - 09:14 pm
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Or did he "chicken" out?

Scootie

fleet corner man
Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 05:01 am
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[voice of the straight paper towel roll from the Brawny commercial]

"Who cares?"

--

But seriously, based on the (few) posts I've read on the subject, what I read from between the lines was that Roy has more doubt than any of us do in his Missile Command ability. So if he can face MC and himself at home, he should be ready to do the same at a tournament.

But don't take my word for it. I got bored of that other thread early on, so I don't really know anything about it.

:P

--

"Who cares? James cares. When he finds out that she's still in love with Brad... Hey, don't give me that look."

New Brawny. Now it cleans up and watches soap operas.

--

Can commercials make a person schizophrenic? After all, when the TV is off, the voices keep trying to sell things, if you've been watching long enough. Then again, maybe having a different name in every chat site could help with that, too.

Well, we'll see you at the tournament.

 

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, May 10, 2004 - 08:38 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Only Roy and his maker know whether he will show up. All I know is that if he does, I have this to offer anyone in attendance.

If you see a Captain America-type outfit, look up. FOR PETE'S SAKE, DON'T LOOK DOWN !!

Robert

Todd Rogers
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 12:37 am
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Hahahaaha thats a good one Robert you sound like you talk from expierience. I pity the person who actually sees the smurf colored/looking like mushroom from the waistland.This is why they made FIG Leaf's

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 03:37 pm
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Todd:

Thus the nickname "Captain Figleaf" !!

Robert

Vidiot
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 05:35 pm
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Like this?

Mark Boolman
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 05:40 pm
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Maybe that tron guy could try mounting some extra discs in strategic locations.

Scootie
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 06:50 pm
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This dude should lose a little weight - say about 30 lbs. Then He WOULD be a spitting image of the character in TRON.

Scootie..

Maybe I'll come to the tournament dressed as Luigi!

Rick
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 08:16 pm
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Is it the angle of the picture or is one prune hanging lower than the other? Those pictures still disturb me.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 09:25 pm
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Hello all:

WHen I saw this picture, all I could think of is that sound that Kelsey Grammer made as "Sideshow Bob" in the Cape-Fear episode of "The Simpsons" when he kept stepping on all those rakes back to back.

Words cannot quite express what that sounds like, but for those who have seen the episode, you know what I mean !!

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 10:54 pm
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Three words:

"recent frisbee injury"

Anonymous
Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 11:40 pm
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Are you guys just busting on Roy or does he show up in some kind of an outfit??

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, May 14, 2004 - 12:37 pm
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Hi Anonymous:

Well, if you want to cause permanent retina injury to yourself, not unlike staring directly at the sun, then if he does show up in his usual attire, you will know what we mean !!

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Friday, May 14, 2004 - 10:03 pm
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Until now, I was blissfully unaware of this.

The sun analogy brought to mind the 80s song, "tonight, you will finally see the light"

Perhaps it can be countered with "I wear my sunglasses at night"...

Ok, image gone.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, May 14, 2004 - 10:22 pm
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Hi Cameron:

All I can say is thank God that I wear prescription sunglasses in the event that he shows up !!

Looking forward to seeing you there again. I just know that once again we'll all be playing "Wheels" and hearing that sond it makes "eeeeeEEEEEEE !!" and a new world record will be set yet again.

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 03:52 am
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Ah yes, Wheels. Its popularity this year may be dependent on how it's working.

It wasn't played a whole lot last year that I noticed. Part of this is that the Wheels players were spending more time with other games, and I think that part of it was that we heard about the 1100 score and didn't want to bother with trying to break it.

I stopped by (The) Funspot once during the off season this last year, in October I think, and played two games of Wheels. The first was 1271, the second 1314.

The year when everyone started topping 900, Dave and I thought (almost) for sure that the game was getting easier over time, the change was gradual enough that we couldn't be absolutely certain. Although when the world record was in the 880's, we were getting closer to a perfect run than we were next year when the scores were in the 900's.

With these two games, I'm certain of the change. It's a bit harder to get going now vs. years past, as your speed reaches and passes the other cars, but once you're going past that point the scoring is easier. In the second game, I rolled the score before the first timer was done.

But, there's always Wheels 2. Oh, and I'm looking forward to seeing you there, too.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, May 17, 2004 - 05:17 pm
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Hi Cameron:

Not sure, but did you see or hear of the problem with "Wheels" ? The game's coil is degrading and the internal clock is affected, thus explaining why the scores keep getting higher and higher. That's why we really are not sure how else to track this title other that relegating the scores to "Wheels" (Funspot) in the database. Other versions would have distorted results, unfortinately.

Thus far, "Wheels 2" shows little or no such signs.

By the way (back on orig topic), still no word if "Mr Sunshine" shall show himself this tournament.

Robert

Scootie
Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 12:41 pm
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Hey Rob & Cameron

Who knows...and at his point, who cares if Roy shows up or not!

If he does show up and challenge me at Missle Command - I will accept, and get beaten BADLY. My arcade high in MC is barely 13,000.

HOWEVER.... If Roy takes me up on any of my previous challenges or the Missle Command - Donkey Kong challenge; there is no doubt as to who will emerge victorious.

peace
Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 06:15 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Spoke with Roy yesterday. He had a few misc things on his mind, nothing major...just about whether he will show.

The short version is most likely he will not, his main concern being showing up and getting a less-than-warm reception. My advice to him was (A) you gotta do what you gotta do" and (B) best way to prove yourself is show up, regardless of what others think, play some MC, and let your actions and scores speak for themselves.

So, it sounds like a no at this point.

Robert

Scootie
Friday, May 21, 2004 - 07:25 pm
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Hey Rob

How good are you at Donkey Kong? Perhaps you and I can have a mini-challenge.

What do you say?

peace
Scootie

Scootie
Friday, May 21, 2004 - 07:26 pm
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Rob

Is the "Tron" guy going to be the "special" guest at this year's tourny?

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, May 21, 2004 - 10:46 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Heaven forbid !!

A big N O to that one.

Have a great weekend !!

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Saturday, May 22, 2004 - 06:19 am
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I'm gonna say the "special" guest is Drew Barrymore. Someone told her that "Cameron" would be there, and she thinks it's the other one.

Charlie Weatherbee
Monday, May 24, 2004 - 04:58 pm
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Haha thats a good one Cameron i got a good laugh out of that lol thnx for the comedy.

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How current is the game list on the Funspot website???

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Mark Boolman
Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 03:21 am
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Hello, I was just wondering if the list is actually current/complete including any 'new' arrivals since last year. I can remember the one's there from last year, but curious if anything I like has arrived since the last tournament. Thanks, Mark.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, May 10, 2004 - 08:40 pm
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Hello Mark:

I am aware that my "Timber" donation arrived. A question exists as to whether the "RipOff" is working. I sincerely hope so as I just got word from Greg Erway that somehow Mark Spaeth found out it is not, so that's a disappointment as I will be out $340.

Only Gary knows about other titles.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Monday, May 10, 2004 - 09:23 pm
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Hi Robert, I haven't played Timber in a long time, but definitely a good game; It's also a team player game isn't it?? Thanks for getting it, very generous.

mspaeth
Monday, May 10, 2004 - 09:48 pm
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$340 for a working ripoff?

Ain't gonna happen.

Gregory Erway
Monday, May 10, 2004 - 10:12 pm
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Mark,

Are you sure this RipOff if dead? My understanding is that the guy told Robert that he had two and they should be functional. Big double bummer if it's dead

By the way, my Wild Western board was DEADDEAD. I got lucky and bought one off ePay for a mear $25 shipped (untested) and it worked!!! So I got it running in my Front Line now. You were right about the test switch. But the test switch isn't like a normal remote one. It's on the boardset. So that wasn't the problem with the old one. I hope Funspot was able to get their running as I'm doing very well in my practice on the game and I've only played 4 times since I got the game working.

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Game price Guide

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bobby1
Friday, May 14, 2004 - 09:56 pm
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Hi, I am new to this forum. Is there anywhere online that I could find a price guide for the following games?

I would also like to see the price for different conditions.

MK 3
MBA Jam T. edition
Off Road Trak Pak 1990
street fighter 2

Thanks,

Mark Boolman
Friday, May 14, 2004 - 10:45 pm
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I wouldn't put much trust in a price guide on old games. Most of the prices paid for games can vary widely(even for games in similar conditions); it mainly depends on what someone is willing to buy/sell for vs what a game is 'worth' to YOU. Patience can pay off in saved money, but waiting a long time to have what you really want sucks; sometimes more than spending some extra cash. If you do a google search in rgvac/rgvam on these titles, you can get a feel for the right price range to expect, but not guaranteed to be what you actually may spend.

bobby1
Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 09:09 pm
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Thanks Mark, I am not intending to purchased these games, I have already sold them. These games are part of an estate and I need to show that they were sold for market value.

There has been a claim that was made against the estate that these four games, in fair condition, all conversions are worth $15,000.

Yes I know that 15k is a joke for these particular games but I just need to proove otherwise.

Mark Boolman
Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 10:45 pm
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Wow, that would be pretty steep even for brand new in the box retail...for those game titles.

bobby1
Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 11:19 pm
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My point exactly. I just need to document the current value.

If you know of any books or publications that would help, please let me know.

Thanks again.

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 08:25 am
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Buying these 4 games, brand new, might have totaled that amount. But after depreciation there is no way they are anywhere close to that now. Dan Hower, John Talrico, and Tim Ferrante put together a book called "the Arcade Video Gaem Pice Guide". I have the 2002 edition. But they only cover games made from 1970 - 1990. The most rare valuable games in the book hardly reach $1,000 each. Street Fighter (the orig. not SF2) is listed with a range of $300 - $400. Those are for orig. games and not conversions. There was a time when Mortal Combat conversion boards were bringing $3,500 when brand new. But that was a rare occurance and has long since died off. I know of 2 people recently purchasing Street Fighter II machines, both dedicated orig., one was a cocktail table and the other an upright, and one sold for $100 and the other for $200 (might have been $225). I have no information on the other 3 games. But I would think if you could have got 10% - 15% of what that claim was for you would be lucky. Looks to me to be a case of ignorance where people assume you can continue to get the "brand new" prices games commanded when popular for older used devalued machines that no longer have the same popularity. Unfortunatly that sort of thing happens with an estate as people are overcome with other emotions at the time. Good luck.

bobby1
Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 09:03 pm
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Thank you all very much for your help.

I will add your comments to my case and continue to search.

you have been a big help.

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 10:51 pm
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As a tax guy, my first question is how was that 15,000 figure derived. Not actually looking for an answer here, but I hear so many crazy things such as when people come to me and say "did you know that you don't have to pay taxes if you're over 70 years old"? My response is to show me the law, regulation... anything.... It's never produced cuz it ain't so.

Secondly, WC Greg may be interested to know that his book has an asking price of 191 bucks in used condition on Amazon.

Thirdly, in August, a new book is due to come out, ISBN # 0375720383 by David Ellis which can be ordered thru any on-line/local bookstore I suppose... right now, no detail is given.

Carnival Fred

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 11:25 pm
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Wow! $191? Sold. Who wants it? I might even be able to get the Carnival World Champ to sign it for anyone that is interested. Heck, I'll take $150.

I don't take much stock in these price guides. It's nice to compare their prices listed between different games. I never bothered to buy the second edition.

For anyone looking for a good book, I got the book Supercade as a gift from a guy for helping him fix his Tapper machine. I didn't want anything for the help but found it at work one day at my desk (he sent it in with an Engineer he used to work with at Xerox). That's one nice book. WC Fred, I think a book like that must go for at least $15,000 don't you think?

Gregory Erway
Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 11:37 pm
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WC Fred,

I just looked up the Amazon entry and you didn't pass all the information along to me. The real price is $191.60 and best of all it is marked with the Amazon "Low Price" logo.

I think I'm gonna undercut the guy by putting my copy up at $189.98. I'll make up the extra with an inflated handling charge.

If you'll autograph it for the buyer, I'll pay for breakfast at McDonalds this year.

Zotmeister
Monday, May 17, 2004 - 10:59 am
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Greg and Fred - The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of video gaming, or something.

(I have no idea what that means.) - ZM

Gary
Monday, May 17, 2004 - 03:31 pm
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Fred,
Since you are a tax guy, I know of a wonderful 501c3 non-profit organization looking for people to make tax-deductable donations. Hint, hint, hint....

Gary
www.ClassicArcadeMuseum.org

Zotmeister
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 10:05 am
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From that website: "...into the economic crash of the arcade industry in the late 1980’s, an era that predates the existence of so-called “violent” games."

Don't you mean mid-1980's? The most violent video game of all time hails from 1986. - ZM

Gary
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 10:16 am
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There were several games prior to 1986 that were considered violent. Those of us in the industry recognized the late 1980's as the start of the beat-the-hell-out-of-each-other for no reason games and thus, a good marker for the start of violent games. The "late 80's" reference in the mission statement was intended as a generalization and nothing more as listing exact date would just cause constant and unnecessary debate.

Gary
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 05:51 pm
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I forgot to mention that a Chiller would be an interesting piece to have. Although it does not fit the overall theme of the museum it does have historical significance.

Scootie
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 07:29 pm
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Hey Everyone

I can think of games MUCH more violent than Chiller. What about the MK series?? Punch Out? Karate Champ??

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 07:46 pm
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Hi Scootie:

I wouldn't equate Punch Out and Karate Champ with Chiller. That game is quite unique in terms of blood and gore, never mind a few other tidbits such as the rack, the iron maiden, and the guillotine, all part of the game.

The MK-series, with it's spine-ripping fun, also has some comic-aspects (remember the "Friendship" maneuvers ?), whereas Chiller was all-gore, all-the-time.

Even games such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the 2600 didn't hold a candle to Chiller because although the concept was violent, the actual display was cartoonish and mild in comparison.

Some gaming magazine, or maybe it was FHM (I forget which) did a recap of the 50 most violent games of all time. Of course the Doom series was right there next to the top, but amazingly they left off Chiller. Just goes to show you how ranked titles for any reason are only as good or meaningful as those performing the actual ranking, or rather only as good as their collective gaming experiences.

However, if they come out with a real game based on "Kill Bill", specifically that scene where Uma's character offs the "Crazy 88", maybe then Chiller will have a new competitor in terms of sheer all-out-gore !!

Robert

Zotmeister
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 10:58 am
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Gary: "I forgot to mention that a Chiller would be an interesting piece to have. Although it does not fit the overall theme of the museum it does have historical significance."

You know, you're right. I hate to admit it, but you're absolutely right. - ZM, who notes that Streaking/Americana (whichever is the original) would also be begrudingly historical

Scootie
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 03:17 pm
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Hey Rob

I still don't quite understand this. I have Mastertronic's "Chiller" for the Commodore 64. As far as Gore - it's almost non-existant in this game, and what little gore there is - is not very "graphic", due to the somewhat blocky graphics in the game.

Unlike other classics, I have not seen - nor played a coin-op "Chiller" since 1987.

peace
Scootie

Rick
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 03:22 pm
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A scene from chiller

Rick
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 03:24 pm
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http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=C&game_id=7328

Check out the screen shots and you'll see what they're talking about. Cool game!

Scootie
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 03:26 pm
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Rob

One of the main attractions of the Mortak Kombat series was it's emphasis on GORE!! Remember, this was just after the time that Street Fighter 2 came out, so MK had to be "bigger & badder", and what drew the crowds were the BLOOD, GORE, and FATALITIES. Later versions of MK would have friendships, brutalities, and babalities!

Yes, MK did have a coimcal aspect to it, but it was (and is) a gory, and violent game in the extreme.

ALso, What about the "Half Life" series? or games like Doom & Quake? All very violent/gory games - especially Half-Life.

Scootie

Scootie
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 03:36 pm
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Rob...

That same magazine you mentioned above, did a listing on the 50 Best games of ALL TIME. This included videogames, pinball, sports, traditional games, and board games. Guess what the greatest game of ALL TIME WAS......

It was DONKEY KONG!!!!

other videogames in the top 10 were Ms. Pac Man (5), and Pac-Man (9).

Scootie

Mark Boolman
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 07:36 pm
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It is also available in MAME. I just tried it for the first time; kinda fun.

Scootie
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 09:17 pm
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Hey Everyone...

Saw the screenshots. COOL GAME!!! And after seeing it, i still don't think that it's any more gory than MK or some of today's FPS.

In spite of the uproar it caused, MK went on to become one of the most popular games of the fighting genre. Perhaps Chiller was designed to be gory in order to increase it's visibility and popularity. Anything that's controversial (weather in a positive or negative sense!), tends to acheive a certain degree of popularity.

Besides that - Chiller is a very original game too!

Funspot should try to aquire one.

peace
Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 09:22 pm
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Hi Scootie:

For those who have the luxury of playing this one on the real deal arcade original, hold down the start button as you play and watch the effects of the processor slowing down...all the targets move MUCH slower, allowing you to get a perfect in the boinus round !!

Of course, it makes the stage with the water going across the screen near impossible.

Robert

Scootie
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 10:54 pm
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Hey Rob

Unfortunately, I do not have Chiller on MAME; but after seen screenshots on KLOV's website; I am convinced that this is NOT the same game as Mastertronic's "Chiller" for the C-64 - which was a 2D platformer with a slightly "gory" theme.

PS. Rob, Would you be able to "burn" me another CD of MAME if I mail you a list of games I need?

Thanks

peace
Scootie

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More on Dig-Dug!!!

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Scootie
Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 09:51 pm
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Hey Everyone/Don...

FINALLY MADE IT TO LEVEL 157!!! and scored 1.85 million in the process(on MAME).

Up until level 125 - I was averaging between 13,000 and 14,000 per board. After this board - the Fygars freeze when they make it to the top of the screen.

During and after board 136 - the creatures move at a SUPER SLOW pace when they are "ghosts" or when they make to the top of the screen. Is there ANY WAY to get the monsters using rocks? Or does one have to be content with "shooting" them, thus getting a lower score in the process?

Scootie

Scootie
Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 10:04 pm
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Don:

Oh, I should mention that I have Dig Dug on MAME set to the easiest possible settings. This is due to my gamepad being somewhat less precise than Funspot's perfect joystick on their Dig Dug - which is noticibly more difficult - with the exception that Funspot's gives a life at 10,40 and evry 40 grand thereafter. My MAME settings for extra lives are 20,60 and every 60K thereafter.

Also, unlike the Return of Arcade version, The MAME version stops awarding extra lives after 900,000 - just like Funspot's.

In spite of having the proper Atari/Namco title screen and proper patterns - the Return of arcade version keeps awarding extra lives after 900K - even after turning it over at a million. Also - the monsters don't freeze after the 136th level, and if anything, they get REALLY fast!!

It's probably safe to assume that the ROA version has no "kill" screen on the 255th level either.

Scootie

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 10:49 am
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Nice job!

Board 136 and after: the short answer to whether you can get the monsters with rocks is "yes" (except for level 136 where the monster don't appear to move at all). For a few boards after 136 it's probably not worth trying to set up rock drops (eg, takes too long to do, can't really get "good" drops of say 3-5 monsters, etc), but after that it can be done. It really just takes patience and practice.

Return of Arcade version: interesting...you say the patterns are the same as the arcade version and MAME? I'd like to try this version at some point just to see what it's like. Sounds like they've "fixed" several things so maybe they did fix the kill screen too. I wouldn't assume that they did, but it certainly is possible.

Scootie
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 06:28 pm
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Hey Don

If you have a laptop, I'll bring the ROA CD so you can install it and see for yourself. Once installed you do not need the CD to play.

Scootie

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Area 51 million pt scores are bogus.

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jjt_defender
Monday, May 31, 2004 - 01:45 am
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Area 51 ( on Arcade )

KEY: Click to show score details. VM=VERIFICATION METHODS (VM) R=Referee S=Scoretracker(TM)
V=Video PO=Polaroid M=Memory Card/VMU PH=Photo W=Witness A=Affiliate ?=Unverified

Twin Galaxies Rules

Difficulty : Medium. End Game Looping : Off. Secret Rooms : On. Players at a time : One

Rank %Score Pts Highest Best Player First Name Player Last Name VM
1 100.000% 2,188,400 Rick Haynes R
2 76.118% 1,665,775 Dan Finch R
3 66.269% 1,450,230 Stephen Krogman R
4 57.633% 1,261,250 Mark Nason R
5 50.587% 1,107,050 Steve Melton R
6 14.837% 324,700 Frank Bryan R
7 14.690% 321,475 Michael Walker R
8 14.352% 314,075 Herb Branan R
9 12.692% 277,750 Ryan Gregor R
10 12.292% 269,000 Aaron Van Buren R
11 11.270% 246,625 Michael Foley R
12 9.735% 213,050 Nick Galasso R
13 6.205% 135,800 Ron Corcoran R
14 3.424% 74,925 Amber McAnally R
15 2.908% 63,650 Heather Corcoran R

To Robert why haven't you or Walter change the Area 51 million point scores to Area 51 Site-4 arcade score table? It was incorrectly inputted in the TG scoreboard on the wrong game Title please put it in on Area 51 Site 4 arcade game is were it belongs.

Note:Just like in Pacman getting by the Split Screen & getting a Perfect scoring game on MsPacman is IMPOSSIBLE ,SO IS GETTING A MILLION PTS. ON AREA 51 without looping it can't be done period.

I tested it & 4 other players here in Austin,Tx. have tested it who have been playing since Area 51 came out,there experts. That being said for any player that doesn't believe try it out for yourselves. They all agreed with me that it had to be done on the AREA 51 SITE 4 ARCADE GAME which does register a million points 7 digits. I got playit only one time & I scored over 800,000pts. at Dolby Mall in Austin ,Tx. before the board went out.

Even 600,000pts. on Area 51 without looping would be stretching your nose a bit,you know what I mean.

It was a honest mistake that TG made when they were tranferrng the scores from the old Twin Galaxy scoreboard website,we all make mistakes we are only Human . I have seen other mistakes on the TG scoreboard.

This what Area 51 scores should be:
AREA 51
324,700 Frank Bryan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
321,475 Michael Walker, Cool Crest, KCMO 4/20/97
314,075 Herb Branan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
277,750 Ryan Gregor, Cool Crest, Kansas City, MO 4/20/97
269,000 Aaron Van Buren, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97
246, 625 Michael Foley, Stop & Play, Port Richey, FL 4/3/99
213,050 Nick Galasso, Exhilirama, Vorhees, NJ 4/20/97
74,925 Amber McAnally, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97

This is were the million pt. scores should be, if these scores were verified correctly:

AREA 51 - SITE 4 Difficulty: Factory (Medium)
2,188,400 Rick Haynes, Paul Revere Pizza, Fairfield, IA 4/10/99
1,665,775 Dan Finch, California Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
1,450,230 Stephen Krogman Grand Prix,Dania, Fl. 11/12/98
1,261,250 Mark Nason Watertown, Mass. June 27, 2002
1,107,050 Steve Melton, Aladdin's Castle, Concord, NH 1/15/99

twin galaxy a-f.com old website
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, May 31, 2004 - 04:27 pm
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Hello Juan:

Although Funspot's moderator has a policy on how their site is to be used, I shall take the time to answer your question here.

At the moment, only time prevents me from amending the title in question. When the new database is turned on in a few more days, and a greater capacity for score modification exists, I will ensure that this is done. This group is one of literally thousands of scores that need to be added or amended, by the way.

All we ask is patience. We're only human and do this for free outside of our business life.

Robert

Rick
Monday, May 31, 2004 - 10:43 pm
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JJT,
Why was this posted on the Funspot message forum?

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, May 31, 2004 - 10:59 pm
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Hi Rick:

Not sure...maybe he felt that we did not respond fast enough on another forum ?

Robert

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What Modern Arcade games are you good at & highscores?

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jjt_defender
Monday, May 31, 2004 - 01:56 am
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What are some of your New Age Arcade game Highscores on some of the modern arcade games to my fellow gammers I address this to you all?

Here are some of my recent MODERN DAY ARCADE GAME SCORES: My arcade game initials are "JJT"

If you want to see my highscores go there or call them to check the my JJT initials of my high scores on these arcade games to verify them.

I played at the Austin's Park 'n Pizza - Fun Family Restaurant and Amusement Park in Austin, TX http://www.austinspark.com/attractions/index.asp

So,check it out gammers if your ever in Austin,Tx.
I have been in Austin,Texas for the past 8 years, I'm no longer in Ft.Ldle,Florida anymore.

Here are the modern arcade games I have played at Austin Park 'n Pizza were I play ,I been there a total of 17 days of playing time currently on Modern Arcade Games

That's excellent & I have top scores for most the arcade games were the Austin Amusement Park has been open since March 2003. I'm learning the Arcade games pretty quickly don't you think?

1.Time Crisis 2- 7 solo completed games played no doubles played, learning the game

2.Time Crisis 3 - 10 solo completed games played no doubles played, still the process of learning the game scored 1.575 million pts.

3.House of the Dead 1 - 1 doubles completed game no solo

4.House of the Dead 2 - 3 doubles completed games no solo

5.House of the Dead 3 - 9 solo games 1 doubles 10 toatl completed games Current Highscore=175,866pts. Rank "D" & 170,200pts. Rank "C" 2 to
3 continues on solo game

6.Star Trek Voyager - 5 solo completed games 1 double scored 328,000pts. + 1 continue on solo

7.Jurasstic Park 3 - 2 solo completed games 1 doubles scored 767,760pts. solo with 1 continue n' scored 968,560pts doubles by myself with 2 continues

8.Crisis Zone - 7 games completed played scored 3.5 million pts. with 1 continue a few times

9.Police Trainer 2 - 15 solo games completed current highscore 116,840pts. +

10.Tsurrugi "Blade of Honor" - 39 completed games played,Current HighScore = 715,200pts new higscore 880,800pts. No continues

I had to battle not having the Pedal which was broken at the time,so it limited my game play, which you use to attack an enemy in close. I could have scored higher. Pretty soon I will score Million plus points if not the next time I go there.

Also,I went to the Gameroom after working graveyard shift for 12hrs. I was up for over thirty hours I was tired when I started playing the game. I will never do it again. My focus/concentration wasn't there.

Mike is the Head Technician Supervisor for maintaining & fixing all video games at the Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement. I want to thank him for taking the time to fixing the pedal for the game.
And later when the Laser Wand controller wasn't working he again took the time & patients to fixing the Laser Wand to it's proper operating order becuase it would not let you Guard / Defend /Deflect yourself against atttacks which was another obstacle I had to overcome. I scored 623,470pts. without being able to Defend myself

Note: Tsurugi "Blade of Honor" you can't continue on getting a higher scores,that is the good part in playing this game, it will reset to zero when you try to continue on the game,so only good players can achieve high scores on this game. It's not hard game to learn but it is hard to get a perfect game without getting hit & completing the game in one credit which I can do on 1 -credit every time now.

11.Air Raid - 2 games completed played scored 508,000pts. + a few continues to the end of the game 26 stages I believe.

12.Beach Head 2002 special edition - 3 games completed played scored 43,460pts
a few continues to the end of the game 25 stages.

13.Beach Head 2003 - 1 solo game scored 300,000pts. + a few continues 40 plus stages

14.Area 51/Maxium Force duo showcase -

14a. Area 51 > 5 solo / 4 doubles scored 999,999pts. with looping solo completed game

14b.Maxium Force 3 million + pts. with looping solo game

15.Ms Pacman/Galaga -

15a.I played 2 games on GALAGA , on the 2nd game I scored 3 million + pts. playing on 2nd player with no continues;

15b. On MS.PACMAN I played 1 game using no patterns or grouping just played 1 solo game the game scored 698,000 +pts. played freestyle to finish the game quicker & learned to scramble from the ghost the hard way I got really good by the end of the game
I had unlimited game play & was on free play

It a few Continues to finish the game at 141 boards,which the last board screen of the game it has no Maze/ an invisble ghost monster box that the ghost come out/Ms Pacman can move any way up-down-right-left-through the screen/ 3 dots & large dot.Your game ends it's the Killscreen for Mrs. Pacman

16.Crusin World - testing the game 20 completed races only. I will come back to play later.
At Eisteins arcade in Austin,Texas by University of Texas campus

1.On Gauntlet Dark Legacy game 3 years ago I Maxed out all 16 character to level 99/beat Skorne 1,2 & Garm 31 times/got 13th Rune stone/beat Skorne 1,2 & Garm with a level 46 Unicorn character & a level 51 Jackal
A arcade gameroom upstairs at the Dolby Mall by Univesity of Texas in Austin,Texas

1.On Gauntlet Legends I beat Skorne 1 & 2
22 times/Leveled all 4 character alter-egoes a.Minitore,b.Jackal,c.Tigrress,d.Falconess to level 99/ beat Skorne 1 & 2 with a level 32 Jackal & a level 38 Falconess.

At the Austin Amusement Park I scored " 30,164,780pts." on Lost World Jurasstic Park playing 2 players. I FIGURED OUT A WAY TO SCORE REALLY HIGH ON THIS GAME!

"It's Point clitch I found in the game using 2-player"

The previous high score of 499,840pts was set by em3 & em4.
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 02:16 am
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Hey JJT

It's gamers, NOT gammers.

I don't know if these fit your criteria of "modern" games, but they are not quite classics(yet)!

Buster Brothers - 2.8 million
Altered Beast - 545,600
Klax - 425,000

peace
Scootie

Gregory Erway
Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 09:59 am
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While at the tournament, Mike, Tim, Fred, and I raced some Daytona. I have not played in years and was gradually figuring out the lines and shift patterns again. But some guys from work and I would hit the local arcade everyday during lunch for around 3 years. We kept track of our best times for the Expert track. These would be the record for TG if they were taped. But I must add that I rarely ever got to enter my initials as there were faster times already on the machine. So I think my times are great times but by no means the best ever.

Daytona Expert Track

Time Lap Mode: 3:26.90

Regular race against all computer cars: 3:27.23
1st Lap record: 1:46.60
2nd Lap record: 1:39.62

jjt_defender
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 02:32 pm
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Thank you for corecting me Scootie on the word gammer.

Great scores Scootie.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 02:36 pm
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Great times on Daytona expert track Greg Erway.
Just a few times playing Daytona Greg that's Fantastic.

Why set the initial TG wr on Daytona expert track.

Take care
youe fellow gamemaster JJT

Gregory Erway
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 06:00 pm
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Juan,

I'm not sure what you meant to say there. Are you asking me why I don't set an initial TG WR on Daytona Exper track? I believe there is already score in the TG database for that game and track. I did play Daytona at Funspot this year but it has been about 3 years since I last played the game. I was a bit rusty but did fairly well. The more we played the better I got. We actually played more Beginner races. Mostly I raced against WC Mike, WC Fred, and MWC Tim. There were also a couple of other kids that seemed to want to race the "old guys". Luckily we managed to keep both of them from getting first. I think they finished dead last the first race against us and one managed a second place just behind me in the second race they tried against us.

But, we were racing against real people. I don't think the TG scores are in that mode. I think you either need to play against ALL computer cars OR you need to hold down the start button from the time you drop your coins until the race starts (this puts you in "Time-Lap Mode".) I don't really know which mode the TG scores are in. That is why I listed both of my best times above for comparison reasons.

It's nice to see you posting some reasonable messages Juan.

Gregory Erway
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 06:04 pm
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I would also like to personally thank WC Crash Pastore for the wonderful reminder that some human drivers can be a lot more difficult to race with than computer cars!

Note: I only finished the expert track race once during our races. I don't think I was under 3:32.00 so I have a long ways to go to get back to perfect form. There are a few stratagies for the game that when executed properly can save lots of time. My edge is gone on hitting those every time. I would really love to get a Daytona USA twin cabinet for my arcade someday.

jjt_defender
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 11:34 pm
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That's what I meant Greg.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

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Track & Field Competition at Funspot!!

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Scootie
Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 12:20 am
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Hey Everyone

Having a GREAT Holiday weekend here in NH. Got in some 4-player Track&Field with Brian, Don, and Shawn. Although no one got any records, all of us came close in one event or another to the 3rd place record.

Had some good games on Crazy Climber, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, and managed to score 45,000 on Mario Brothers in spite of the Joystick not being able to move left.

The only high scores I achieved are 22,300 at Missle Command,(watch out ROY!!!) and 209,000 at Robotron; finally making it past the second "brain" board.

2 days and counting!!

Scootie

PS. Will Zookeeper and Mario Bros. be operational by Wednsday?

Alex Weir
Friday, June 04, 2004 - 03:46 am
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Hey Scootie,

I tried this earlier, I'll try again!

Can you post here what the WR's are on each event on that Track'n'Field machine you guys play at Funspot? And maybe the top ten scores + initials?

Just for curiosity sake...

Cheers,

AL

Tommi
Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 06:52 pm
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Yes! would be fun to know if some of my records still stand. Maybe 7,74 still being first at 100m. Did that with one button only

TJT

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 02:18 pm
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This is from memory, so might be off by a little bit ("X" means unknown number, "?" means I'm not sure if the complete score is correct). If I'm sure of who has the score, I'll list the name.

100m: 7.99, 8.10 (PJS?), 8.1X
Long Jump: 9.72 (PJS?), 9.69?, 9.67 (Dave Nelson)
Javelin: all three close around 97.4X or 97.7X
Hurdles: 10.40 (Jason Cram), 10.50? (Jason again), 10.80?
Hammer: 99.47, 99.46, 99.45
High Jump: 2.47, 2.47, 2.47 (all Dave Nelson)

I believe PJS is Pete Skerritt.

Sorry Tommi, your previous records must have been reset sometime in the past.

The high score table is currently "broken" as all the scores on it are marathon-type scores. The high is something like 261K. We actually requested that the high score table be reset before the tournament but that didn't happen. If I'm not mistaken, that will also reset all the event records which would be a shame, but right now no one can even get on the high score table above position 101.

Alex Weir
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 04:50 pm
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Man....thats a shame. Thanks Donald for the info btw.

I'd say who ever had the WR on the 100m Dash is NOT impressed!( Tommi?). Ouch...

A pity really. I was of the impression that the WR's and overall Top Ten were scores from way back by lots of top players from all kinds of places. Maybe it was , but whoever reset the machine to marathon must have also set the records to 'erase-on-reset'. Why or how I don't know? Maybe Gary can answer that? It's a pity that with a game like this , a legacy can be lost by the flick of a switch.

I'm concerned that Tommi,after travelling so far,has had his efforts turned into nothing,basically.

Again, a pity.

Cheers,

AL

p.s overall those records suck :-)
the 100m is good, 9.72m(only one?) also. What happened to the Hurdles??!!

Scootie
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 08:48 pm
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Hey Donald

That is a shame. However - if Funspot would change the settings on Track & Field to marathon settings - I would have NO problem getting past 200,000.

Why not??

Scootie

PS. As of Tuesday - Robotron was still on "Tournament" mode!!!

Scootie
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 08:50 pm
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Hey Alex

Sorry for not getting down the T&F records for each event. Was caught up in the heat of the "competition".

Scootie

TJT
Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 05:44 am
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Al, Naaah...Was fun playing there though. I have record at Marp, which is "wider release" anyway

get set,
TJT
Wiz Warz 400k+ after 2 days play(1984...New prototype at Mame83, "Tempest meets Robotron")

Scootie
Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 02:17 pm
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Hey Alex

What do you mean that those records "suck". Neither Brian, Jason, Donald or myself were able to get even 3rd place on ANY of the events. I came close, at one point, on the long jump with 9m63.

Eiher the game should be switched to marathon settings (continues after last event); thus giving players a chance to break the high scores & records for individual events, or the high scores should be reset and the game left on tournament mode(the way it currently is now).

Scootie

Donald Hayes
Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 02:50 pm
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I'd rather see the T&F at Funspot remain on non-marathon mode. I'm just not sure if the dip switches will allow them to only clear the high score table (which currently has marathon scores) but not the event records.

I don't see why switching the machine to marathon mode would make it easier to break individual event records.

Last year, the Robotron was kept at TGTS for quite some time after the tournament until someone actually complained that it wasn't giving free men and maybe thought they were getting cheated out of playing time. Whoever it was that complained barely beat Abdner's TGTS score, even with all the free men!

Richard M.
Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 08:37 pm
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I think that games should be set on factory settings unless there is a tournament in progress. Whomever complained about Robotron at least got a little playing time under the supposedly marathon settings.

On the other hand, if a serious gamer wishes to challenge a game on tournament settings then they could either speak to Gary about temporarily changing the settings or just count off five lives and base their progress on those scores.

Robotron is a game that I enjoy playing, although I do not play it well. Although I will play a few games on TGTS settings as a barometer of how well I "really" play the game, I really expect to see the machine award a life every 25K when there is not a tournament. The game on tournament settings simply goes too quickly for me.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

-- Richard

Scootie
Friday, June 11, 2004 - 02:09 pm
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Hey Everyone

I would like to play T&F at Funspot on marathon settings - just once - to see if I can beat any of the scores...

Also - by the third round - your athlete does have a little more speed for the same amount of "running". This is also noticeable(even more so) in Hypersports - especially on the swimming, horse, and weightlifting events.

Breaking 9m67 is easier to do when it's 9m00 to qualify (third round), rather than 6m50 (fitst round). You seem to get more "speed" on later rounds - with the same amount of "tapping".

If the current high scores (most of which were acheiled on marathon mode), cannot be reset, than why not put the game back on marathon mode!?

Scootie

Scootie
Friday, June 11, 2004 - 02:11 pm
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Sorry about the misspellings!!

I meant First round and achieved!

scootie

Eric Ahlers
Friday, June 11, 2004 - 03:05 pm
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I'd like to see Robotron stay at TGTS

When not set to TGTS, i've counted off the first 5 men, however, i catch myself "cheating" sometimes..

example : if i lose a man in a way that is ridiculous, i will (subconsciencly, mind you) not count that live towards my 5-man game.

On a bad day, i'll do this multiple times during the same game.

I just can't help it sometimes

TGTS Robotron is so unforgiving.

I love it !!

Alex Weir
Friday, June 11, 2004 - 08:23 pm
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"Also - by the third round - your athlete does have a little more speed for the same amount of "running".

Afraid not. Where did you get that from?

In Hyper Sports,on the Long Horse and Pole Vault you get extra 'run-up speed'prior to your jump. What you do speed-wise after that is up to you.

This is not the case with Track'n'Field.

The records "suck", because A)somebody reset the machine, B) if the game is on 'One Round Only', people go for score mostly,and hence forfeit WR chances.Having said that,a good T+F player will forfeit score,and go for World Records.

"Neither Brian, Jason, Donald or myself were able to get even 3rd place on ANY of the events. I came close, at one point, on the long jump with 9m63."

That doesn't mean that the WR's don't "suck" :-)

A T+F machine that does not have three 9m72 Jumps as WR's is a good indicator.....!

Cheers,

AL

TJT
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 07:38 am
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About "extra speed" at third round:

Maybe you'll get warmed up at third round. I allways need couple of rounds to warm up. After a long break from the game, my first 100m can be quite slow, well over 8. Yet, back in the GOLD(good old days)I usually got best 100m of the day during first rounds...many times at my first run.
(Used to warm up before getting at the game )
After playing few rounds, you'll tend to loose the sharpness from your performance, fingers getting tired.
So at early rounds I could manage sometimes under 7,60...after that over 7,60.
I consider under 7,7 a good time
under 7,6 is something you don't see much.

All 3 machines at my arcade had 9,72's. When I made first place with 9,72...not long time that I was out of top3. Nice to take all top3 places, then have somebody fluke the first place, hehe.

All 3 machines at my gold aracade were set at marathon(that means game continues after first round, no extra men)...Even though we played the game as long we wanted, they never changed it to one round only.

TJT

TJT
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 07:50 am
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Couple obsevations more:

At T%F sensitivity of buttons can vary at each machine, which affect times.

Robotron 5 man rule is not optimal for measuring who is the best player. You don't get to play later, harder rounds.
Same with Joust.

David Nelson
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 07:38 pm
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Here are the event WRs on Funspot's Track & Field machine (which uses all buttons without guards), current as of closing Saturday night:

100M Dash
7s99 JIL
8s10 PJS
8s20 PJS

Long Jump
9m72 PJS
9m71 A$S
9m67 DAV

Javelin Throw
97m79 PJS
97m60 A$S
97m47 PJS

110M Hurdles
10s40 JKC
10s42 JKC
10s54 PJS

Hammer Throw
99m45 DAV
99m45 PJS
99m44 PJS

High Jump
2m47 DAV
2m47 DAV
2m47 DAV

I'm about 95% certain that PJS is Peter Skerritt. DAV is of course me. JKC is Jason Cram. No idea who JIL or A$S is. Please note that Jason Cram's (JKC) top two times on the hurdles were acheived with two people (one running and the other one jumping). This was done ONLY in an attempt to try and see what kind of fast time was possible, and was in NO WAY meant to post a dishonest score. Jason Cram's credibility is without question.

I really wish I could give you some top total scores, but the damn machine STILL retains scores that were acheived when the machine was set to continue.

By the way Robert, if you happen to read this message (I'll copy you in e-mail as well), please note that the game settings for Track & Field as listed on Twin Galaxies' present database are WRONG. It says "Extended round: ON" which is the reason the machine at Funspot was set to continuous play in the first place way back when at the very first Funspot Classics tournament. What's more...the difficulty says "Difficulty: 2-Normal" is that right? I'm almost positive Funspot's is set to HARD. The difficulty doesn't matter a hell of a lot when you're comparing World Record level scores, but the Extended Round certainly does.

Peter J. Skerritt, Jr.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 03:14 am
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Holy cow... my records are still there.

Yes, PJS is me. As good a T&F player as I'd like to think I might be, it was still quite a thrill for me back in 2000 to actually meet Tommi. He's by far the best I've ever seen. Dave Nelson is pretty good, too-- but what else is new, Dave? ;)

Truth be told, when I play T&F now, I'm really shooting more for the individual event WRs than I am at total score. While I have good raw skill, I'm not masterful at scoring the hidden bonuses that Konami put into the game... and scoring those bonuses are a requisite to try and match or exceed the record point totals logged on the game.

Also, Scootie: If you can get Gary to change the setting to Marathon, I'd be happy to go head-to-head with you. I also would be interested in seeing just how much endurance I have. It's been a long time since I played Marathon T&F.

Needless to say, I really miss being there, as it's been two years now since my last appearance. I'm especially saddened that I missed a chance to see Walter after his big appearance in EGM. I am officially committing to next year, however. Mark it down. I need to work on details as far as getting there, lodging, etc... but I'm going.

-- Peter

P.S. Anyone else turn over Sea Wolf in my absence? Sure, it's a rather obscure game, but it's my claim to fame... well... that and my Mania Challenge WR, which I still need to get clarified through TG. That reminds me...

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:55 pm
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Hey Alex & Pete

I noted those observations when playing Track & Field and Hypersports on MAME (Marathon settings).

Alex - There is a slightly noticable speed increase by the third round on Track & Field.

This is more noticable on events where the running is automatic. It is easier to achieve 2m47
on the high jump on the third round (and up) where it is 2m38 or even 2m40 to qualify - than on the first or second rounds.

Same thing goes for the hammer throw - MUCH easier to get a 95+ on the third round than on the first round - for the same reason!

peace
Scootie

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 11:10 pm
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Hey Pete

I am up for that. Would love to play you T&F (or Hypersports) on marathon settings! Maybe we could get Jason, Shawn, Brian, Don, or Dave in on this and make it a 4-player game on marathon settings!

Probably a game like that would take up much of the day - especially since the difficulty (in regards to qualifying in an event) does not change after the third round.

Keep those fingers in good shape!

peace
Scootie

Brian Kuh
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 12:33 pm
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In response to the subject of the game settings at Funspot, players at Funspot attempt world records that require Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings, these settings are also a requirement to get your picture up on Funspot's Wall of Fame. That is why the games are kept on those settings. Funspot is the best arcade to set world records at and they may be the first arcade to take the achievement of world records so seriously that they keep their games on the proper settings as well as in outstanding working order. On a side note, Funspot may also be the most customer service orientated arcade in the nation. It's better when the games are set to the standard that has been accepted, the Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings. We need integrity of scores.

Also, with Funspot tokens costing 11 cents each, if your game of Robotron ends too quickly because you have 5 Men you can certainly play some more games and it should not be that big of a problem. There hasn't been a line to wait in to play Robotron, Joust or others when there is not a tournament in progress. Most players are glad that they can go for a world record that would be recognized by Twin Galaxies any time they visit Funspot and choose to tape their game at Funspot (on weekends there is usually someone there who can do the taping for them.) Also, it is truly an accomplishment to get your initials up on one of these games with tournament settings that saves the high scores like on Funspot's Joust machine where you would need a score of over 220,000 points just to get into last place and you can have your initials up there with the best Joust players who have travelled from distant points around the globe to play the game at Funspot with 5 Men.

Scootie
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 02:06 pm
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Hey Brian

In the case of Track & Field - those scores (at least the top 100) were all achieved on Marathon settings.

Since T&F is now on "tournament" settings - the high scores should reflect those settings, or the game should be put back on Marathon settings so a player can attempt to beat those scores.

Scootie

PS. Any chance of ever seeing Hypersports or 88 Games at Funspot?

Alex Weir
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 05:02 pm
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Hey Dave:

A belated thanks for posting those scores and WR's on T+F.

Scootie: the jury is still out regarding your theory on 3rd round T+F. When I get time I will test it on MAME, although I'm sure I'm right.

Later ,

AL

TJT
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 05:58 pm
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Al, about 3rd round speed...We would have noticed the difference if there was any, about 20 years ago ;)

Maybe Scootie means third attempt at an event. It's well known fact, that you must have succeeded attempt before to get really good distances at longjump javelin and hammer. A theory says that game adds x% of succeeded jump or throw to next one...Which has nothing to do with running speed(before or after jump/throw).

I'm 100% that running with same speed at later rounds does not gain any advantage compared to first round events. I think I run my alltime fastest 100m at first round.

Tell me what jury decides anyway Alex

Nice to know people still are fascinated about the game :-)

TJT

TJT
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 06:10 pm
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Oh, I just realised that I'm an egomaniac...If I would live near Funspot, would be driving there right now to put some TJT's at the game

Brian Kuh
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 06:17 pm
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We're definitely still facinated about Track & Field.

Eric Ahlers
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 06:45 pm
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I always play T & F at least once while at Funspot.

I can't quite run like i used to....low 8's in the 100m...now at FS I'm in the high 8's.

We all have our own running/tapping style.

I tap/pound the buttons with my fingertips, alternating one hand to the other.

For those of you that have seen me play, you'll understand that i am not exaggerating when i say that i am totally spent after a game of T&F.

Marathon settings ?? that would be cruel !!

Eric

Scootie
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 01:58 pm
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Hey Alex

I meant the third round - not attempt - maening the game has to be set to marathon settings..

Also TG has 2 records listed for MANY games - tournament & marathon!

Scootie

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Weekend Scores From Funspot

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Brian Kuh
Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 02:52 pm
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For the past 24 weekends a bunch of us have been getting together at Funspot and getting some tournament-level scores on a lot of the classic (pre-1986) games. For example, here are some scores that we got from this past weekend at Funspot:

Congo Bongo 350,000
Karate Champ 80,000

Also, here are some of the other scores that we have gotten from the past 24 weekends, all scores from Funspot:

Millipede 4,700,000 (old high score 2,800,000)
Mr. and Mrs. Pac Man 4,440,000
Crossbow 1,800,000 (old high score 1,700,000)
Donkey Kong 817,000
Joust 2 (non-tournament settings) 489,000
Bagman 193,000 (old high score 133,000)
Starship One 6,700 (old high score 5,450)

Is there anyone out there who can get scores like those? We'd all be really be interested in meeting you at Funspot and seeing what scores you can put up on the games at Funspot. We'd also be really interested in getting the scores even higher, exchanging ideas and learning more about the games with others who are also high scorers.

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 04:05 pm
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Funspot got a Karate Champ? When did THAT happen? Is it classic or versus? - ZM

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Missile Command 'Bug' Thread....( a good read actually..)

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Alex Weir
Friday, June 04, 2004 - 09:59 am
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Seeing that there's a lot of talk about Missile Command here, here's a thread about a perfect game no less.

http://www.wayoftherodent.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=850&highlight=

Cheers,

AL

artz
Saturday, June 05, 2004 - 04:37 am
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Good read Alex. Thanks for the link.

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Tournament Settings for Motorace USA and thanks!

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Derek
Monday, June 07, 2004 - 08:56 am
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Hey Everyone,

Had a great time at the tournament this year as usual, thanks to Gary, Ken, Anna and crew for the countless hours and effort put in to make it a success. Congrats to Dave Nelson and Greg Bond for taking home all the money!

I was poking around Twin Galaxies and cubeman.org for what the setting on what the TG settings for Motorace USA should be. As anyone familiar with the game there a re a myriad of settings on this game that control not only high/low fuel consumption but also 4 settings on how much for fuel is used after a crash. Can someone tell me what settings were used for this years tournament? Ken? Anna? Anyone?

Thanks,
Derek

mspaeth
Monday, June 07, 2004 - 11:45 am
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I've got some spare motorace pcbs and jamma adapters if anyone's looking ;)

Zotmeister
Monday, June 07, 2004 - 03:36 pm
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Assuming Derek's questions get answered, Mark, I may just be looking myself. How much would you be asking? - ZM

MDARULZ
Monday, June 07, 2004 - 11:17 pm
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Let's not forget Catherine Karpens, who was the Ladies Challenge champion - she won the same amount as the others ($200). Congrats to her, along with the Mystery Game winners (who also 'cashed in', at $25 each for the four daily contest games). - Mark Alpiger

Brian Kuh
Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 02:24 pm
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After we get what the TG settings are for Motorace USA I'll be working on getting better at that too and getting higher scores for it.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 08, 2004 - 06:23 pm
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Ken:

I've been after Mark Longridge to lock into the TG settings for the title for some time. Here is the last E-MAIL sent..., copying Greg Sakundiak who is trying to go for the world record (he is VERY good at it !!)

Still waiting for settings, I have to say.

*****************************

Hello all:

I remember this title well, now. Yes, it's indeed "Zippy Race" !! Not sure what the canonical ROMset is, but this is what MAME had to say for now under the "Motocross USA" set...

IMPORTANT OPTIONS

Fuel Reduced on Collission - (Low, Medium, High, Maximum) Fuel Consumption - (Low, High)

I believe that the first option above should be EITHER...

1st - Fuel Reduced="HIGH" with Fuel Consumption="LOW"...medium of these three 2nd - Fuel Reduced="MEDIUM" with Fuel Consumption="HIGH"...hardest of these three 3rd - Fuel Reduced="MEDIUM" with Fuel Consumption="LOW"...easiest of these three

Ultimately you are the final call.

OTHER OPTIONS

Allow Continue - should be "NO" out of "Yes/No"
Speed Type - either Miles/hr or Kilometers/Hr (no impact on gameplay) Unused - all "OFF" as per default...I do not know what these accomplish, however

So, that is my recommendations. I do not believe the game is infinitely marathonable at any of the above three. Again, Mark is the final call.

Greg...one interesting note...please try "Kick Rider"...if you like this game, you should also like "Kick Rider".

Robert

*****************************

Derek Litton
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 03:18 pm
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I do have a question that is related to not only Motorace but Mario Bros and other games that switch settings cannot be confirmed from 20+ years ago.

I am not saying old scores should be abolished but I am wondering if new scores could/should be tracked separately (like MAME) on games in which the difficulty has been cranked up (ie TG tournament settings)? I know games in that are marathonable with men awarded infinitely (ie Q*Bert) are tracked separately for lets say 5 men and I am wondering if the same could be done for games with increased difficulty or at least confirmed settings...?

Perry, can you confirm what settings were used on your 3.4M Mario game??? If your arcade was like mine then it was probably on default which was the easiest... I am also wondering if the Motorace 2M+ game was done with low fuel consumption or at least lower fuel used after a crash... Just curious, both of thse could have been done on the highest possible difficulty and I am a bit jaded... :-)

What do people think?
Derek

D_Harris
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 03:37 pm
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Does anyone know what the Mario Bros. settings were at Funspot.(I was having a difficult time remembering my patterns and getting the hang of it after 20 years).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

George Strain
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 04:02 pm
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Does anybody know the story on WHY Mario Bros. has different TGTS than default factory settings? I've never heard stories of scores on factory settings that would have really necessitated a change from the defaults. On the other hand, just because I haven't heard of such scores, doesn't mean they don't exist. Of course once you make a change from factory, like Derek mentions, you always have doubts that maybe scores were done under the wrong settings.

- George

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 05:58 pm
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Hi George:

I'm going to put Walter onto the case here...the settings decision pre-dated my inclusion as a TG referee, and the logic behind it is unknown to me.

I will also send Perry a separate E-MAIL asking for his help, same for Mark Longridge...and while I'm at it, I will ask him to confirm Motorace as well as the Wild Western issues that came up.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 05:59 pm
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Hello all:

A follow-up on the Motorace USA issue.

I am shortly sending Mark Lopngridge the WolfMAME 0.78 ROMsets for Motorace, Zippy Race and Traverse USA. From there, upon his review, the final determinations shall be made public.

Robert

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Thank You

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Gary Vincent
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 08:29 am
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I would like to add my personal thanks to all of the attendees. Seeing the joy you experience playing these classics is what it is all about. The preceeding weeks of long and torturous work days, games failing after countless hours of work and parts not arriving on-time seem to fade away when I see players having fun with a game they may never be able to play anywhere else.

Gary
PS: Billy, the hot Sauces looked great. That was a pleasant surprise.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 11:37 am
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True. True. - ZM

Scootie
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 02:42 pm
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Hey Gary

My brother Eric(Ahlers) forgot his bottles of hot sauce. I was wondering if you(or Funspot) could hold onto them until July 4th weekend. Most likely either Eric or myself will be up in Laconia for that weekend...

I do appreciate this and thanks again to you and all the Funspot staff for a great and memorable tournament.

Scootie

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Anyone want to let their hot sauce go? Thanks Bill!

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Gregory Erway
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 11:14 am
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Thanks Billy for the awesome limited edition Hot Sauce bottles. Great idea and I'm very excited to have one.

I noted at least 3 different varieties made up the 72 bottles made. I have the Jalapeno. I saw a Habanero variety. I also saw a Cayanne (sp?) version. Was there any others like the origional Chicken Wing sauce?

I wouldn't mind getting one of each kind for my collection. So if anyone is willing to let theirs go let me know and what you want for it.

mspaeth
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 06:18 pm
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Bah... screw the little bottles...

Anyone want to go in on an order of the big jugs?
I think there's like 4 2 gallon jugs in a box,
and I don't think I could ever go through 8 gallons
of wing sauce...

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Tournament Scores-2004

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Scootie
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 02:45 pm
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Hey Everyone

Just was wondering where I am in the final standings?

peace
Scootie

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 03:32 pm
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Join the club. - ZM

Gary
Saturday, June 12, 2004 - 05:07 pm
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Hey Guys,
I have given all of the scores to Ken to compile for this forum. He can get it done faster than I can since I wouldn't even be able to look at them until Monday, June 21st.

Take Care,
Gary

Anonymous
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 08:44 am
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"I wouldn't even be able to look at them until Monday, June 21st."

You going on another vacation?

Gary
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 01:23 pm
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No, I am not going on another vacation. I've been tied up in all the preparation for motorcycle week and have no extra time to take the Excel files from the tournament and convert them to a readable format for this forum. I wish it was a vacation but it's not.

Gary

Scootie
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 03:49 pm
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Gary

I always thought you guys got a much deserved week long vacation during bike week.

Scootie

PS. I'm hoping that my scores are at least in the middle of the pack.

Again, Thanks to you and the Funspot staff for a GREAT time at "Funspot 6"

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Sit down red baron ??

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eric geddes
Saturday, June 12, 2004 - 08:46 am
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Unfortunately, I had to leave late Sat. Right before I left, bleary eyed and tired from two days of little food and rest and lots of playing, I see a sit-down Red Baron. I thought I was seeing things - just goes to show you never know what may just pop up here and there. Where did you guys come up w/ that - very rare indeed!!! Will it still be there or was it a privately owned game ?

Scootie
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 03:55 pm
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Red Baron...
Newest addition to Funspot's collection!!

Scootie

PS. Also "new" are Lazarian, Blue Print, Star Castle, Clowns, and Tank II.

Joel Hedge
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 06:03 pm
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DOH! I missed the sitdown Red Baron. I guess I'll have to play the one in Sandusky, Ohio until I get back to Funspot.
I think the guest speaker on Back in Time (as recorded at the Philly Classic) referred to it as the game a real fighter ace had trouble with.
I play Red Baron on CD-ROM, but have trouble turning by using the keyboard controls. Is there a solution?

Mike Stulir
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 08:28 pm
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Yeah, Red Baron is the game that Sid Meier referred to. Interesting that Red Baron was one of the catalysts for the founding of Microprose.

I'm sure that "Wild Bill" Stealy wasn't too thrilled about getting his a@# handed to him in a fighter-pilot game.

Scootie
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 09:55 pm
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Hey Mike

I remember Micropose. They came out with some GREAT games for the Commodore 64 back in the day.

Scootie

Scootie
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 09:56 pm
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I meant Microprose.

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What Arcade games are you good at?

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jjt_defender
Saturday, June 12, 2004 - 04:25 pm
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When I get Defender & Stargate arcade classic games I will break the records.I have 15 years experience & owned them both for 5-years in the 80's,so,I know Defender & Stargate inside & out.

Since my friends family's have moved out of the state in the 1st week of August I haven't played either Defender or Stargate since but believe me I tried to buy both games from them to no-avail,that's life.

I will to build a MultiWilliams arcade game cabinet,hopefully in a year or 2 I will have it built. Too bad their are no arcade gamerooms that have these classic arcade games

Restassured I will crush the current TG Tournament World Records for both Defender & Stargate,it's a given & I can do it with 1 ship on either game.

You think I'm dreaming or fantastizing. It will all come to a reality.

It seems like their is glick going on with TG but then again it's still mystery to us all.

I know their other players like Donald Harris,Ron Corcoran,Brien King,Stephan Krogman,Robert M ,Todd Rogers to name few that will feablely try to challenge me. Their waiting behind the scenes secretly & tactfully but to no-avail for their efforts.

Like what I said in the TG forum that I can triple the score on both Defender & Stargate is totally true. Doubt & you will pay the price like the previous Defender & Stargate players Stephan Krogman/AX/Ned Troide/MCP British players to name a few,I'm totally confident, just getting the games is my only problem besides extra money which all of us have these days.

I will be all business when I break both Defender & Stargate tournament World records & I will have notable distinguish video game people in the business witnessing the event. Their will be no disbuting after it's all said & done.

I like playing pyschological & tactical games as well as poetry & philosophy with people & it's worked to perfection.

It drew more interest & more competitors,just by the responses I've gotten on the TG forums.

For the meantime I will be playing at Austin Park 'n' Pizza Amusement in Austin, Texas

What are some of your New Age Arcade game Highscores to my fellow gammers I address this to you all?

Here are some of my recent MODERN DAY ARCADE GAME SCORES: My arcade game initials are "JJT"

If you want to see my highscores or challenge me go there or call them to check the my JJT initials of my high scores on these arcade games to verify them.

It's a open invatation to any player that would like to play against me here on these modern arcade games below.

I played at the Austin's Park 'n Pizza - Fun Family Restaurant and Amusement Park in Austin, TX http://www.austinspark.com/attractions/index.asp

So,check it out gammers if your ever in Austin,Tx.
I have been in Austin,Texas for the past 8 years, I'm no longer in Ft.Ldle,Florida anymore.

Here are the modern arcade games I have played at Austin Park 'n Pizza were I play ,I been there a total of 16 days of playing time currently on Modern Arcade Games

That's excellent for that amount of days/plays & I have top scores for most the arcade games below were set at the Austin Amusement Park which has been open since March 2003. I'm learning the Arcade games pretty quickly don't you think?

1.Time Crisis 2- 7 solo completed games played no doubles played, learning the game

2.Time Crisis 3 - 10 solo completed games played no doubles played, still the process of learning the game scored 1.575 million pts. Hard difficulty

3.House of the Dead 1 - 1 doubles completed game no solo

4.House of the Dead 2 - 3 doubles completed games no solo

5.House of the Dead 3 - 9 solo games 1 doubles 10 toatl completed games Current Highscore=175,866pts. Rank "D" & 170,200pts. Rank "C" 2 to
3 continues on solo game

6.Star Trek Voyager - 5 solo completed games 1 double scored 328,000pts. + 1 continue on solo

7.Jurasstic Park 3 - 2 solo completed games 1 doubles scored 767,760pts. solo with 1 continue n' scored 968,560pts doubles by myself with 2 continues

8.Crisis Zone - 7 games completed played scored 3.5 million pts. with 1 continue a few times

9.Police Trainer 2 - 15 solo games completed current highscore 116,840pts. +

10.Tsurrugi "Blade of Honor" - 39 completed games played,Current HighScore = 715,200pts. No continues

I had to battle not having the Pedal which was broken at the time,so it limited my game play, which you use to attack an enemy in close. I could have scored higher. Pretty soon I will score Million plus points if not the next time I go there.

Also,I went to the Gameroom after working graveyard shift for 12hrs. I was up for over thirty hours I was tired when I started playing the game. I will never do it again. My focus/concentration wasn't there.

Mike is the Head Technician Supervisor for maintaining & fixing all video games at the Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement. I want to thank him for taking the time to fixing the pedal for the game.
And later when the Laser Wand controller wasn't working he again took the time & patients to fixing the Laser Wand to it's proper operating order becuase it would not let you Guard / Defend /Deflect yourself against atttacks which was another obstacle I had to overcome. I scored 623,470pts. without being able to Defend myself

Note: Tsurugi "Blade of Honor" you can't continue on getting a higher scores,that is the good part in playing this game, it will reset to zero when you try to continue on the game,so only good players can achieve high scores on this game. It's not hard game to learn but it is hard to get a perfect game without getting hit & completing the game in one credit which I can do on 1 -credit every time now.

11.Air Raid - 2 games completed played scored 508,000pts. + a few continues to the end of the game 26 stages I believe.

12.Beach Head 2002 special edition - 3 games completed played scored 43,460pts
a few continues to the end of the game 25 stages.

13.Beach Head 2003 - 1 solo game scored 300,000pts. + a few continues 40 plus stages

14.Area 51/Maxium Force duo showcase -

14a. Area 51 > 5 solo / 4 doubles scored 999,999pts. with looping solo completed game

14b.Maxium Force 3 million + pts. with looping solo game

15.Ms Pacman/Galaga -

15a.I played 2 games on GALAGA , on the 2nd game I scored 3 million + pts. playing on 2nd player with no continues;

15b. On MS.PACMAN I played 1 game using no patterns or grouping just played 1 solo game the game scored 698,000 +pts. played freestyle to finish the game quicker & learned to scramble from the ghost the hard way I got really good by the end of the game
I had unlimited game play & was on free play

It a few Continues to finish the game at 141 boards,which the last board screen of the game it has no Maze/ an invisble ghost monster box that the ghost come out/Ms Pacman can move any way up-down-right-left-through the screen/ 3 dots & large dot.Your game ends it's the Killscreen for Mrs. Pacman

16.Crusin World - testing the game 20 completed races only. I will come back to play later.
At Eisteins arcade in Austin,Texas by University of Texas campus

1.On Gauntlet Dark Legacy game 3 years ago I Maxed out all 16 character to level 99/beat Skorne 1,2 & Garm 31 times/got 13th Rune stone/beat Skorne 1,2 & Garm with a level 46 Unicorn character & a level 51 Jackal
A arcade gameroom upstairs at the Dolby Mall by Univesity of Texas in Austin,Texas

1.On Gauntlet Legends I beat Skorne 1 & 2
22 times/Leveled all 4 character alter-egoes a.Minitore,b.Jackal,c.Tigrress,d.Falconess to level 99/ beat Skorne 1 & 2 with a level 32 Jackal & a level 38 Falconess.

At the Austin Amusement Park I scored " 30,164,780pts." on Lost World Jurasstic Park playing 2 players. I FIGURED OUT A WAY TO SCORE REALLY HIGH ON THIS GAME!

"It's Point clitch I found in the game using 2-player"

The previous high score of 499,840pts was set by em3 & em4.
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Joel Hedge
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 05:49 pm
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I like some of the popular modern shooting games but could never touch your scores. I like Area 51 the best, then Time Crisis and House of the Dead. How about some tips for playing the early levels?

jjt_defender
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 07:25 pm
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Robert M knows a player by the name of -JC-Padilla who can answer your House of the Dead 1 & 2 questions:
I only played it a few times in doubles. I now House of Dead 3 better. I will talk to my friend who has been playing Area 51 since 1995. It's been awhile since I played it.

Do you know about the Kron Trick you shoot the first 3 humans at the begining of the game.You score higher with Kron stronger armor.

-JC-Padilla could answer your Time Crisis question. I never played the 1st Time Crisis.

Which Time Crisis are you talking about.There are 3 & a 4th one coming out in Japan soon.

-JC- Padilla ( United States, New York, Astoria
House of the Dead ( on Arcade )

-JC-'s score is ranked # 5 out of 10 scores ( 71.910% )
Score Pts Highest Best Verification Method Score Details
Highest 107,300 R - Referee View
Next Closest 81,020 R - Referee View

-JC-'s Score 77,160 R - Referee View
Lowest 22,500 R - Referee View
To show scores from the close competition click here.
To show all scores for this game click here.

House of the Dead II ( default settings on Arcade )
-JC-'s score is ranked # 1 out of 1 scores ( 100.000% )
Score Pts Highest Best Verification Method Score Details

-JC-'s Score 89,058 R - Referee View
Lowest 89,058 R - Referee View

I hope this helps Joel

your felow gamemaster JJT

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Do you think Area 51 arcade game million pt.scores are true on TG site?

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jjt_defender
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 05:02 pm
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Does anybody believe that the Area 51 arcade games million pt.scores on TG is True?
Don't be afraid to answer guys.

GETTING A MILLION PTS. ON AREA 51 without looping is fantasy,fabrication,a lie,bogus,it can't be done period.

The Million point scores were done on the AREA 51 SITE-4 arcade game.

I tested it & 4 other players here in Austin,Tx. have tested it who have been playing since Area 51 came out,they're are experts. That being said for any player that doesn't believe try it out for yourselves. They all agreed with me that it had to be done on the AREA 51 SITE 4 ARCADE GAME which does register a million points 7 digits. I got playit only one time & I scored over 800,000pts. at Dolby Mall in Austin ,Tx. before the board went out.

Even 600,000pts. on Area 51 without looping would be stretching your nose a bit,you know what I mean.

It was a honest mistake that TG made when they were tranferrng the scores from the old Twin Galaxy scoreboard website,we all make mistakes we are only Human . I have seen other mistakes on the TG scoreboard.

This what Area 51 scores should be:
AREA 51

324,700 Frank Bryan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
321,475 Michael Walker, Cool Crest, KCMO 4/20/97
314,075 Herb Branan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
277,750 Ryan Gregor, Cool Crest, Kansas City, MO 4/20/97
269,000 Aaron Van Buren, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97
246, 625 Michael Foley, Stop & Play, Port Richey, FL 4/3/99
213,050 Nick Galasso, Exhilirama, Vorhees, NJ 4/20/97
74,925 Amber McAnally, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97

This is were the million pt. scores should be, if these scores were verified correctly:

AREA 51 - SITE 4 Difficulty: Factory (Medium)

2,188,400 Rick Haynes, Paul Revere Pizza, Fairfield, IA 4/10/99
1,665,775 Dan Finch, California Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
1,450,230 Stephen Krogman Grand Prix,Dania, Fl. 11/12/98
1,261,250 Mark Nason Watertown, Mass. June 27, 2002
1,107,050 Steve Melton, Aladdin's Castle, Concord, NH 1/15/99

twin galaxy a-f.com old website

ps. I will challenge these million pt. scores to prove my point.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 09:46 pm
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Absolutely!!!

Why would TG make something like that up???

Scootie

Scootie
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 09:51 pm
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Hey JJT

Where in Concord is Aladdin's Castle?

I am very familar with the Manchester-Concord area and don't ever remember seeing that place!

Do they have a decent amount of classic games?

Scootie

Mike Stulir
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 10:33 pm
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There used to be one in the mall next to the food court. I haven't been in that mall for several years, so I don't know if it is there anymore.

There was a lot of the usual modern redepmption crap & kid stuff, and very little in the way of vids.

Charlie Weatherbee
Sunday, June 13, 2004 - 10:48 pm
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Aladins Castle was moved out like 5 years ago. Boy i miss playing games while my parents were shopping.

Ken Sweet
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 05:15 am
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I was the assistant manager at Aladdin's Castle in 1998-1999, and as a footnote, it was the contest that you're speaking of that was my first official involvement with TG (I called Walter after reading the book and we devised the idea together). The contest that is spoken of took place during a huge icestorm that shut down the rest of the building and most of Concord. Players and media still came. I also instituted an arcade high-score scoreboard there during that time (break one of the arcade highs and get some free tokens)! It was easy to do because there were so few games.

We did have Area 51 Site 4.

AC had no classic games, maybe twenty mid-1990's videogames, no pins toward the end, little interest in hosting contests, few customers, and eventually shut down. Another arcade, called Quarters, also came and went from that mall afterwards. Bear Right, up on Manchester street closed years prior, so there is currently no arcade in Concord, to my knowledge.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

tag_bmx
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 04:37 pm
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Good day to you Mr. JJT. I just came across your thread on the F.S. post board and have some questions if I may? Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong or just miss informed on my understating about your statements concerning “Area 51”. My thoughts are as follows: There are 3 platforms that this title can be played on…. x-box type, PC type and arcade version. My understanding is they all loop and they all have adjustments for game play from easy to hard. The hardest played platform is the arcade version with the smallest amount of adjustment for game play. I hear there are only 3 adjustments: easy, med. and hard. My question is, when you state the million pt. game is unattainable on which platform/setting do you speak of. You state “Site – 4” what do you mean by that and to which version of game play is it for. Does the arcade platform have more then 3 setting of play and if so is “Site – 4” one of them ????????? The reason why I’m posting to you is this….

The June 27 2002 score that was set at the {F.S. / T.G. Classics Tournament} was verified by two T.G refs. and witnessed by 10 or more people looking on…. I know I was one of them. It was done on the only arcade version I’ve seen and didn’t shut down at any point of play and was done with out looping. So please enlighten me if I’m missing something here or I just have my thoughts messed up.

Thanks JJT for your time in reading this.

Anonymous
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 06:07 pm
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"Area 51 Site 4" is a sequel to "Area 51".

A different game.

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 09:37 pm
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Hey Mike

Are you referring to the Mall(Steeplegat- I think) on Louden Road??

Scootie

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 09:42 pm
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Hey Ken

Any arcades that you know of in Manchester/Southern NH or the greater Boston area?

PS. Was not too impressed by the Dave & Busters in providence.

Thanks
Scootie

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:15 pm
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Scootie:

Yes.

tag_bmx
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 11:47 pm
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Anonymous, thank you for your input, this clears up a lot for me and my question concerning the “Area 51” million pt. games. He’s talking about two different arcade versions “Site – 4” is the sequel and must be easier than the original “Area 51”. Thx…. again anonymous you have bin very helpful.

I need to turn my attention back to the statements made by you Mr. JJT and your so called experts down there in good old TX. about “Area 51”…. I think you guys have bin eating to much chilly and it’s stating to give you all brain damage.

You see Mr. JJT…. I just wasn’t in the crowd that day at the {F.S. / T.G. Classics Tournament}…. I was behind the gun shooting out a (1,261,250) T.G. ref. verified score for “Area 51” not “Site – 4”. I had two other million plus pt. games to back it up as well…. verified. To be quite honest I had a bad hair day at that tournament, I usually average that score and have shot in the 1.9’s. I truly believe a 2 million pt. game is obtainable.

So as far as for your challenging the T.G. scores and the gamers who put them up there…. well I think you guys need to stop playing with the cows and start shooting some gun. “Area 51” gun that is.

jjt_defender
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 03:09 am
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tag_bmx
Let me ask you simple abc question to you tag_bmx.

1.Does Area 51 register a million pts. yes or no tag_bmx?

2.Which version was it the original Area 51 or the multigame cabinet with Maxium Force & Area 51 tag_bmx?

2a.Did you get to most of the secret areas & max out the bonus/ace it by shooting everything
For the facts there are 4 arcade game versions 1.Area 51
2.Area 51 site 4
3.Area 88
4.Maxium Force

3.Which of these arcade games registers a million points tag_bmx?

This was on the old TG Website

AREA 51
1,665,775 Dan Finch, California Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
324,700 Frank Bryan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
321,475 Michael Walker, Cool Crest, KCMO 4/20/97
314,075 Herb Branan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
277,750 Ryan Gregor, Cool Crest, Kansas City, MO 4/20/97
269,000 Aaron Van Buren, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97
246, 625 Michael Foley, Stop & Play, Port Richey, FL 4/3/99
213,050 Nick Galasso, Exhilirama, Vorhees, NJ 4/20/97
74,925 Amber McAnally, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97

AREA 51 - SITE 4 Difficulty: Factory (Medium)
2,188,400 Rick Haynes, Paul Revere Pizza, Fairfield, IA 4/10/99
1,107,050 Steve Melton, Aladdin's Castle, Concord, NH 1/15/99

The 2,188,400pts.is on the Area 51 on the current TG scoreboard site,look & see for yourself tag_bmx.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 03:09 am
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ROFL

Also, I notice that Dan Finch's referee-verified 1,665,775 was recorded on April 20, 1997.

"Area 51 - Site 4" wasn't copyrighted to Atari until 1998.

The conspirators must have access to some sort of time distortion device...

Keep digging Juan, the truth is out there somewhere.

\:D/

jjt_defender
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 03:33 am
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Are you Walter Day Anonymous?

Let me pose this question to you anonymous.

1.Does the Area 51 arcade register a million pts.
showing Dan Finch 1,665,775pts.?

2.Is there a picture?

You said it was recorded so I have to asume that you have video tape of the Area 51 arcade game showing the score, that is all I want,is to see the score & the Area 51 arcade game machine.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 03:38 am
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Are you Walter Day Anonymous?

Let me pose this question to you anonymous.

1.Does the Area 51 arcade register a million pts.
showing Dan Finch 1,665,775pts.?

2.Is there a picture?

You said it was recorded so I have to asume that you have video tape of the Area 51 arcade game showing the score, that is all I want,is to see the score & the Area 51 arcade game machine.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Gregory Erway
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 08:28 am
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Juan,

I know Mark is extremly talented on Area 51 (and no it wasn't Site 4) and is able to get over 1 million. He asked me if I was was qualified to watch him play Area 51 this year at Funspot and I told him I was not authorized to do so as I am a TG Advisor and member of the rules committee and not a referee. I didn't see Marks game this year but saw the end of his game last year, when the game was in the cocktail section of the classic arcade room, which I believe was also over 1 million points.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 10:06 am
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Hello JUan:

As I explained before, when the data conversion testing is over, some older scores erroneously entered to Area 51 shall be removed.

Robert

Scootie
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 01:30 pm
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JJT

You're starting to sound more and more like roy.

Scootie

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 01:56 pm
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No, he really isn't - I can read Roy's posts. I have to jump right over his; I can't bring myself to suffer through those repetitive paragraphs of atrocious grammar that are some five times longer than the average post. - ZM

tag_bmx
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 02:21 pm
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Thank you, Mr. Erway for your kind words, sorry for not saying good by to you this year at the F.S.C.T. I tried to find you. Last minute problems with my crew at a job sight. Cats away the mice play.

Just to let you know Mr. JJT…. Mr. Erway is one of the most respected players in the international gaming community, I say “international” because the {F.S. / T.G. Classics Tournament} has players from all over the world putting up verified scores / world records. Here is the cherry on top, Mr. Erway is the current verified world record holder for “Tapper” 5 man and marathon. It’s mesmerizing to see him play, a true master at the title.

With that said, back to the bizz at hand. I apologize Mr. JJT for answering your question with a question, but I want to qualify that we are talking about the same arcade version of “Area 51”.

OK…. My understanding is that the original “Area 51” is the only title in a box, that one or two people can play together with separate scoring or as a one player game. A red or blue gun can be picked for a one player game, color doesn’t matter unless your superstitious, 3 difficulty setting and looping. If this is the same arcade version of the first “Area 51” you say that the million pt. game is fantasy, fabrication, a lie, bogus, it can't be done period, then I’d have to answer your questions this way:

Yes…. “Area 51” does register a million pt. game, I know this because, all my scores are verified on the above description.

The first “Area 51” was and is a one title game in a cabinet.

I’ve seen three rooms achieved by shooting all yellow and blue lenses out, shooting all flammable containers, shooting all windows out in everything and yes I did/do, the rooms are big points/lots of weapons, the (Egg Celia) is the hardest to get.

Yes…. I’ve seen the TG scoreboard and the 2 million plus game posted, I was referring to a personal best and my goal to some day surpass the current world record of “Area 51”.

Well, if we see eye to eye on the above description of the original and first “Area 51”…. I hope this answers all of your simple abc’s and helps you find your next cup of chilly.

PS – A little tid bit…. Multipliers run concurrent if you don’t miss.

PPS – Mr. Erway thx…. again for your support.

Weehawk
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 09:49 pm
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We must be looking at different ROM versions here.

In the original Area 51 ROM, the one dumped for and emulated in MAME, the score maxes at 999,999

I tested it myself (using cheats). Screenshot here:

http://weehawk.marpirc.net/area51.png

The same is indicated by the information available at:

http://www.gamesurge.com/arcade/strategy/arcade_wt/Area_51.txt

Which reads in part:

"The maximum score in this game is 999,999 (or 999K). When you reach that
point, congratuations on reaching the top. You can't go any higher then that.In this case, you can finish the game until you die, then enter your initials."

If the version you're playing displays higher scores, the only thing I can figure is that there were later, changed, versions.

tag_bmx
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 01:59 am
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Mr. Weehawk, thank you for your tested and well informed information on “Area 51”. It seems you’re the man to talk to about ROM’s, versions of the titles and so on…. If I may ask the $10.00 dollar question ?????

Is the original “Area 51” ROM, that dumps the one for and emulated in MAME and maxes the score at 999,999 {Harder} to play than later changed versions of “Area 51”…. not “Site – 4”, “88” and later dual cabinet titles versions ????? Just the good old “Area 51”…. later version, one title in the box that allows for million pt games ?????

Example: If I was to play two “Area 51” boxes side by side, one being the ROM that limits your score to a set maxed number and the other being a updated ROM that allows for unlimited scoring, would the two games play the same with only the score being stopped on one game and the other score being allowed to move on ?????

Thanks again for your time in reading this post.

Weehawk
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 05:34 pm
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"Is the original “Area 51” ROM, that dumps the one for and emulated in MAME and maxes the score at 999,999 {Harder} to play than later changed versions of “Area 51”…."

The only version I have any personal knowledge of is the one emulated in MAME. I only speculate that there were revisions based on your and Mr. Erway's reports. It only makes sense though..if people started beating the max score that they would "fix" it.

Would the revised versions play the same, otherwise? I don't see why they would bother changing anything else, but that's just speculation again on my part.

jjt-defender
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 09:00 pm
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Gregory Erway wrote on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 08:28 am
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Juan,

I know Mark is extremly talented on Area 51 (and no it wasn't Site 4) and is able to get over 1 million. He asked me if I was was qualified to watch him play Area 51 this year at Funspot and I told him I was not authorized to do so as I am a TG Advisor and member of the rules committee and not a referee. I didn't see Marks game this year but saw the end of his game last year, when the game was in the cocktail section of the classic arcade room, which I believe was also over 1 million points.

question to you Gregory Erway:

1.Did tag_bmx game register a million points plus on the highscore table on Area 51 arcade machine when you Greg were refereeing his arcade game at Funspot?

2.Is there a picture of the tag_bmx or anybody scoring a million plus pts. on Area 51 arcade game Greg anywhere?

JJT:I physically played Area 51 arcade game to a score of 999,999pts. on the original Area 51 at 2 arcade gamerooms LeFun & Nothcross mall arcade.Plus,I played using the Kron to score 999,999pts. As well as my friends with my eyes in front of me the game does not exceed a million points just shows 999,999pts. that's it nothing more. I tested it it's not possible to score a million points on Area 51 arcade game.

JJT:If you want call Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas CALL IN THE MORNING BETWEEN 9A.M. & 11A.M. PHONE #512-670-9600 ask for Mike he is the head Video Game Technician there to check on my highscores on the multigame cabinet with Maxium Force & Area 51. I scored 999,999pts.with Kron & normal.I believe there are 4 scores of 999,999pts. 2 normal & 2 Kron.

SPECIAL NOTE: Make sure you tell Mike what I look like the guy with glasses & a lite blue backpack that I carry with me all the time & my initials JJT,I talk with Mike all the time on $12 Tuesdays.

JJT:If you like, Mike can check all my scores & my initials & seen me play.On the following Games:
1.Tsurugi 1,199,400pts.

2.Police Trainer 2 122,860pts

3.Star Trek Voyager 328,750pts

4.Jurasstic Park 3 768,430pts. solo 978,640pts.doubles playing solo hard difficulty

5.Time Crisis 3 1st player & 2nd 1.5 million on both 1st & 2nd player on Hard difficulty

6.Crisis Zone 3.5 million pts. on hard difficulty

7.Trophy Hunting 7,800pts. & 6,960pts.

8.House of the Dead 3 170.620pts. C 175,880pts D on Max difficulty

9.Jurasstic Park Lost World 30,020,000pts. FOR 5 STAGES

10.Area 51 / Maxium Force 999,999pts. & 3,028,330pts.

phone #512-670-9600 call between 9a.m. to 11a.m. Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas by I-35

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 09:32 pm
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Scootie WROTE:
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 01:30 pm
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JJT

You're starting to sound more and more like roy.

Scootie

JJT:I'm the real deal Scootie as Chris Ayra verified at Grand Prix. I'm not Roy.

Why don't you Scootie pay or give me a used Defender & Stargate classic arcade games. Pretty please with sugar on top.

WHen I get the classic arcade games Defender & Stargate,it will only take me 1 to 3 months,then I will break the current world records on both games,it's a given but for the meantime I will concentrate on the modern arcade games.

Most of the players on both the TG & Funspot forums have classic arcade games like Billy Mitchael has Pacman/MsPacman/Centipede/Burgertime/Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong jr.;
Chris Ayra has MsPacman/Pacman/Tempest/Berzerk;
Robert Mz has Star Wars/Galaxian;Donald Hayes has Tron/Zaxxon/Centipede/Millipede/Dig Dug/super Zaxxon;Brien King has Robotron/Defender/Joust/Stargate/Tempest/Donkey Kong/Mspacman;Dwayne Richards has a number of classic arcade games just to name a few great classic arcade game players
who own & have the WORLD RECORD ON THERE CLASSIC ARCADE GAME TITLEs.

Plus,having access to a classic arcade gameroom like Funspot/Ground Kontrol to name a few known classic arcade gamerooms.

Once I own the classic arcade games Defender/Stargate & Galaxian that will change, until then I'm not going to worry about it now but unless they put a classic arcade gameroom were I live it's a mute point or find someone close that has these classic arcade game titles,I will focus on the modern arcade game titles.

Would someone like to donate these classic arcade game titles to me? Any takers!

your fellow gamemaster JJT

artz
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 09:33 pm
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Somebody let this thread die a horrible death!

jjt_defender
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 09:44 pm
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tag_bmx wrote:
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 01:59 am
Example: If I was to play two “Area 51” boxes side by side, one being the ROM that limits your score to a set maxed number and the other being a updated ROM that allows for unlimited scoring, would the two games play the same with only the score being stopped on one game and the other score being allowed to move on ?????

1.The only people that would know if there is a newer version of the arcade game Area 51 would be the Atari company.

2.Do you have a picture of any of your million point scores on Area 51 tag_bmx on the high score table on Area 51 arcade game? poloroid/Camcoder/35mm etc.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:48 am
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"it's a mute point"--that's classic--it seems that the problem with modern arcades is that the places that have them don't care if the kids playing them are skipping school to play them. Come to think, though, I guess this topic doesn't really require ANY speech.

Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:36 am
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""it's a mute point"--that's classic--it seems that the problem with modern arcades is that the places that have them don't care if the kids playing them are skipping school to play them"

The sad thing is, Juan's almost 43.

Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 10:45 am
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Somehow I was thinking hes 13. He should be spanked anyway!

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:51 pm
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How are you doing Walter alias Anonymous.
Manners please. God Bless You

The million point scores that the players set on Area 51 arcade game should still be on the machine highscore table at Funspot.
All my 999,999pts.on Area 51 are still on the highscore table to this day.

Someone can get a picture of the Million pt. scores on Area 51 at Funspot.
Not a hard thing to do.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Vidiot
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:36 pm
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jjt him is mind reader now. Him all smart and know who be anonymous. Him should have TV show and read minds make lot of money then no have to post here no more.

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:49 pm
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ugh who be you Vidiot wrote:
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:36 pm
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jjt him is mind reader now. Him all smart and know who be anonymous. Him should have TV show and read minds make lot of money then no have to post here no more.

Are you Todd or Walter
A interesting website beatthechamp
in the past not the present reality.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

God Bless You All

Gregory Erway
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:33 pm
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Juan,

You have started to become offensive in your posts (not to me but others). I have seen you post the same message time and time again with nothing more to say. The posts are extremly long and hard to read through. I have seen posts by you that include fake scores you have reported to achieve yourself only to back pedal when confronted and claim it was just a joke (April fools jokes many months later). In my opinion you have damaged your name in the gaming community with your cocky posts. You have even suggested in previous posts (and the posts I refer to are not limited to only the Funspot forums) that you post this crap to try to create controversy to make things more exciting. I for one don't like it. I suggest you refrain from this type of behaviour in the future and just play the games and have fun. This will be my last post to you, at least for a while.

I did not "ref" Marks Area 51 score. I said I saw the end of one of his games at the 2002 (maybe it was 2003) tournament. I also said I was not authorized to "ref" any score as I am not a TG ref. I simply was nearby when Mark (tag_bmx not Schulz) finished up his game. He asked me to watch the machine for him while he went to get someone to write the score down for the tournament. He told me the score was very good and I remember the score told to me being over 1 million (in fact it seems like it was 1.3 million). I was not a ref of the game so I didn't look that close to try to disern if there was any cheating or anything going on. But I didn't see anything that led me to believe the score was not as reported. I could almost swear that I did see a score over 1 million registering all the digits. But I could be mistaken. However I do know Mark (tag_bmx) and consider him trustworthy and have no reason to doubt what he says. He was even willing to have me ref his game this year until I told him I wasn't a ref. Seems like a guy planning on getting over a million points wouldn't go to the trouble of asking someone to come ref the game if he knew he couldn't do it.

I do not know the exact version of Area 51 that Mark played. It sounds like there is a single player and a two player cabinet and one acts differently (I'm guessing by what was said but don't really know). I know the marquee said "Area 51". I would expect Mark to know what game he was playing.

There were many great games from the Golden Age. The people that post on this forum mostly discuss these older games. I'm sure there are a number of great newer games. I personally stopped liking the newer games after Street Fighter II came out. It seemed, at least for a while, that every game was nothing more than a fighting game with newer grosser graphics but the same game play. Sure there were a few new secret moves on the different versions but nothing ground breaking (except for the increased graphics capabilities). There were occasional good scrolling shooters like Raiden II. Racing games in general have been awesome. But for the most part I elect to not play the newer games. Not because I can't get great scores but because I just don't have fun playing them. There are classic games I dislike and don't play even though I might be capable of high scores. Just because you used to like the older games and now you like the newer games does not necessarily make you a better gamer. It doesn't prove anything that you (a person who has been playing and enjoying these titles) can beat a player who doesn't like the newer titles and has not played them. I can respect the love many have for the newer games.

Please back off. Take it easy for a while. And then try to start posting intelligent messages that show your fellow game players some respect. And please try to stop posting messages designed to infuriate another poster and then try to hide or protect yourself with a "May God Bless You". (And yes Juan, before you ask, I am a Christian and I do go to church.)

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:56 pm
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Hi Juan:

I have to restate what Greg just mentioned.

I've received and replied to your many E-MAILs and posts for close to 4 years, and your most recent postings and replies (last 2 months, mostly) have a decidedly different attitude.

Juan, if you are not pleased with the speed at which TG has addressed taking down some "Area 51" postings, please do not take that out on the Funspot community. I personally promised you they would be removed when the new TG site conversion was fully tested, and I will do it myself.

I have nicely and politely replied to dozens of your E-MAILs over the years, providing data when I could to the extent that I could, and except for this "Area 51" request, I have not been anything but pro-active with your requests in all this time.

So why have you changed ? Send me a private E-MAIL if you wish. Thansk.

Robert

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 06:58 pm
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To Robert T Mruczek

All I ask is to see a picture.

How hard is it to get a picture of the million pt scores by these players on the Area 51 arcade game
at FunSpot arcade gameroom Robert? Prove me wrong but I doubt it. It's not like it was done in the 80's or the 12 million pt plus arcade game on Pacman.

Somebody has to have a picture,camcoder recording from theses players million point Area 15 arcade game. With all the great classic arcade game players there at FunSpot these are modern times that we live in now.

If Atari says that they didn't make a newer version of Area 51. Then there was tampering of the arcade game or bootlegg therefore the million point scores on Area 51 arcade games do not count period by TG rules.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 07:02 pm
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Robert the highscore of those million point Area 51 arcade games would still be on the machine because my 999,999pts. are still on the Area 51 arcade game to this day & at Austin Park 'N' Pizza. There should be no problem getting a picture of the million pt.scores on Area 51 arcade game.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 04:10 pm
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Hey Greg....

Very well put. I feel exactly the same way you do regarding arcade games after Street Fighter II.

I never cared much for SF-II, but I did play a lot of Mortal Kombat, which I feel was a better game than SF-II.

Unfortunately, games like SF-II and MK put an end to "originality" in arcade games..

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 05:33 pm
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Hi Juan:

I think the answer to your query is very simple.

I am not doubting your assessment that 1M or more is not possible...I am simply stating that until the database testing is done with, the scores can't be taken down. Once the testing is done, they will come down on the new site's database, plain and simple.

No idea who posted these scores...could have been some of Walter's old crew. They made typos from time to time...if I make two score-entry typos a year that's a lot.

Robert

jjt_defender
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 12:05 am
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Take a look at this Weehawk/Anonymous/BBH/tag_bmx

Twin Galaxies' Arcade Scoreboard
Here is the table of arcade video game high-scores (A-L) which have already been approved for inclusion in the 2nd edition of Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records.
If your scores can match these records, you should go to this link: Become a Star and read about the celebrity status many video game players have attained in their own home town by being a world record holder on a video game.

If you would like the chance to prove your stuff, Twin Galaxies is willing to set up a contest for you and verify your high scores in time for the deadline of the next edition of the world record book.

Note: Some of the scores herein may not be the definitive world records because some of the 16,000 scores in the Twin Galaxies Database have not yet been loaded into this web site.

Updated: 30 Apr 99 by Ron Corcoran.

A-L

AREA 51
1,665,775 Dan Finch, California Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
324,700 Frank Bryan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
321,475 Michael Walker, Cool Crest, KCMO 4/20/97
314,075 Herb Branan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
277,750 Ryan Gregor, Cool Crest, Kansas City, MO 4/20/97
269,000 Aaron Van Buren, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97
246, 625 Michael Foley, Stop & Play, Port Richey, FL 4/3/99
213,050 Nick Galasso, Exhilirama, Vorhees, NJ 4/20/97
74,925 Amber McAnally, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97

AREA 51 - SITE 4 Difficulty: Factory (Medium)
2,188,400 Rick Haynes, Paul Revere Pizza, Fairfield, IA 4/10/99
1,107,050 Steve Melton, Aladdin's Castle, Concord, NH 1/15/99

jjt_defender
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 12:13 am
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A question to you tag_bmx.

1.Does Area 51 arcade game have 7 digits to register a million points?

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Rick
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 07:45 pm
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jjt defender,
Man, it sounds like you have an axe to grind with Twin Galaxies. Why don't you take your scoring complaint to them and leave it out of here - you are sounding like the king of sour grapes. Are you out to defame them or get scores corrected. Reading your long posts make me think you're looking for revenge and that's immature and, decreases our faith in anything you say.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 07:52 pm
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Hi Rick:

I already explained to Juan that multiple lengthy posts on the same subject matter only serves to dilute the original intentions, and make it less likely for regular forum readers to invest the time to read all the replies due to lack of available time.

I actually had to spend 5-10 minutes the other day JUST to find the E-MAIL that had his correct mailing address !!

Robert

Rick
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 08:27 pm
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Hello Robert,
There is nothing so irritating then someone with a problem who thinks the entire world needs to be a part of it. Save your pathetic crying for someone who cares!

He should mail you his complaints or suggestions privately and stop ranting here. He acts like a 5 year old who didn't get his way.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 08:37 pm
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Hi Rick:

May act like 5, but a previous forum thread suggested he was 43. Go Figure.

Robert

Rick
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 09:00 pm
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Hello Robert,
It drives me crazy because every forum has at least one or two of these people. If you want someone to feel sorry for you or listen to your crying and bitching then call your mommy.

Anonymous
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 10:40 pm
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"May act like 5, but a previous forum thread suggested he was 43. Go Figure. "

He will be 43 in September.

jjt_defender
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 12:46 am
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Funny how you gang up Roy. You can't handle me.

Goo goo ga ga is that better Rick.
Do you Rick want a lolipop/cuddly teddy bear & read you a bedtime story.

Tic for tack/One for one

Thank You & God Bless
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Rick
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 09:46 am
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jjt,
Thanks for proving my point.

Todd Rogers
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 11:20 am
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Hmmmmmm the last time i looked i thought this would have been a Video Gaming site not a mud slinging match.
JJT from the email i had recieved from you some time ago you sounded like an entirely different person then what i am reading here. You have even invited me to lunch and i would have hoped that you would conduct yourself like an adult if we would have met for that occasion.Why do you have to go on and on about things that have nothing to do with your gaming prowness.This GooGoo Ga Ga crap is only making you look stupid or do you like that sort of image? You made your point about your highscores and your challange's now i would like to think that you better start practicing on those games that you selected for all the challanges that you may have collected by your previous postings.I am not bashing you JJT but only trying to bring out the better quality of person that you can be.JJT you even compair yourself to ROY but then in the same words say that he is weaker and you are better at defending your threads.What is this a test of who can argue the most and win? Remember again this is a gaming site with gaming related material if you have a difference of oppinion then make the post/Emails personal. This is the point that i was trying to bring to ROYS attention before he changed into Capt.Fig Leaf with deaf ears.He tells me in one breath that he has nothing ever to say to me but in the same breath to get together with Twin Galaxies about some silly 12 game contest. What kind of a IDIOT would do that, sounds like a double talking to me.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

jjt_defender
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 12:13 pm
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Rick started it & it's childlish it should not be on this game forum.

Rick should start obeying the rules instead of contradicting them.
Rick should stop insulting & name calling me.

It doesn't make Rick look good,we should all act like civilized adults on this forum. It's getting to be redicoulous. I'm tired of it.

Thank You for Listening & My prayers are with you on this matter

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Tim McIlroy
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 02:38 pm
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Could the statement "Rick started it" be any more childish???

Anonymous
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 07:25 pm
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Sorry for interrupting the flow of this thread, but I've been surfing around trying to find "Area 51" records and stumbled across this. In particular, I'm trying to find what the longest streak ever recorded was. I was just curious to see how I stacked up. Any help?

Thanks
DH

jjt_defender
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:34 pm
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Good question Anonymous.what the longest streak ever recorded
JJT on Area 51 arcade game

1.What is the longest hit streak on Area 51?
1a.And for each (wave/area/stage/section) on Area 51 arcade game?

2.What is your longest hit streak Anonymous on Area 51?

3.What is the most points for each (stage/area/wave/section)on Area 51 arcade game?

4.What is the most points you Anonymous for each (stage/area/wave/section)on Area 51?

5.What is your highest final score Anonymous on Area 51 arcade game without looping?

Thank You & God Bless
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 11:08 pm
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JJT

Your needle is stuck dude!!

How many times must we hear your endless repetition of your Area 51 score??

I also made the point of calling Austin Park-n-Pizza. Turns out that you do have some hi scores there, and the guy I spoke to also thinks that you're a nutcase!

Scootie

jjt_defender
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 11:56 pm
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Scootie wrote:How many times must we hear your endless repetition of your Area 51 score??

JJT:They were new questions on Area 51 & it's on the game topic.

Scootie wrote:I also made the point of calling Austin Park-n-Pizza. Turns out that you do have some hi scores there, and the guy I spoke to also thinks that you're a nutcase!

JJT: Is that proof enough for anybody on this forum Scootie. Case settled.
I told you the truth & I JJT didn't lie about my modern arcade games scores. Plus, my classic arcade games at Grand Prix in the 80's confirmed by a noted classic arcade game of alltime Chris Ayra TG World Record Holder on MsPacman/Fastest Perfect Pacman game/Berzerk.

I just spoke to Mike he said it was not true Scootie.
Mike would like to know why you Scootie would say that.

Thank You Scootie for calling & verifying my modern arcade game scores & initials JJT at Austin Park 'N' Pizza.

God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:04 am
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Here is a Marathon Maxium Force game.

I recently did a marathon score of 9,999,999pts. on Maxium Force this past Tuesday June 22,2004 at Austin Park 'N' Pizza in Pflugerville,Texas alongside I-35.
When I started playing Maxium Force I had already worked a 10 hour shift on graveyard.
After playing for 13 straight hours shooting standing up I finally reached my goal of 9,999,999pts & went beyond it. I celebrated when I put my initials on the game JJT,it was finally over in total exhaustion & relief.I had severe muscle spasms in both hands & shoulders.Plus,I had cramps in my fingers/back & leggs I could barely walk.I thought my hand was glued to the gun,I had to pull each finger to let go of the gun,it was that bad. I then walked home in triumph.
I did it for myself & as a challenge.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:19 am
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This is like "Groundhog Day" in reguards to "A.P.n.P.i.P,T" as i do not want to repeat that arcade's name ever again. JJTD just show up to Funspot and play something anything and im sure someone will gladly beat you time after time on any game.

Richard M.
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:21 am
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Juan,

Yes you mentioned your Maximum Force score already. :-) (I looked up the spelling in KLOV, as I've never played the game.)

I have had Galaga (fast-shoot) games where I stood up during the entire game and after about seven or eight million, my back was just killing me! So if I'm going to be playing Galaga for a few hours, I try to find a stool beforehand. When I finally achieved 10 million, I did sit in a stool for most of that game, and it helped immensely; I could have kept going except that the arcade had closed for the night. :-)

-- Richard

jjt_defender
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:01 am
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Here is a Marathon Maxium Force game.

I recently did a marathon score of 9,999,999pts. on Maxium Force this past Tuesday June 22,2004 at Austin Park 'N' Pizza in Pflugerville,Texas alongside I-35.
When I started playing Maxium Force I had already worked a 10 hour shift on graveyard.
After playing for 13 straight hours shooting standing up I finally reached my goal of 9,999,999pts & went beyond it. I celebrated when I put my initials on the game JJT,it was finally over in total exhaustion & relief.I had severe muscle spasms in both hands & shoulders.Plus,I had cramps in my fingers/back & leggs I could barely walk.I thought my hand was glued to the gun,I had to pull each finger to let go of the gun,it was that bad. I then walked home in triumph.
I did it for myself & as a challenge.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:33 am
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I was watching a movie & the motor biker build off. I don't know how I got double print.
My bad on the double.Is there anyway of deleting the my 2nd post. I thought I didn't post it before I started watching the Movie & Biker build off.

To answer your question Richard
they don't allow you to have a chair on arcade game floor. Believe me that would been the first thing I would have done before starting a marathon game on Maxium Force.

Richard are you going tobreak the current TG world record on Galaga for fast shoot.

good luck Richard
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Sorry about that
your fellow gamemaster JJT

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:21 am
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Groundhogs day: insurance salesman schoolfriend, suicide in every way possible,it's going to be winter forever.

Ok, time for graveyard shift

Weehawk
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:10 pm
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"You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life."

I love that movie.

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:55 pm
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Me too. I like allmost every movie Murray acts in. He's hilarious in a cynical way...

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 09:43 am
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I remember hearing that, in order to make the movie more realistic, Bill Murray insisted that Andie MacDowell actually slap him all those times on camera. Apparently his face got QUITE sore in the process. - ZM

TJT
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 01:56 pm
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Maybe he asked Andie to do something else for realism... that's why she slapped him!

Anonymous
Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 01:45 am
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JJT

Sorry for taking so long to respond. I honestly couldn't tell you my scores. My Area 51 hey day was about 5 years ago. I seem to remember being on the order of 500,000 or so (since the thought of breaking a million in two loops seems to ring a bell). As for the streak, that number sticks in my head 764. It started at the end of the first section (around the semi). At the beginning of the next wave, I'd get the shotgun. Getting the machine gun is murder on a streak. I kept the streak going into the Admin building.

jjt_defender
Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 05:15 pm
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That's excellent Anonymous.
The streak is awesome on Area 51.

What classic arcade games are you playing these days?

Good luck Anonymous
Take care
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Monday, July 05, 2004 - 03:23 am
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I can't say that I'm an active gamer now. Area 51 just happened to come up in a discussion with a friend, so I got curious. Have you heard of any other long streaks?

I rarely visit arcades, but if I see a Ms. Pacman machine, I just can't resist. I average around 200,000 and my best is about 350,000. It's nowhere close to the record, but I'm proud of it.

jjt_defender
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 08:08 pm
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Anytime you can get over 200,000 that is great,only a small percentage of players in the world can score that much on regular speed MsPacman.
And you Anonymous got 350,000pts.on MsPacman which leaves you good company. Top 30 maybe top 20 on MsPacman, Anonymous.

good luck
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:15 am
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Hey JJT

I've scored over 200K in both Pac and Ms. Pac Man (turbo - with little energizer time)

Does that put me in an "elite" league?

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 02:39 pm
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Hello everyone:

Just wondering...why is a thread on Area 51 being used for scores on MS Pacman, now ?

Couldn't help but notice that the thread hit 70+ replies. I think we're forgetting to start new topics.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 04:29 pm
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Robert, after reading all the posts on this topic, I realized that no one has flat out answered the question. Yes, I do believe the scores are true.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A few questions to you Todd Rogers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jjt_defender
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 01:48 am
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1.Do you think you Todd can beat me on either Defender or Stargate?

2.Do you think Stephan Krogman can beat me on either Defender or Stargate?

3.Where were you when I was playing at Grand Prix Race 'O' Rama in Ft.Ldle,in the 80's

4.Why don't you Todd challenge me on modern arcade games.At Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement. on the following games:

a.Jurasstic Park 3
b.Police Trainer 2
c.Time Crisis 3
d.House of the Dead 3
e.Tsurugi
f.Star Trek Voyager
g.Crisis Zone
h.Jurastic Park Lost World DX
i.Area 51
j.Maxium Force
k.Trophy Hunting Bear & Moose

Are up for the challenge Todd Rogers?

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 02:18 am
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Todd wrote:

"I don't mind beating you over and over again on your game of your choice if you will pay my #1 Air fair and #2 My FOOD bill as some call me the "PIZZA-GOD". If you can take up my offer then your challange is met. Until then stop your crying i would have thought if you wanted to make a statement you would have made an effort to come out to the FUNSPOT 2004 Tournament. So where were ya with ROY?"

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 12:56 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Juan:

Just wanted to provide you with some info regarding your post in this thread.

1st - to my knowledge, Todd never proclaimed himself a master of either of these Williams titles. However, he might have played the 2600 translations.

2nd - from my recent correspondence with Steve, he was more of a Defender player than a Stargate player. However, we never discussed what he thinks he could do, or previously might have done, on Defender at TGTS

3rd - most likely Todd never attended that arcade. You can't expect someone to be everywhere. In my day, there were arcades in NYC, and I regularly attended five of them. Had there been any outside of Penn Station or Times Square, I most likely would not have bothered to make the trip, so I don't believe Todd can be expected to visit every arcade in Florida outside of his hometown locale.

4th - of the games you mentioned here, I have (to date) only seen two decent players, and that was only on three of the titles. JC Padilla from NY was pretty good at HoD3 and TC3. And at Funspot, recently, I witnessed a decent A51 player.

Most of the titles you mentioned seem to be shooting-based titles. That is a different skillset than joystick, trackball, steering wheel or multi-button based titles. Thus, if the gamer in question (Todd) eschews that genre, he cannot be expected to compete meaningfully against your achievements.

I have to wonder how Donn Nauert would do at these titles, being that he was a master-class player at Cheyenne, Crossbow and Crackshot.

Best wishes and regards,

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 02:43 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd add that there's a big difference between mounted-gun tracking games and light-gun aiming games. I'm FAR better at the likes of Time Crisis and House of the Dead than Crossbow and Zombie Raid (although I'm quite fond of Zombie Raid for a reason I can't really accurately express in words).

This reminds me - the Hogan's Alley gun at Funspot could use some work, last I checked. It seems to really dislike the lower-left corner of the screen (which becomes suddenly important at around round 7). - ZM

Todd Rogers
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 04:07 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUAN
Answers to your questions.
(1) Not on Stargate but Defender you'de have your hands full.
(2) I have no idea what Stephen Krogman's abilitys are as i have never seen him play in person.
(3) In 1980 i was already making a name for my self with ACTIVISION. In 1980 i already had FOUR Verified World record scores how about you? I also made records at the local Arcade Haunted Trails and at Bally's Aladdins Castle in Burbank Illinois.
(4) What to give you an edge on something YOU like...Hmmm how about some Sega race games why not.
(5) AM i up for a challange ALL THE TIME where have you been, havent you been reading the many many post on all the gaming sites.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Martin Bedard
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 12:15 am
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"I'd add that there's a big difference between mounted-gun tracking games and light-gun aiming games. I'm FAR better at the likes of Time Crisis and House of the Dead than Crossbow and Zombie Raid"

Definatly agree here. I only managed 730000 on crossbow but I can do very well on Time Crisis 2 and HotD 2.

jjt_defender
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 11:29 pm
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Robert wrote:
3rd - most likely Todd never attended that arcade. You can't expect someone to be everywhere. In my day, there were arcades in NYC, and I regularly attended five of them. Had there been any outside of Penn Station or Times Square, I most likely would not have bothered to make the trip, so I don't believe Todd can be expected to visit every arcade in Florida outside of his hometown locale.

I find that very hard to believe that Todd Rogers never played at Grand Prix Race 'O' Rama the Worlds Largest Arcade GameRoom Ft.Ldle,Fla. in the 80's.You could put 4 FunSpot gamerooms in it.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1943

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Charlie Weatherbee
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 03:36 pm
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I was wondering if anyone knew where the cows were in the game for bonus points? Also if anyone knows how to get a 100% on the boss planes i can only get a 90%. Thanks

RJM
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 04:44 am
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As far as I'm aware, you need the laser to get 100% on the large planes. This is a hidden weapon which, AFAIK can only be accessed using a code before the start of the stage. Check out this link for more info.

www.classicgaming.com/rcatt/

Click on game tips, then 0-C to find 1943.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Who Appears the Most in the Book??

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Walter Day
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 05:37 pm
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After choosing a few names at random, just the video arcade section alone
shows these many records for these people:

Donald Hayes Video 61
David Nelson Video 36
Adam Wood Video 70
Robert Mruczek Video 52
Mark Spaeth Video 10
Jason Cram Video 34
Shawn Cram Video 32
Cameron feltner Video 36
Derek Litton Video 23

Walter Day

Anonymous
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 06:24 pm
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When the heck is the book coming out?

Anonymous
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 07:27 pm
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Walter,

You missed the most important one

Roy Shildt Video 1

I wouldn't want Roy to think there was a conspiracy to ignore him. ;-)

Anonymous
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 07:42 pm
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not on video; ref.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 08:49 pm
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Hi Anonymous:

Hah !! That's a good one.

You know, he MIGHT actually qualify for the "no prize" award for most talked-about accomplishment of all time. Of course that is in terms of a gamer talking about their OWN score, mind you.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 08:51 pm
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Hi Anonymous:

Actually, maybe Roy is the undisputed world record holder on "Squid Search" and has been holding out on us all these years. That would vault him into the stratosphere with TWO (count 'em...two) world records to his name.

Robert

Walter Day
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 10:12 pm
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Funspot scores in the Video Section of the Book of Records:

Funspot 1999 -- 14
Funspot 2000 -- 61
Funspot 2001 -- 81
Funspot 2002 -- 318
Funspot 2003 -- 136
Funspot 2004 -- 307

As the later years generate higher scores, the lower scores from the earlier years will be displaced in the database; thats why 1999, 2000, and 2001 have so few listings. Within a few years, all the low scores from these earliest years will be superseded.

Walter day

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 14, 2004 - 11:00 pm
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Walter:

I have more scores from Funspot 1999-2002 at home not yet entered due to missing titles or player IDs...quite a few more. Perhaps 75-125 or so. They range from 1999-2001 mostly, with a few from 2002. When the new site is fully functional all will be added in.

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 02:04 am
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Hey Everyone..

Good one anonymous!!

Must we keep teasing "poor" Roy like that!!

Scootie

PS. Would Roy's(alleged) 5,000,000 at Crossbow give him three world records?

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 02:10 am
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Hey Everyone..

Good one anonymous!!

Must we keep teasing "poor" Roy like that!!

Scootie

PS. Would Roy's(alleged) 5,000,000 at Crossbow give him three world records, thus sending him WAY beyond the stratosphere?

Ken Sweet
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 09:35 am
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Scootie: No. The world record on Crossbow is much higher than 5 million, it's nearly 20 million by Donn Nauert.

Walter: Good work! Can't wait to see the next edition.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:49 am
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Wow - seventy? I have to ask - how often is Steve Krogman listed? - ZM

Anonymous
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 08:14 pm
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How many times is Todd Rogers listed he says he has over 2000 world records is that true Walter?

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 09:04 pm
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Hi Anonymous:

Todd has approx 270-275 scores not even posted to the database yet. Matthew Leto...over 600 easily. I think Walter's count includes arcade only. When it is expanded to include home console, then the numbers will climb dramatically.

Matt and I gained approx 300+ mentions from the summer 2001 competitions alone !!

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 09:56 pm
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Robert,
How many of these scores are actually first place scores in compairison to just their names being listed. I could make 100 scores just to see my name over and over to have said that i am in the book but not having any impressive scores. For instance i play a game of Pacman and get a score of 5,000 points does that qualify me for listing in the book.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 11:02 pm
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Hi Anonymous:

The whole spirit of Twin Galaxies is that everyone at least tries their best when submitting scores. Obviously if I get a wave of 100 submissions from a gamer with scores like 5,000 on "Pacman" that will be low on the priority pile for data entry, but we at least WILL honour the scores...providing the person is not submitting such for volume alone, or to bog down our resources intentionally for sake of doing so.

Todd's 1,500-2,000+ scores are largely 1st place scores. As for myself, I have over 300 easily, although only a handful of 1st place winners.

Technically speaking, and regardless of how you may feel, someone has to be the 1st submitter on any title...eventually. Thus, if someone were to submit a score on "Foreign Legion" at Funspot (and one gamer has this year), that will be the "TG recognized world record" at that point.

Deal with it...not every score can be 1M+ on a game. And not every game has more than one submitter. It's a reality. I'm willing to bet that to date less than 10 people in the past 6 months have played "Foreign Legion" at Funspot, just to single out a game there in particular. Like I said, not every game has a lot of scores submitted, some have none.

All TG asks is that a player at least tries their best, that's all. It's the spirit of what we're about.

Robert

Scootie
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 12:01 am
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Hey Rob

All TG asks is that a player at least tries their best, that's all. It's the spirit of what we're about.

Point well made....and I couldn't agree more!

I also feel that the dedication & loyality of the players towards the classic titles they play & love is just as important as the aspiration for world records.

I do not have any first place records (yet). I may have a second or third at "Crazy Climber". Regardless of weather a gamer has many, few, one, or no world records; in the end it's the attitude and dedication toward classic gaming that matters most.

I am making a serious attempt at the records on..

Crazy Climber
Guided Missle
Dig-Dug
Donkey Kong - since I am now achieving over 100K on Donkey Kong (MAME-TGTS) on a regular basis; I may devote more time to attempting a record on that title as well. DK was also recently chosen by a gaming magazine as the GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME - and this "list of 50" included traditional, board, sports, pinballs, and Videogames.

peace
Scootie

PS. The only other videogame on the "top ten" portion of that list was Ms.Pac-Man at number 5.

Sorry Pac Man- you came in 12th place - while Space Invaders came in at 27.

MDARULZ
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 11:59 am
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The issue of the most prolific / accomplished (classic arcade) gamer has been one that I've often thought about. Since I've posted my popular (based on the hits) world record listings on my web site, it's easy to tabulate the player with the most scores (even though the list of games is incomplete, plus there are still a few updates to do). BUT... a player I rarely see mentioned is, BY FAR, the 'king' of wr scores, and that player is: Steve Krogman. Adam Wood has apparently noticed, however - to answer your question, ZTM, he has 42 wr listings (on my page), while second place is a distant count away, at 8 (Jeff Peters).

Now, on to what has been touched upon in other posts - even with all this 'material', is SK the 'best' player ? And, as someone so correctly mentions in this thread, if a player holds records on games that aren't very popular (whatever that means, to you, or to me), and/or, the games have little competition for score, then do we count those just as highly as the more popular game records ? I think 99+ percent of gamers would agree that the answer is 'no', as do I. But, what do we do to make fair comparisons, in order to (somewhat) find out the 'best' players, as far as the listed wr scores go ?

I'm going to be working on this project later in the year, but, I think it's possible to 'rank' a game's popularity (to some degree), and then figure out a player's overall ranking, with regard to the combination of the number of scores, and the relative popularity rankings of each game, to determine an overall list of the best players, as far as how much 'weight' their particular records have, in the combination of number of scores vs. the popularity of each. I'll ask that forum readers post their thoughts on this idea, if you have any suggestions, or list your ideas on good ways to proceed. - Mark Alpiger / MDA

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 02:39 pm
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Mark:

Keep in mind that if a quantity of scores is used as the sole determining factor, the conclusion cannot be a given whether you are looking for most popular player or most popular title.

THE most popular titles, incl Ms Pacman, don't even have 100 registered scores yet, after all these years, for example.

Not sure what you mean by "player popularity" so cannot comment there.

What I can say, however, is that the more scores a gamer took the time to submit, the more active they must be compared to others. That's a fair statement. Just about the only accurate conclusion I can draw is that the player with the most 1st-place scores is the most prolific record holder.

Robert

Gregory Erway
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 03:11 pm
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All games mean different things to different people. What I might consider popular you might not. I suppose I could point to old Guiness Books to say that scores in there were for the more popular games. But even that was subjective.

You almost need to create a spot on your website that each person can register their top 100 video games. Maybe use the KLOV as a mast list and help people work through the problem of weeking it down to 100 games. Then have them rank them in order. Then take all the different players top 100 lists and compare them and rank games based on the number of votes. Then take that list and compare it to the TG database of scores.

I have a problem with just considering the number of scores in a category. There are a number of games that have categories with only a few scores because the general player won't submit a score for fear the score will look silly compared to the record score already in the category. So if the "true champion" were to submit a score early to the category there likely would be fewer scores registered.

What we really want is a database of the highest scores for each individual person that ever played the game in their life. Then a comparison between scores and a ranking of popularity based on the number of entries would be meaningful.

Anonymous
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 03:15 pm
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>>>I can draw is that the player with the most 1st-place scores is the most prolific record holder.

Robert <<<

Geewhiz ya'll I wonder who that could be?

Brian Kuh
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 08:25 pm
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Is Funspot the arcade that appears the most in the book?

Walter Day
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 11:58 pm
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If a player has 100 scores in the book, that means he has one score for each of 100 different games, since a player is only credited with his best score on any given game. Lower scores are progressively displaced by later, higher scores.

Obviously, Adam Wood's 70 scores (or anybody else's) are not all 1st place scores; they run the gamut from 1st down to 20th place.

Walter Day

Gregory Erway
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 08:31 am
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Exactly Walter. TG's database does the right thing. That is what my post to Mark was indicating. I almost don't think you can do what Mark wants however. The reason is that we need the TG database to have EVERY top score that EVERYONE has ever achieved on EVERY title. Obviously not every score is turned into TG. It would be awesome if all arcade machines were networked to submit all scores to a central database and every person used a unique id that was submitted with the score. Thats not impossible for future games but very unlikely. In order to find the true "best player" you would need all this information. The number of different people in the world that have played the game could be used to rank the popularity of the title and the best score achived by a player could be compared against the highest score for that title and an algorithm could calculate the winner. But of course this information would never be perfect.

I think the best that can be done is what TG is already doing. Then maybe players could use that information available along with anything else available to vote for a "Player of the Year". Database scores, rumors of scores, public image, contributions to the world of gaming, nominations, campains promises , etc. could all be reasons why on player would vote another player as PotY.

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:19 pm
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Todd Rogers Alias Anonymous
Anonymous
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 03:15 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>I can draw is that the player with the most 1st-place scores is the most prolific record holder.

Robert <<<

Geewhiz ya'll I wonder who that could be?

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:04 pm
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Hi Juan:

Based on what I know off the top of my head, the players with the most records submitted to Twin Galaxies (regardless of ranking) include, but are not limited to...

Ron Corcoran
Todd Rogers
Matthew Leto
Tom Votava
Jason Whalls

As for the most 1st place scores, home console games inclusive, that is a toss-up between Todd Rogers and Matthew Leto. Matt has over 600 1st place scores not yet posted (FYI) so looking at the current TG database is deceptive for any truly accurate record counts.

Robert

Todd Rogers
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:46 pm
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JJT
What nerve you have suggesting that i hide behind a shadow of a name. If i have anything to say or make comment on to ANYONE i am afraid of NO ONE in saying my view points and perspectives especially to you or any others on this forum.If you want to challange me on a particular game and be bold about it then so be it.I personally think that you are a bit obsessed with this Defender challange and your constant mentions of that Arcade in Austin Tx.Where is this leading and WHAT are you trying to prove.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:50 pm
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Hi Juan:

Trust me...Todd is by no means "Anonymous". He never has been for the twenty years that he's been gaming, and based on his personal character that I have come to know for the past four years, I don't believe he would ever bother to post anonymously...it's not his style. If he wants to say something, he wants people to know that he was saying it.

Robert

Richard M.
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 07:18 pm
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Todd Rogers said:

... I personally think that you are a bit obsessed with this Defender challange and your constant mentions of that Arcade in Austin Tx. ...

Actually the arcade is in Pflugerville, TX. I have never been there; the only two times I've ever been to Texas I visited the DFW airport on my way to somewhere else. And yet I spelled the town differently than Juan has spelled it on his estimated four million posts on the TG and Funspot forums. (Juan spells it Pfugerville.)

How is the town's name actually spelled? Look it up in an atlas; it's northeast of Austin and just southeast of Round Rock.

I guess I wanted, just once to see the town's name spelled correctly, even if it's not by a Texan!

-- Richard

Zotmeister
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:08 am
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That reminds me of the traveling linguist that visited Mexia, Texas and asked the waitress at a local restaurant if she could, very slowly, say the name of the place he was at. Of course, she replied "Daaairy Queeeeeen".

As for Todd, I'd put money down that none of those Anonymous posts were his. Someone posting here has obviously never met the man - he's not afraid of anything. In fact, I've met him, he's never been anything other than friendly to me, and I fear him. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 05:31 pm
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Hi ZM:

Are you sure it's Todd himself you fear, or the thought of one of his 30 or so pet tarantulas making an appearance at Funspot ?

No reason to fear Todd...the "pizza god" is a man of the people !! (Who just HAPPENS to look a lot like Ron Jeremy)

Robert

Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 08:37 pm
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Hey Todd

Way to go Bro!!!

I'm not easily intimidated myself either.

and

Like Todd, I will NEVER hide behind an "anonymous" post. If I say something - I want everyone to know that it came from me.

peace
Scootie

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 09:59 am
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I didn't know Todd had pet tarantulas. Which, by inference, answers your question, and incidentally doesn't do much for resolving my fear (irrational though I may believe it to be). - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 01:22 pm
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Hi ZM:

Ah...NOW we know where the source of the fear is !!

It must be the repurcussions of being around Todd AFTER he's had a whole pie of pizza. That must be it.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 01:54 pm
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I'll have to take your word on that one - I wouldn't be able to tell. - ZM

Scootie
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 09:56 pm
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Hey Todd

What is the greatest # of pizzas that you devoured in one setting?

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 11:48 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Wait for Todd to answer that one, but I believe he had mentioned a day where he had pizza for breakfast, lunch AND dinner.

"Captain Cholesterol" (aka the "pizza god") might need some Lipitor, I think.

Robert

TJT
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 10:51 am
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There's no health problem if you have different ingredients in those pizzas...
Breakfast-cheese
lunch-double cheese
dinner-triple cheese

David Nelson
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 04:40 pm
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Forgive me, but I think it's time I spoke up. I believe I might have to challenge Todd for the title of "Pizza God". As far as who could eat the most pizza in one sitting, I'm betting Todd's got me beat hands down. Today, I can't pac away pizza like I could when I was in college. But I've been eating pizza like there's no tomorrow since I was in high school.

Swear to god, I eat pizza at least once a day; every day. I usually have pizza for at least one meal a day sometimes two.

I may or may not be the pizza GOD, but I'd like to think I'm at least a pizza KING; definitely a pizza PRESIDENT.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 05:10 pm
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Hi David:

Don't forget to choose from a couple of other illustrious-sounding titles...

Pizza Demigod
Pizza Plenipotentiary
The Sultan of Sicilian Slices
The Emir of Pizza
etc

Robert

mikeenphoppers
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 05:47 pm
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hi david: Hammer of the Pizza god.Master of Mozzarella.Emperor of the Roman Pizza Empire.mikeenphoppers.

Cameron Feltner
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 07:50 pm
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The Minister of Mushrooms
The Premier of Pepperoni
The Czar of Sausage

I do my damage to pizza slowly over time, like a river flowing through a valley. Always carving.

That reminds me, does Noble Romans (pizza chain) exist in the Northeast?

mikeenphoppers
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 08:22 pm
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Archdioces oF Anchovies. The Crust Keeper. mikeenphoppers

Charlie Weatherbee
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 08:29 pm
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Dave we must not forget about the teams pizza feed every pracitce! If I had more money i could of ate more

David Nelson
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 08:39 am
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Cam, never heard of Noble Romans. Don't think we have that up here.

Gary
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 09:10 am
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Hi Dave,
There is a Noble Roman's at the Irving gas station in front of the Chase House in Meredith.

Gary

Scootie
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 08:28 pm
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Hey everyone

"The Archduke of Anchovies"

Definately my preferred topping - along with LOTS of extra sauce (this is especially true for thick crust pizzas, as I use the sauce for dipping).

Gary - best pizza in Meredith is Louie's - in the Jackson Star shopping center. Noble Romans is a close second though.

I have Pizza at least five times a week; sometimes I'll eat nothing but pizza for several weeks. In fact, I am having pizza right now as I am typing this. Of course I will vary on the toppings so I have some "balance".

Scootie

TJT
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 08:50 pm
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I don't get people who mix meat and fish in same pizza.

That's all I just had to say, ah, the relief,

TJT

David Nelson
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 10:54 pm
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Wow, that hurts. A pizza place in NH that I didn't know about. I guess my title just went down another notch to "Duke of Deep Dish."
Guess I'll have to check out Noble Romans next time I'm in the area.

When I lived in Florida for a year we used to get pizza from "Hungry Howie's". It was pretty yummy, and cheap cheap!

My vote for best pizza in NH (and I've eaten at a LOT of places all over the state), hands down goes to Upper Crust Pizzeria in Tilton, NH. It's in a small plaza behind the first gas station you see when you get off I-93 at exit 20. There's a Dunkin Donuts that's visible from the road, in the same plaza. Behind Tilton Diner. Make sure you get some breadsticks too.

Brian Kuh
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 09:51 am
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Hi Dave,

Should we plan to go there the next time we're playing games late into the night at Funspot? It sounds like it's a 25 minute drive from Funspot.

Gary
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 10:07 am
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I am rather boring when it comes to food and tend to stick with one place as long as the food continues to be good.

I used to go to C-Brothers in Meredith when it was next to Cumberland Farms but when it was sold and moved to the corner of 3 & 25, I didn't care for it as much.

Louie's is great for subs but I don't care for the pizza. This place is run by two of the nicest and hard-working people you will ever see but I prefer their subs. I had a pepperoni pizza there once with so much pepperoni on it that you couldn't see the sauce or cheese. One slice and I though my heart would stop beating.

Pizza Hut has always been a favorite. I know many people consider it fast-food style pizza but at least it is consistant. Pizza Hut pizza tastes the same at any Pizza Hut, kind of like McDonald's does.

I've never been to Noble Roman's so I cannot comment on their pizza. Guiseppe's is good if you like gourmet style pizza. I haven't been back to Laconia House since it sold. Little Caesars is good but falls into the fast-food catagory again.

I go to Taylor's Subs and Pizza in Meredith. It is owned by a former Funspoteer and his family. Good food and a big subs for the money. I can usually eat a large sub at any other place but his small sub is about 3/4 the size of a large elsewhere.

My biggest factor in deciding where to eat mainly revolves around the cleanliness of the place and the employees. I have turned around and walked out of eateries that looked dirty or had employees working the counter who wiped their nose on the back of their hands before making your food. If I wanted snot on that, I would have asked for it.

Zotmeister
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 10:56 am
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Gary: "I have turned around and walked out of eateries that looked dirty or had employees working the counter who wiped their nose on the back of their hands before making your food."

I'm so glad that I'm not the only person who has done that. Walked out of eateries for that reason, I mean, not wiping my nose on my hand. - ZM

Gary
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 01:33 pm
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ZM,
I'm glad I'm not the only one either. I've relayed some of my eatery stories to friends who have said I'm too paranoid when it comes to cleanliness. It's bad enough when you don't know what's happening in a restaurant kitchen but when it's happening in front of your eyes, it makes me sick. There was a donut shop I used to go to that had an employee working there with some sort of nasty skin disorder of the hands.I couldn’t believe they allowed this person to serve food and every time I went there, I would purposely avoid this person because their hands looked so bad. Even though they use those wax paper tissues to pick up donuts, this person always seemed to have a thumb in every donut. Gross.

Anonymous
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 02:08 pm
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"this person always seemed to have a thumb in every donut."

I'm going to puke now.

Zotmeister
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 03:08 pm
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That's why I like Subway - you see the whole process. Ironically, it was a Subway I walked out of most recently, as a worker in clear view coughed into her hands and then put on gloves to start work on a sandwich. I wasn't inside for ten seconds before I was right back out the door. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 06:41 pm
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Hi ZM:

The local Tex-Mex place outside my job I tell all my co-workers NOT to go to. After I heard of their worker stirring the chile pot with his arm in it up to the elbow that didn't set too well. Thankfully I never eat there.

There's also in my work-area a pizza shop that I jokingly refer to as "Sweaty Guy Pizza". I swear, the place is so hot that the pizza makers sweat profusely right into the pizza. You even SEE it as they are boxing it up !!

I won't even go into the reason why one of the local fast food chain outlets in the Village used to be called "booger king" for awhile. The disgruntled employee story is NOT one you want to hear !!

Robert

Rick
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 06:47 pm
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What would you guys have done in the following situation:
I was at Wendy's and the moron at the drive-thru gives my order to the car in front of me. The guy paws through the bag and then bangs on the window saying it is not his food. The girl takes the bag back and hands him the other bag on the window sill. I pull ahead and she hands my order to me like nothing happened. I asked her to give me new food because the guy in front of me pawed all over it. She tried to tell me he didn't after I saw him do it! I asked her to eat it and she looked at me with a strange look to which I said, "Yeah, you won't eat it either" and drove off.

mikeenphoppers
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 07:14 pm
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i don't like chicken head mcnuggets either.loss of palette appetite. mikeenphoppers

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 07:48 pm
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Hi Rick:

We had walked out on a few delis here in the city. The workers have their plastic gloves on one hand, and yet use THAT hand to handle the money, and the other to handle the food. Talk about thinking backwards !!

In your case I'd have sped off and let the clerk deal with the manager. After all, the clerk ultimately screwed up by giving it to the wrong customer. Why shouldn't you not want the food after that display ?

Robert

Mark Boolman
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 08:45 pm
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The really sad thing is that it doesn't even matter how much you spend; they all pay the kitchen/staff too little to care. I shudder at the thoughts of what has/can/will be done prior to being served. The best we can hope for is to not get too sick.

Mark Boolman
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 11:37 pm
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Oh, I almost forgot my biggest (cleanliness) peave of all: people who don't wash their hands after going to restroom...even opening the door to the restroom is sufficient grounds to require washing due to all those that don't bother. Of my time in the Funspot area, the only problem I encountered was undercooked food(just my luck--ask MDA about the pink scallops...so I treated them like sushi...sauce, chew); well, that and everything seems to be fried/soaked in oil...just what a heart attack victim needs most.

Ben Davidson
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 11:38 pm
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Question To Robert, Walter, & All

Since we are on the topic of who appears most in the book. These are the observations that i have made in relations to Todd Rogers. Ron, Robert, Matt, and Laife Travis will follow in later posts that i make.
If Todd is represented in the book he would appear under these many areas:
(1)One of the fastest scores "Dragster"
(2)One of the longest marathons "Journey Escape"
(3)The most accumalitive "Marathoned games".
(4)Has one of widest varieties of platforms Atari,X-Box, DreamCast, Intellivision that he has records on.
(5)One of the longest standing records "Gorf"
(6)Probably the most titles when it comes to the 2600 stuff Dominated.
(7) Beat'en the most celeberties
Ok well i got a little off track with the last one but thats what i've read from multipal video gaming sites.

Ben Davidson
a.k.a. Wonder Boy

Martin Bedard
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 05:06 am
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(1)One of the fastest scores "Dragster"

Some Crazy Taxi mini games have faster scores.

About the food topic: In my experience, you can never be too paranoid about cleanliness in a restaurant. If you assume the worse, you're probably right. I've been in the back rooms/know people who have, in so many restaurants. The things i've seen, my god, the horror. I try not to think about it when I eat, just enjoy the taste and don't ask questions.

One place you are 100% safe when it comes to cleanliness though: Mc Donalds. The amount of washing and disinfecting that goes on there is staggering, no doubt to avoid lawsuits. Just for washing hands for example, it's like once per 5 minutes with regular soap, once every 15 minutes with industrial strength cleaning paste.

Walter Day
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 12:17 pm
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Everybody who participated in subverting this thread about "Appearances in the Book," changing it into a thread about cleanliness and food paranoia, has now been removed from the book of records.

Walter Day

Anonymous
Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 12:25 pm
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Looks like Gary, Zotmeister, Robert Mruczek, Rick, mikeenphoppers, Mark Boolman and Martin Bedard need to find a home for their scores.

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:47 pm
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Hey Dave

I didn't mention "Upper Crust" because it is a good 20 minutes away from me,(and not really in the Laconia area) but I certainly would put it in my top three pizza places in NH.

Scootie

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:53 pm
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Hey Brian

Good idea - but I think Upper Crust closes by 11PM.

Always can take a mid-afternoon break from Funspot and head down there - and yes - it's about a 20-25 minute drive from Funspot.

Scootie

PS. What's really good about UC is their sauce - a little tangy/spicy/sweet; definately have your pie with "extra sauce".

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:55 pm
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Hey Gary

Never been to Guiseppe's??

Scootie

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:21 pm
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To Mark, Rick, Rob & Gary....

Last week I actually walked up to the drive thru window at my local Wendys because the salad I had just been served was "browning".

After an attitude & exchange of words - she got me a new (fresh) salad...

I have noticed that the fast food places (and resteraunts in general) in Laconia & Concord tend to be cleaner, better run, better staffed (friendlier counter help), and serve fresher food than the ones here in NJ.

Does anyone else agree?

Scootie

Zotmeister
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 10:32 am
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Walter: "Everybody who participated in subverting this thread about 'Appearances in the Book,' changing it into a thread about cleanliness and food paranoia, has now been removed from the book of records."

Hey, it's an important factor for getting in the book. If someone's in the middle of a marathon game and they eat tainted food... - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:54 am
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Hello everyone:

Back to basics.

MARTIN - the fastest record on TG's books that I am personally aware of is on "Blast Corps" and is in the sub-2 seconds range by one of the Metroid Team members. I honestly do not know if a sub-1 second record exists, but "Minesweeper" no longer is tracked, so probably not.

WALTER - you were kidding, right ?

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:55 am
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Ben:

Todd most likely will appear quite a few times in the book, unless Walter wasn't kidding, but we won't go out of our way to list his non-traditional defacto records (i.e. most marathons, etc) unless Walter chooses to do so in the player bio section.

Robert

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:42 pm
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I'd say 100% chances are that Walter was kidding, A good joke though!

TJT

Incase he wasn't, I'll hide behind my initials ;)

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Eric Ahlers' Robotron Score

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Walter Day
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:07 pm
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Eric Ahlers scored about 680k during the Funspot event. However, the referees missed taking it down. Maybe somebody at Funspot could double-check to see if the score is recognizable on the machine.

You would need to know what Eric's player-initials were on the game??. This can be learned from Scootie or Eric himself.

It will be the third highest Robotron score in the book.

walter

Scootie
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:40 pm
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Hey Walter

Eric's initials are (space - E - Space) or
.E.

I'll let Eric know since he only has net access at his job.

Thanks again Walter

PS. Eric's cell # is (516) 380-8224

Scootie

Eric Ahlers
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 03:36 pm
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Hi Walter :

If i remember correctly, i scored 648K.

I did submit a score of 580K ( 1P game )

The 648K game i did not bother to report at the time as i was under the impression that it would not count due to the fact that is was a 2P game.

Walter, am i correct in assuming that the 2-player rule only applied to the games selected for the tournament itself ??. (bump n jump, crossbow, clowns, motorace....etc..).

If so, great !!
I initial as space E space, thanks scootie !!

Thanks again Walter !!

Eric

ps. anyone know if Robotron is still set at TGTS ?? I hope so, i'll be up there for 4th of July.

Shawn Cram
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 05:11 pm
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I can check the score if it's acceptable(yes it is still set to TGTS).If Walter gives the ok I will give the score to robert. BTW nice score eric. Shawn

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 06:18 pm
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Shawn:

That would be fine...thanks !!

Robert

Shawn Cram
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 07:00 pm
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sorry robert I forgot you could give the ok also. Shawn

Mark Schulz
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 05:20 pm
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I had a Robotron score of 330k when playing a 2P game with Abner and I submitted it to a ref. I believe that's high enough to be in the top 10. Does anyone know when we might start seeing the scores from the tournament on the TG website?

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 06:10 pm
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Hi Mark:

Brien King did the data conversion last Friday from the old TG database to the new. Conversion testing has been going on for a few days. Once the thumbs up is given, I will personally enter all Funspot 2004, 2003 and stragglers from 2002 & prior myself. Same goes for Philly Classic scores, CGEs, etc.

Robert

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What modern arcade games are you good at?1995 to 2004?

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jjt_defender
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 11:37 pm
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What modern arcade games are you good at from 1995 to 2004?
Below are my modern arcade game highscores. I JJT can back it up. Prove me wrong if you can Ha Ha ha.

JJT:If you want call Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas CALL IN THE MORNING BETWEEN 9A.M. & 11A.M. PHONE #512-670-9600 ask for Mike he is the head Video Game Technician there to check on my highscores

SPECIAL NOTE: Make sure you tell Mike what I look like the guy with glasses/athletic build & a lite blue backpack that I carry with me all the time & my initials are JJT,I talk with Mike all the time on $12 Tuesdays.

JJT:If you like, Mike can check all my scores & my initials & seen me play.On the following Games:
1.Tsurugi 1,199,400pts.

2.Police Trainer 2 122,860pts 16 completed games

3.Star Trek Voyager 328,750pts 6 completed games

4.Jurasstic Park 3 768,430pts. solo 978,640pts.doubles playing solo hard difficulty

5.Time Crisis 3 1st player & 2nd 1.5 million on both 1st & 2nd player on Hard difficulty

6.Crisis Zone 3.5 million pts. on hard difficulty

7.Trophy Hunting 7,800pts. & 6,960pts.

8.House of the Dead 3 170.620pts. C 175,880pts D on Max difficulty

9.Jurasstic Park Lost World 30,020,000pts. FOR 5 STAGES

10.Area 51 / Maxium Force 999,999pts. & 3,028,330pts.

phone #512-670-9600 call between 9a.m. to 11a.m. Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas by I-35

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Special note:
JJT:I physically played Area 51 arcade game to a score of 999,999pts. on the original Area 51 at 2 arcade gamerooms LeFun & Nothcross mall arcade.Plus,I played using the Kron to score 999,999pts. As well as my friends with my eyes while they played in front of me, the game does not exceed a million points just shows 999,999pts. that's it, nothing more. I tested it it's not possible to score a million points on Area 51 arcade game.

JJT:If you want call Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas CALL IN THE MORNING BETWEEN 9A.M. & 11A.M. PHONE #512-670-9600 ask for Mike he is the head Video Game Technician there to check on my highscores on the multigame cabinet with Maxium Force & Area 51. I scored 999,999pts.with Kron & normal.I believe there are 4 scores of 999,999pts. 2 normal & 2 Kron.

1.Is there a picture showing these players million point scores on Area 51 at Fun Spot because my scores are still on the arcade game Area 51 to this day.

2.there would have to be a new version that came out after the original Area 51 came out in 1995 by Atari & only Atrai would know.

Richard M.
Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 11:57 pm
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Juan,

Your needle is stuck, dude!

You mention the phone number of your favorite arcade no fewer than three times in your post. Why do we need to see the phone number more than once? If anyone is interested, once is quite enough! You also mention the name of your favorite arcade three times, which again is twice more than necessary.

And I really hate to think how many times you mention this Area 51 game, not just on this post, but on numerous other posts on the Funspot and Twin Galaxies threads. Or the number of times you've recited your high scores on numerous arcade games, both classic and modern.

The people reading your posts are not stupid or forgetful. Therefore they don't need to be told anything more than once.

-- Richard

Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:21 am
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Do i hear another ROY in the works?

artz
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 08:24 am
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At least Roy's posts are entertaining to read. This is the same post over and over and over. Please quit it, it's quite agonizing.

Mark Schulz
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 10:18 am
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Yeah...What's up with that, jjt defender? Enlighten us as to why you felt it was necessary to list the phone # 3 times in a single posting. I venture to say you're losing credibility amongst some of the people who read this forum regularly. At this point, I have to admit I'm thinking you could possibly be a bit of a fruitcake.

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:26 pm
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Can you answer the question
Mark Schulz/Artz/Anonymous/Richard M.

What modern arcade games are you good at from 1995 to 2004? Not a hard question to answer.

You guys answered my question, your not good at any of todays modern arcade games.

Don't want to say what your scores are on any modern arcade game titles above any other modern arcade game title.

I'm better than you Mark Schulz/Artz/Anonymous/Richard M./Scootie on all the modern arcade games above,you guys can't hold a candle to me on any of these modern arcade game titles,so sad indeed.

You guys live in the past not the present.

youyr fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:38 pm
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Prove me wrong Richard M. about Area 51 million point scores.

1.Have you Richard M. tried it,you would get the same result.

Richard M. Take a picture of the so called million point scores the players put on Area 51 at FunSpot they should still be there because my 999,999 scores are still on the machines to this day. Make me a believer.

I've tested it 4 times & scored 999,999pts.on Area 51 Arcade game. You can't score higher.
tg_bmx million pt. score is not true. His score should be on the machine,all I ask is a picture,word of mouth means nothing.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:39 pm
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JJT, get a life! You think you're still a teenager who can hang out all day at Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas for days on end. Don't you have a real job? How about a family or a you a loner?

Mark Schulz
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:52 pm
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OK JJT...I'll stoop to your level and play along with your childish antics. Here goes...

I'll only answer your question if you answer mine!

So to answer your question: I SUCK at ALL games after 1995! (except Mario Golf for the Gamecube).

Now JJT, answer my question: Why did you feel it was necessary to list the phone # 3 times in a single posting?

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:05 pm
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Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 01:39 pm
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JJT, get a life! You think you're still a teenager who can hang out all day at Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement in Pfugerville,Texas for days on end. Don't you have a real job? How about a family or a you a loner?

I've been there only 20 times.

I only played only 4 modern arcade games more than 10 times 1.Tsurugi,2.Time Crisis-3,3.Police Trainer-2,4.House of the Dead-3

I have women.

My 4 kids are grown & taken care of.

I play sports/workout/school/talk to my kids/work like most people to pay bills.

Just get a picture of the Million pt. scores on Area 51 arcade game at FunSpot. Make me a believer,I know the truth.
Have you tried it.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:13 pm
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What is the big deal Mark Schulz just a phone #

Mark Schulz
Take a picture of the so called million point scores the players put on Area 51 at FunSpot they should still be there because my 999,999 scores are still on the machines to this day. Make me a believer.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Mark Schulz
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:06 pm
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JJT - I guess the big deal is simply that just about everyone who reads this forum is not stupid. Yet somehow in that head of yours you felt it was necessary to list the phone # 3 times as if we are not smart enough to figure it out the first time we saw the phone # in the initial post. So what we want to know is:

Where's your head at?!?

Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out why anything said in this thread really matters. We're all just wasting our time on this one...especially you.

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:36 pm
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Just take a picture of the million point Area 51 game. You do know how to use a camera Mark Schulz.

I can give you instructions to how to operate a Camera if you need some help.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:00 pm
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Juan:

Back to the original thread, I'm not TOO bad at "Crazy Taxi", but I'm much better at the Sega DC version than the arcade counterpart.

Say, Juan, do they have that Addams Family/Uncle Fester electrocution game ?

Robert

Mark Schulz
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:24 pm
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JJT - No, I don't know how to operate a camera. Thanks for being so kind and offering to help cos I really want to jump in my car to drive 3+ hours to Funspot and take a picture of a game I've never even heard of. I just wish I had internet access so I could get your phone # to call you and then you can guide me step by step in operating a camera.

jjt_defender
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:43 pm
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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 04:00 pm
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Juan:

Back to the original thread, I'm not TOO bad at "Crazy Taxi", but I'm much better at the Sega DC version than the arcade counterpart.

Say, Juan, do they have that Addams Family/Uncle Fester electrocution game ?

Robert

It's the first time I heard about these games,I will check on KLOV & then the gamerooms.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 01:46 pm
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Hey JJT

Not good at too many "modern" games, except

Buster Buddies (Pang 3)
Crazy Taxi
DDR

Scootie

Scootie
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 01:48 pm
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Hey JJT

Does the Ms. Pac Man/Galaga class of 2001 count as a "modern" game?

jjt_defender
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 02:58 pm
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Here are my response Scottie plus,1 question:

I never heard of Pang-3.
I couldn't get hang of DDR.
Crazy Taxi have not played yet looking for a working one in a gameroom.

No, still a classic but with some addittions like more Boards/Turbo/continous on MsPacman & on Fast shot/continous on Galaga.

1.Is there anyway Scootie can you get or take a picture of the so called million point scores the players put on Area 51 at FunSpot they should still be there because my 999,999 scores are still on the machines to this day. Make me a believer.

your fellow gamemaster
You have to keep a eye on anyone attempting a record on either Galaga & MsPacman so they won't continue after the alouted men are used.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 03:50 pm
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Hey JJT

It's Scootie, not Scottie.

I'll probably be at Funspot for July 4th weekend so it should not be a problem. I'll be sure to look for your 999,999 scores. I assume your initials are JJT.

Pang 3 (Buster Buddies) was the third game in the "Buster Brothers" series. Unlike Buster Bros. and Super Buster Bros., Buster Buddies was only releasd in the arcades in Europe/Japan.

I did not know this title existed either - until I got the Buster Bros. Collection for the Playstation.

Scootie

Scootie
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 03:52 pm
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JJT

There is a Crazy Taxi on the "strip" at Wier's Beach - about a mile from Funspot. There is also a DDR.

Scootie

jjt_defender
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 04:01 pm
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My mistake on your name. I'm sorry Scootie.

I meant the million point scores that players set in the last few yeras on Area 51 arcade game at Funspot. That is what I want to see the pictures from.
tg_bmx 1.3million score should be there.

My scores of 999,999pts. on Area 51 are here in Austin & Pfugerville,Texas with my initials at Austin Park 'N' Pizza

note: the Area 51 arcade game retain the highscores my scores are 5 months old & are still there to this day.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Gregory Erway
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 04:59 pm
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Ok. One last message Juan,

I may not be remembering the correct score of tag_bmx. Like I said, I was simply nearby. Mark told me the score was a good one. I think he mentioned it was starting to rival the world record. I thought the score was 1.3 million. Maybe I'm wrong. I was pretty sure it was over 1 million. Mark has not posted to the contrary here so I assume my memory is correct. But it was not as if I was a ref or anything. I was simply a person standing by when the game ended and asked to watch the game as he went to get a ref to record the score. I remember him telling me the score and then looking at the screen and seeing it matched what I was told. If the score was not over a million then I appologize. But I do seem to think it was.

The fact is, it doesn't matter if it was or not. The score Mark scored was not submitted into the TG database as far as I know. It was not one that you are complaining about. It sounds to me like Robert is planning on moving scores out of the Area 51 entry as soon as he can. But it sounds like you do not have the patience to wait. The database conversion to the new system takes time. It will have problems. You need to let them finish the work and stop hindering their progress with these posts.

Richard M.
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 05:38 pm
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What is the issue with Area 51? What happens at one million points that causes the score's validity to come into question?

This question is coming from someone who has never played the game, but since it is an oft-discussed title I am mildly curious.

I only ask that whomever responds to this post do no more than answer my question. Don't ask me what classic or modern game's I'm good at, what my high scores are, if I can photograph an Area 51 game, or if I can make plans to visit a certain pizzeria/arcade in Pflugerville, Texas. ;-) Just answer my question, please.

-- Richard

Weehawk
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 08:36 pm
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Richard,

In the version of Area 51 which is considered the parent ROM for MAME, the score displays 999,999 after a player exceeds a million points, and that is what is registered in the high score table after one inputs one's initials. I can't imagine on this version how one would track scores higher than a million.

There are two other versions which are recent additions to MAME and I do not have all the files necessary to run them, so I can't test them myself. It may well be that one of them addressed this issue and allows for higher scores, and that may explain Greg and Mark's observations.

But seriously, if you're ever near Pflugerville...

:P

Richard M.
Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 09:20 pm
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Thank you Weehawk for your answers; this does shed some light on the problem.

Assuming that there is a newer ROM that allows either turn-over scores such as in most games or actually displays the complete score, the question then becomes compatability with the game play of the original ROM. Which could be problematic if one ROM is easier or harder to play. I obviously am not qualified to answer this question which still must be asked.

I think I'll take a rain check regarding Pflugerville. :-p

-- Richard

Gregory Erway
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 06:48 pm
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http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2608&highlight=

There ya go Juan. Weehawk and BBH have showed examples, through pictures, of how a score over 1 million are tracked even though 999,999 is what is displayed in the high score table. Now leave us alone on the subject.

Richard M.
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 07:42 pm
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Actually I have another question, and I really hate to "beat a dead horse."

The example that BBH and Weehawk gave is great for verifying score of 1,000,000 <= n <= 1,999,999 points. But how would scores of 2,000,000 and above be verified? Note that the highest score on TG's Scoreboard is over 2 million.

Any thoughts on the subject?

-- Richard

Gregory Erway
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 10:55 pm
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I would have to assume that the game would need to be video taped. That would prove 2 rollovers. But the score over 2 million would most likely still show up in the same place. Then again, maybe reaching 2 million isn't possible anyways.

Richard M.
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 11:30 pm
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The videotape would at least show the player as having been at 999,999 for quite a while and the referee can judge how much the player is really scoring. Then when the game ends and the player enters his initials, his exact (truncated) score is displayed and can be accurately determined then.

Does Area 51 come to an end (like Crystal Castles)? If so the matter can be dropped here.

The issue remains if the game does not come to an end and someone can theoretically play indefinitely, scoring several million points. Is that possible in Area 51? If not, the case is closed in my opinion.

-- Richard

Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 07:46 pm
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Hey Everyone

JJT Defender wrote:

"I'm better than you Mark Schulz/Artz/Anonymous/Richard M./Scootie on all the modern arcade games above,you guys can't hold a candle to me on any of these modern arcade game titles,so sad indeed. You guys live in the past not the present".

First off - many of the "classic gamers" also play modern games. With a few exceptions - there are not too many games that came out after 1995 that interest me. Don't get me wrong. Games are BETTER than ever nowadays. However that applies mostly to PC/Console games - certainly not the arcade (with a few exceptions).

Just compare these two "adventure" games....

Atari 2600 - Adventure (1980)
and
Baldur's Gate II - Shadows of Amn - (2000)

BG 2 is a GREAT example of how far "adventure" games have come in the last 20 years. Or compare Atari Football (arcade) - with NFL Gameday or Madden 2004. Sports games have also come a LONG way in the last 20 years. By the way JJT - just come to Funspot and I'll "educate" you in some modern titles....
Daytona 2000
Primal Rage
Mortal Kombat III
Gauntlet Legends*
Dance Dance Revolution*
Street Fighter II Alpha*
Crazy Taxi*

* These titles are at the various arcades on the "strip" - about a mile away from Funspot... So there you have it JJT. I should also mention that there are "classic" games that I don't like too. But when you compare (arcade) games of the 80's to those of today - you realize that there was much more innovation and originality in the games of yesteryear.

You really should apologize to everyone for your immature remarks - before you get a reputation like Roy's.

peace
Scootie

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 11:38 pm
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Daytona 2000 I never tried it.

Primal Rage never seen the game.

Mortal Kombat III-I never played a fighting game yet.

Dance Dance Revolution*I can do real dancing but not DDR out of my league. Very popular arcade game here.

Street Fighter II Alpha* I never played a fighting game yet. Very popular arcade game here.

Crazy Taxi* They had one at Le Fun the game was out of order. I go back & check it out if they fixed it.

Gauntlet Legends* It would be a good contest on Either Gauntlet legends & Dark Legacy it been awhile since I played either arcade game.

At Eisteins arcade in Austin,Texas by University of Texas campus

1.On Gauntlet Dark Legacy game 3 years ago I Maxed out all 16 character to level 99/beat Skorne 1,2 & Garm 31 times/got 13th Rune stone/beat Skorne 1,2 & Garm with a level 46 Unicorn character & a level 51 Jackal

At arcade gameroom upstairs at the Dolby Mall by Univesity of Texas in Austin,Texas

1.On Gauntlet Legends I beat Skorne 1 & 2
22 times/Leveled all 4 character alter-egoes a.Minitore,b.Jackal,c.Tigrress,d.Falconess to level 99/ beat Skorne 1 & 2 with a level 32 Jackal & a level 38 Falconess.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 12:18 am
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Gregory Erway/Weehawk/BBH take look at this.

Take a look at this Weehawk/Anonymous/BBH/tag_bmx

Twin Galaxies' Arcade Scoreboard
Here is the table of arcade video game high-scores (A-L) which have already been approved for inclusion in the 2nd edition of Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records.
If your scores can match these records, you should go to this link: Become a Star and read about the celebrity status many video game players have attained in their own home town by being a world record holder on a video game.

If you would like the chance to prove your stuff, Twin Galaxies is willing to set up a contest for you and verify your high scores in time for the deadline of the next edition of the world record book.

Note: Some of the scores herein may not be the definitive world records because some of the 16,000 scores in the Twin Galaxies Database have not yet been loaded into this web site.

Updated: 30 Apr 99 by Ron Corcoran.

A-L

AREA 51
1,665,775 Dan Finch, California Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
324,700 Frank Bryan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
321,475 Michael Walker, Cool Crest, KCMO 4/20/97
314,075 Herb Branan, Calif. Univ. of Pennsylvania 4/20/97
277,750 Ryan Gregor, Cool Crest, Kansas City, MO 4/20/97
269,000 Aaron Van Buren, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97
246, 625 Michael Foley, Stop & Play, Port Richey, FL 4/3/99
213,050 Nick Galasso, Exhilirama, Vorhees, NJ 4/20/97
74,925 Amber McAnally, Fun-Attic, Springfield, MO 4/20/97

AREA 51 - SITE 4 Difficulty: Factory (Medium)
2,188,400 Rick Haynes, Paul Revere Pizza, Fairfield, IA 4/10/99
1,107,050 Steve Melton, Aladdin's Castle, Concord, NH 1/15/99

Anonymous
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 01:00 am
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JJT, take a look at this:

tag_bmx wrote:

"You see Mr. JJT…. I just wasn’t in the crowd that day at the {F.S. / T.G. Classics Tournament}…. I was behind the gun shooting out a (1,261,250) T.G. ref. verified score for “Area 51” not “Site – 4”. I had two other million plus pt. games to back it up as well…. verified. To be quite honest I had a bad hair day at that tournament, I usually average that score and have shot in the 1.9’s. I truly believe a 2 million pt. game is obtainable"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Quick - who has a digital camera and can get to Funspot?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zotmeister
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 12:11 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been asked to provide my Wall of Fame picture as part of an article I've written for Way of the Rodent (remember that Paper Arcade link?). Gary's aware of the article, but I know he's out of town, and I'd guess the original would be unavailable anyway, but perhaps someone with a digital camera that lives closer to Funspot than I do could take a picture of my picture on the wall and post it online somewhere for me or email it to me so I can send it on to the Brits. I'd be MOST appreciative. - ZM

Donald Hayes
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 02:50 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How soon would you need it? I think Funspot is closed this week due to all the bikers, so you'd need an employee who has access even when they're "closed". I believe they use this week to catch up on various projects that aren't as easy to work on when there's tons of customers around.

Zotmeister
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 03:27 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forgot about that. Don't know - I'll go ask. - ZM

Anonymous
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:17 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Adam, it might not be a bad idea to take a shower & wash your hair before having your picture taken.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Anonymous:

MUST you ? As the old expression goes, if ya don't have anything to say, don't say anything at all.

Just my two cents.

Robert

Gary
Friday, June 18, 2004 - 05:58 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam,
I e-mailed the picture to you.

Gary

Zotmeister
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:33 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks. I must not have received it, or perhaps it got deleted as spam accidentally (I am my own spam filter, so it would have been my fault if that happened). That's okay, though - Mark Alpiger had taken his own picture right after yours, and he sent that to me. I still wouldn't mind getting yours if you're willing to send it again (I'm ztm@cox.net, just in case you have one of my myriad old addresses on file), and I promise I'll watch for it carefully. - ZM

Zotmeister
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:37 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, and I'm fairly sure I did shower that day, but forgot to shampoo. It's a fair cop. Guess I had others things on my mind than my hair at the time, such as a "world record". - ZM

Gary
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 01:49 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam,
I just sent it again with the word "Photo" in the subject line.

Gary

Zotmeister
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 02:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Got it! Thanks much. - ZM

mspaeth
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 02:53 pm
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Hey Zot:

At least your world records are deemed worthy of the funspot wall of fame, unlike mine... heh.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 09:48 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I only have one record, and it isn't much of one. Yet.

They didn't have pictures of yours. They didn't have a picture of mine from two years ago when I first set the record. My picture wasn't on the wall at the start of the weekend. So, Mark, if you just manage to SHOW UP again, perhaps you could be there too. (Of course, I don't know how Gary would feel about games he doesn't actually have in the arcade...) - ZM

mspaeth
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 12:39 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been to funspot 3 times this year...

...it's right on the way back from northern NH skiiing after all

David Nelson
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 04:49 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark,

Which record of yours are you referring to? (please forgive my ignorance, I don't mean to offend, I don't remember what games you play)

In Adam's last post he said "I don't know how Gary would feel about games he doesn't actually have in the arcade..." is your record on a game that Funspot doesn't have?

If so, that is probably the reason they don't have your photo up on the wall yet. Gary can comment better, but I know that Funspot's Wall of Fame is meant for photo's of players that have acheived a world record game AT Funspot.

Could that be the reason?

mspaeth
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 05:06 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of my records are on games that funspot doesn't have.... but all of my records were achieved at funspot on funspot machines...

Go figure.

Ph33r my mad Funky Fish skillz!

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 05:07 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi David:

Mark set innaugural arcade records on a few titles that he brought to Funspot via PCBs, including "Balcube", "Bloxeed (C-System)", "Radical Radial", "Funky Fish" and a few others.

Robert

Gary
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 09:46 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mark,
As long as the scores were set at Funspot and TG recognizes them as records, you should be on the wall. The next time you are up we'll get a picture. I don't know what we'll take the picture in front of but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Gary

Zotmeister
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 10:23 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's that Bal Cube record again? I've been practicing that. I wouldn't mind hearing the Funky Fish record, either, although I figure that one is out of my reach for now. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 11:34 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi ZM:

Mark's record I have at home...sub-200K. I've since given Mark L several attempts at all difficulty levels, scores varying from 190-220K. We still have no idea what difficulty level Mark S played at, but playing on MAME, it's hard to distinguish which is harder...to me they are all just about the same.

Robert

Zotmeister
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 01:33 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Bal Cube record is 336,040, Stage 11 on "Difficulty?" 3, three lives. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 02:22 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi ZM:

Great score !! Stage 11 is a tough one.

Question - do you know what the difficulty settings control ? The speeds and outcomes seem to be the same to me thus far. Thanks !!

Also, is "3" hardest or easiest ? I would think hardest, but again, the speeds all seem the same to me.

Robert

Zotmeister
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 03:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I haven't experimented with the different settings, but if what I've read is any indication, I'm guessing the only part correct about "Difficulty?" is the question mark. - ZM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Tournament Recap & Photos @ Back In Time

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Stulir
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 12:56 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject line says it all. I have posted a brief tournament recap, and a ton of photos at Back In Time.

I seem to be missing one of my sheets of notes. If I have left out any important scores, please let me know.

Mike Stulir
Back In Time
http://www.backntime.net

Mike Stulir
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 01:04 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I am thinking of it, I want to take a moment to thank Ken, Gary, Tina, the Lawton family, and everyone else at Funspot for putting on another first-class tournament again this year.

I know it is a huge job to get ready for this tournament every year, but you guys make it look easy.

Ken Sweet
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 10:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Mike! The site looks great. Love the shots of Fred disguised as Donald's evil alter-ego. =)

Regards,
Ken

MDARULZ
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 07:46 pm
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Good work, indeed, Mike - I knew you'd beat me to the punch. I've been working on my set of pics all week, and I coincidentally got them done, and posted, today, too. After checking out Mike's site, click here to see my set of 50 tourney pics, complete with informational captions. I missed out on some of the events shown in Mike's set, so it's great that there are numerous people every year chronicling what happens, and posting for all to see ! Enjoy, and, be sure to go all the way to the end, where I captured the highlights of the awards ceremony. - Mark Alpiger / MDA

TJT
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 09:28 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice pics . I also liked reading Mark's comments.

TJT

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 10:41 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi all.......

I think it's about time I posted my "Thanks" to everyone involved in the preparation, organization, etc of the tournament and to the all of the players too, cuz without them, there wouldn't be a tournament!

A special thanks to Mike and Mark for posting the pictures. Btw, although I pretended to deface Donald's poster, it was not me who was responsible. I did admit to Donald, however, that I may have "inspired" this evil-doer!

Another thanks to Mike Stulir for once again letting us waste some room on his hard drive with our "most pathetic" attempt at a supposed interview show.
As far as missing a score, don't forget that your own score on Red Baron should be noted as well, especially if Walter creates the new listing with new dip switch settings! (Don't forget to get a receipt from the museum for your donated games!!)

Lastly, it was great to see everyone once again and to meet a few new ones too.

Carnival Fred

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Free d/l of Classic Gamer mag

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carnival_Fred
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 10:16 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi all......

Although there is a cd of back issues which you must pay to get, there is a ***free*** issue ready for download now and a new ***free*** one is due July 1st. These are free PDF files and Adobe Reader 6.0 is recommended.

Carnival Fred

Carnival_Fred
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 08:49 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oops.. forgot this....

www.classicgamer.com

Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 07:54 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Fred

Can I read it on Adobe 4.0?

Scootie

Carnival_Fred
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 12:28 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Scootie...

I may have confused the Adobe 6.0 recommendation with something else... sorry about that....

Yes. Adobe 4.0 is a-okay

Carnival Fred

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Would anyone like to challege me JJT these Modern Arcade Game?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 06:42 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would anyone like to challege me JJT these Modern Arcade Game?

Here are some current highscores Below:

1.Tsurugi 1,199,400pts.

2.Police Trainer 2 122,860pts 16 completed games

3.Star Trek Voyager 328,750pts 6 completed games

4.Jurasstic Park 3 768,430pts. solo 978,640pts.doubles playing solo hard difficulty

5.Time Crisis 3 1st player & 2nd 1.5 million on both 1st & 2nd player on Hard difficulty

6.Crisis Zone 3.5 million pts. on hard difficulty

7.Trophy Hunting 7,800pts. & 6,960pts.

8.House of the Dead 3 170.620pts. C 175,880pts D on Max difficulty

9.Jurasstic Park Lost World 30,020,000pts. FOR 5 STAGES

10.Area 51 / Maxium Force 999,999pts. & 3,028,330pts.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Eric Ahlers
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 07:18 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJT :

GREAT SCORES !!

Just one question.........Where do you play these modern arcade games ??

Eric

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 07:21 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Juan:

Just wondering...what exactly do you do in "Star Trek Voyager" ?

Now that I think of it, after reading all your previous threads, I never heard of this one. Is this a phaser-fire accuracy type game ?

Robert

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 08:15 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Ahlers This is were I play Eric.

I played at the Austin's Park 'n Pizza - Fun Family Restaurant and Amusement Park in Austin, TX http://www.austinspark.com/attractions/index.asp
PHONE #512-670-9600 ask for Mike he is the head Video Game Technician there to check on my highscores

SPECIAL NOTE: Make sure you tell Mike what I look like the guy with glasses/athletic build & a lite blue backpack that I carry with me all the time & my initials are JJT,I talk with Mike all the time on $12 Tuesdays.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 08:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey JJT

Do you play any classic games other than Defender?

or

Are you another Roy in the making?

Scootie

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 09:06 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 07:21 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Juan:

Just wondering...what exactly do you do in "Star Trek Voyager" ?

Now that I think of it, after reading all your previous threads, I never heard of this one. Is this a phaser-fire accuracy type game ?

Robert

It's been awhile since I played this game I will try to give you some incite on the game.

Here take a look at it Robert.

Star Trek Voyager Team Play 2002 Videogame

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=12708

Action>Shooter>Light Gun

You have diffferent missions with variant difficulty levels 9 being the hardest after completing each mission.
Multiple choices on which mision you want to take.

The types of enemies you will encounter places you fight them.
1.Borg

2.Species #---/

3.Borg sphere & Borg Cube ships shoot them down

4.mechanical spider like crawlers inside Star Trek Voyager

5.Dorky looking Alien that goes on a rampage with small arms that shoots energy projectiles & jumps up like monkey to hold to metal pipe on the ceiling acts after it fires it's energy projectiles at you inside the Bay on the Star Trek Voyager

6.Big Gorrila like alien with Borg implants on it & with a energy cannon on 1 arm to fire energy projectiles at you & it charges at you you have to stun it,it guards itself with armor plated energy cannon on 1 arm.

7.Alien Hunters

8.Secret Areas

9.Bonus rounds accuracy you start off with 100% it's target shooting range that scrolls. You try to shoot every enemy not to miss if your accuracy percentage goes down,at the end of the bonus round your score is tabulated on the amount of enemies you have shot & multiplied time the ending percentage for example 25 X 90% =

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 09:39 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Juan:

Thanks for filling us in on "Star Trek Voyager".

It seems to me that if you have expertise at the shooting/gun type games, so did you ever try to find a classic "Crossbow", "Cheyenne" or "Crackshot" ? (Funspot has "Crossbow" and also "Turkey Shoot" and maybe some others.

Robert

Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 09:56 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone

Funspot also has Hogan's Alley & Duck Hunt - as far as classic shooters go.

Scootie

Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:08 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone

Funspot also has Hogan's Alley & Duck Hunt - as far as classic shooters go.

As for your previous remarks regarding classic gamers...

Ever hear the classic Bob Segar song "Old Time Rock & Roll"

I feel the same way about modern games - they "ain't got the same soul".

I also wonder how Segar would feel about some of today's pop music (rap, club, house, urban dance, merengue, latino pop, etc) - considering how much he disliked disco.

Disco - at least - had some catchy tunes & decent artists.

I might also add that I feel the same way about music as I do about games. Most of my favorite artists are from the classic (60's/70's) era.

enough said

Scootie

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:31 pm
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Scootie wrote:Ever hear the classic Bob Segar song "Old Time Rock & Roll"

JJT:Yes,who hasn't,I love that song.

Scootie wrote|:I feel the same way about modern games - they "ain't got the same soul".

JJT:I agree to a point Scootie I do like the new challenges they represent & the new & better graphics. Well in my case I have no classic arcade gamerooms to go to.
I use to have some friends that had classic arcade games they have moved away in August 2003 & Austin Gaming Expo in July 2003 that's it.

Scootie Wrote:I also wonder how Segar would feel about some of today's pop music (rap, club, house, urban dance, merengue, latino pop, etc) - considering how much he disliked disco.

JJT:Shock & Amazement.

Scootie wrote:Disco - at least - had some catchy tunes & decent artists.

JJT:Long live Saturday Night Fever movie & John Travolta in famous dance pose.

Scootie wrote:I might also add that I feel the same way about music as I do about games. Most of my favorite artists are from the classic (60's/70's) era.

JJT:I guess todays artist can't think of anything new they just rewrites of old songs. I also,like the 80's songs.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 10:58 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 09:39 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Juan:

Thanks for filling us in on "Star Trek Voyager".

It seems to me that if you have expertise at the shooting/gun type games, so did you ever try to find a classic "Crossbow", "Cheyenne" or "Crackshot" ? (Funspot has "Crossbow" and also "Turkey Shoot" and maybe some others.

Robert

JJT:I pickup on target shooting arcade games pretty quickly.
I don't know if I played the classic arcade games "Crossbow", "Cheyenne" "Crackshot" or Turkey Shoot but I have played Hogans Alley.

I will look around to find any of these classic arcade games.

yourt fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 11:17 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 08:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie wrote:
Hey JJT

Do you play any classic games other than Defender?

Yes, Scootie I do play classic arcade games.

Here is the list of the classic arcade games I mastered in the 80's mostly at Grand Prix Race 'O'Rama the worlds largest arcade open 24 hrs back then. In Ft.Ldle,Fla. now relocated to Dania,Fla. now owned by BOOMERS

Note: This were Chris Ayra/Billy Mitchael/Jack Gale/Stephan Krogman/Ned Troide go to play.

1.Defender

2.Stargate

3.Robotron

4.Joust New Chip No birds I JJT scored 9,999,950pts.on
Default Settings:

I learned practicing on the old chip
machine on the later boards up to 255 (Dark,Gray,Red lords enemies etc.)

Note: I JJT was the 1st.player to score
9,999,950pts.on both the new chip without the killing bird trick & old
chip at Grand Prix Race-O-Rama in
Ft.Ldle,Fl. Note:I'm the one that figured out the bird trick at Grand Prix.

5.Galaxian

6.Galaga I JJT scored 9,999,990pts.on the hardest
difficulty settting which is "D" at Grand Prix in the 80's.2nd player registers a million pts..

7.Punch Out

8.Super Punch Out

9.Asteroids I JJT scored 10 million pts. using the trick (leaving a couple Asteroids & shooting saucer ships) on factory setting

10.Missle Command

11.Gyrus

12.Hogans Alley I JJT scored 999,900pts.on factory
setting.

13.Q-bert I JJT scored 9,999,900pts. on factory setting I killed it off I was starting to see things was getting confused , blurred vission , headaches it was a long tiring game unlike playing Stargate which was mild in comparison to playing Q-bert. 2hrs. 5min.per million points.

Note: I learned the game from Doris Self or Mrs.Qbert that what we called her at Grand Prix Race 'O' Rama in the 80's

14.Satan's Hollow
15.Commando I JJT scored 10 million pts.with the trick

Note: I JJT figured out the trick of shooting threw the bottom of the screen to kill your enemies at Grand Prix Race 'O' Rama on factory setting.

16.Star Wars

17.Xevious

18.Time Pilot

19.1942

20.Dig Dug

21.Moon Patrol

22.Mario Brothers

23.Track 'N' Field

God Bless You

your fellow gammaster JJT

jjt_defender
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 11:22 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie
Monday, June 21, 2004 - 08:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey JJT

Do you play any classic games other than Defender?
or
Are you another Roy in the making?

Scootie

Here is proof Scootie from a noted player Chris Ayra on my scores at Grand Prix.

Subject: Good News for Juan Torres from Chris Ayra !!
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 08:34:59 -0400
From: "Robert Mruczek" Add to Address Book
To: "Juan Torres"

[b]Juan:

Chris Ayra is still alive and well. I asked Ms Pacman-master
Darren Harris to contact him just to verify that what you said about knowing
the gamg down in Florida was true, and he did !!

Here's Chris' response word-for-word below...

Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 1:24 AM
To: Robert Mruczek
Subject: Oops! Hehe...

I was checking e-mails and two e-mails after yours is an e-mail from
Chris.

It is as follows:
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
----------
Hey Darren, good to hear from you. I have not been playing too much
lately,
how about you. This JJT that Robert speaks of is the real deal.
Everything,
everyone, and every place that he mentioned is accurate in detail. All
the
games that he talked about he was very good at. The only problem is
that I
can not verify any of his high scores because Bill and I were in our
own
world of Pacman and Ms. Pacman so we never made time to watch him play
for
more than a few minutes. One things for sure, he was aways in Grand
Prix when
we were there and we were there at least 50 to 60 hours a week playing(
Grand
Prix was opened 24 hrs. a day even till today). I believe he can
achieve the
scores that he says he did. And you know me, Im a hard critic when it
comes
to high scores. Talk to you soon.......... P.S. How are you guys coming
along
on J.R. Pacman?.........Chris~~~920,310~~~Ms. Pacman ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
----------

Well that impresses me to no end, as Chris reserves such comments
for only the most dedicated gamers.

Just thought you should be aware. Nice to have a fellow game
master from the 1980's back in TG !!

Robert T Mruczek
Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee
Star Wars classic arcade champion

God Bless You All

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Ben Davidson
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 01:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJT
I have a question for you, How many times on all the total posts here that you posted on have you mentioned that acrade that you go to? I think you made a record that beats Roy's M.C. mentions or his "HSHoF" babblings.Did you sign an advertizing contract to promote their location or what?

Ben Davidson
a.k.a Wonder Boy

Scootie
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 01:47 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey JJT

Oooohhhh you're so "cool"!

Sorry, but I have a hard believing ALL those scores. I would have to see you play to believe otherwise. Until such a time, I put you in the same league as Roy. At least Roy has ONE record that he can boast about.

Why were you not at the tournament?

Scootie

jjt_defender
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 10:27 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm just learning the modern arcade games now,in the future I will get higher scores.

Why don't you go there or call to prove me wrong Scootie.

Take Care God be with you.
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Mark Boolman
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 12:54 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are those single credit, no contiue game scores, or are they of the w/a few continues variety???

Vidiot
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 06:22 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WTF?

jjt_defender
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:20 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Tsurugi 1,199,400pts. 1-credit

2.Police Trainer 2 122,860pts 1-credit

3.Jurasstic Park 3 768,430pts. 1 continue for each of the 3 completed games I played on the game. I played without using the right & left escape buttons the majority of the time unless required. It is really easy game to get good at. I only played 3 completed games.On hard difficulty

4.Crisis Zone 3.5 million pts. on hard difficulty
of the 7 games I have played usually 1 to 3 continues to finish the game.I will get better.
3 lives to start.

5.Trophy Hunting 7,800pts. & 6,960pts. 1 credit
2 lives to start.

I recently did a marathon score of 9,999,999pts. on Maxium Force this past Tuesday June 22,2004 at Austin Park 'N' Pizza in Pflugerville,Texas alongside I-35.
When I started playing Maxium Force I had already worked a 10 hour shift on graveyard.
After playing for 13 straight hours shooting standing up I finally reached my goal of 9,999,999pts & went beyond it. I celebrated when I put my initials on the game JJT,it was finally over in total exhaustion & relief.I had severe muscle spasms in both hands & shoulders.Plus,I had cramps in my fingers/back & leggs I could barely walk.I thought my hand was glued to the gun,I had to pull each finger to let go of the gun,it was that bad. I then walked home in triumph.
I did it for myself & as a challenge.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Eric Ahlers
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 04:17 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJT :

13 hours straight standing up with your arm extended pointing a gun at the screen is an incredible feat in itself. Even with the little breaks in the story. My right shoulder is killing me just thinking about that.

I feel you pain, JJT
Do you need a few days off due to pain/fatigue after such a game ??

One question JJT......

Does Maximum Force use a handgun or a shotgun/machine gun ??

Either one would be equally tortuous IMO...

I know when i play a game of Time Crisis/Crisis Zone/Police Trainer etc. The pain in my shoulder/arm is unbearable after about 5-minutes.

JJT : Do you play the shooter game titled "Confidential Mission" ??

I don't think you've mentioned that one previously and it would be right up your alley.

I only ask because this is the shooter that i finished. Not on one credit, but 3-4.

also....it was a 2-player game....lots of fun

Have you played Confidential Mission ?? and if so, what is your high game ??

JJT, What about Silent Scope ??

Again congrats !!!Truly amazing.

Eric

jjt_defender
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 05:47 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Ahlers wrote:Does Maximum Force use a handgun or a shotgun/machine gun ??

JJT:It useses a optical gun.It's a multi-arcadegame cabinet that has Area 51 & Maxium Force.

JJT:I used both hands,alternating on each time to time.

Eric Ahlers wrote: Do you play the shooter game titled "Confidential Mission" ?
I only ask because this is the shooter that i finished. Not on one credit, but 3-4.

JJT: That's awesome Eric.

JJT: Mike the head technician at Austin Park 'N' Pizza Amusement is talking about getting the arcade Confidential Mission soon. I will try it out when they get it in.

JJT: No.I haven't played Confidential Mission yet.

Eric Ahlers wrote:What about Silent Scope ??

JJT:No,I have not played Silent Scope but I have played Silent Scope 2 2-Target & 2 solo 4-total games trying out each Character basically feeling out the game.

I hope I answered all your questions Eric
Thank You

your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 05:52 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Ahlers wrote:Does Maximum Force use a handgun or a shotgun/machine gun ??

JJT:It useses a optical Handgun

JJT:House of the Dead 3 useses a Shotgun.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Carnival_Fred
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric,

What makes that marathon score even more impressive is that the 13 hour run ( after the 10 hour (!) work shift) was on the back end of being awake for a day and half!

Carnival Fred

jjt_defender
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 04:27 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie wrote:I also made the point of calling Austin Park-n-Pizza. Turns out that you do have some hi scores there.

JJt: Thank You Scootie for confirming my modern arcade game highscores.

JJT: Is that proof enough for anybody on this forum. Case settled.

I told you the truth & I JJT didn't lie about my modern arcade games scores at Austin Park 'N' Pizza.

Plus, my classic arcade games at Grand Prix in the 80's confirmed by a noted classic arcade game of alltime Chris Ayra TG World Record Holder on MsPacman/Fastest Perfect Pacman game/Berzerk.

Thank You again Scootie
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 04:33 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank You Carnival Fred. I never want to do it again in the near future. I would hate to play this for 24hrs. Perish the thought I would probably get a clone to take over.

How did you do at the FunSpot tournament, did you break any of your world records.

What classic arcade games are you working on now?

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 10:32 pm
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Hey JJT

You're alright dude!!

Scootie

jjt_defender
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 11:07 am
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Thank You Scootie
Your kool people & a great all around classic arcade game player.

That was a excellent idea Scootie to get together with fellow classic arcade gamemasters on the weekend.
First you have fun/express new ideas/get better everytime you play.
Another great idea Scootie that you brought up was the weekly to monthly classic arcade game score reports from Funspot.

I wish they had a classic arcade gameroom here.

Keep up the great work Scootie
your fellow gamemaster JJT

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Slowly but Surely

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Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 08:55 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

Strictly as an experiment, I have been practicing "Super Missile Attack" on MAME (mouse control and not trackball, mind you). Up to 127K officially, 131K unofficially, and I think I can keep getting higher.

Quite a challenge at speed level 10. But here's the cool part. Play classic MC after a few hours of playing SMA speed levels 8 and higher, and you will notice a very pleasant side effect. Speed level 6 seems a bit easier to deal with, all of a sudden !!

SMA maxes at speed level 10, which is roughly 65% faster than speed level 6. And the smart bombs are more like genius bombs. You have to really peg them good or they just skip over a cloud like it wasn't even there.

The worst is that the missiles come in at shallow angles, making protecting missile bases, and not cities, your top priority at higher levels of gameplay.

I reached stage (11-2) and the colours kept changing. Can't wait to see what happens in stage 12. Stage 7 is brick red, stage 8 is a hard-to-see bright light-green, stage 9 is like classic stage 1 more or less, and stage 10 is a royal blue with white background. Stage 11 is burnt orange with yellowish objects.

The toughest part is "missile lock". The game cannot fire missiles fast enough, even though you've pressed the button, so learning the right rhythem is essential of those bases will get taken out real fast...literally !!

Worth giving it a shot if anyone has the opportunity to do so. At the very least it helps to pick up the classic MC scores almost immediately.

Robert

John Zabel
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 08:25 pm
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Robert,

I think I'll give this a try this weekend to see if it can help my classic MC scores. I can get to the low 200Ks on TGTS, but I am have problems getting higher. Maybe this will help and I'll see if I can get that bounty.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 09:43 pm
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Hi John:

Trust me...it will help. When you start saving 4 or more cities at speed levels 7 & 8, watch how much easier level 6 will seem. And just wait until you see speed level 10 !!

Robert

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Games I can beat Todd Rogers at

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Chris Long
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 10:41 pm
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Whack a Mole
Tron
Tempest
Joust
Iron Horse

He'd probably beat me at every other game.

Anyone else?

-Chris

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 11:29 pm
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Well, according to the TG scoring database, I currently have the 4th highest score in the world on Squid Search. That is much higher than Todd has ever scored.

BTW, I want to challenge Gary Vincent's high score on Squid Search of 99,999,910. My understanding is that the score maxes out at 99,990 and does not roll over. Therefore, I think Gary's score is a fake.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 11:43 pm
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Hi Mike:

That's a formal score challenge. I have to run that one past the TG Board of Directors. If deemed valid, Gary will have a period of not more than one (1) year to provide the score is legit. Of course, being that the 2nd Book of Records is due, he might be given less time under the circumstances.

As for Todd, I know a game that I game whip him at...on his home-town game system, too, the Atari 2600.

Mention "Frankenstein's Monster" and Todd shudders at the thought of it. It's one of the few 2600 world records I still have, and one of the toughest times he's had to take one of my records down !!

Robert

Ken Sweet
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 09:42 am
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Interesting topic!

I think I could beat Todd at Crossbow and Speed Buggy. His scores on the Atari 2600 are all better than mine, but I'm working on a couple. Watch out Todd!

Ken Sweet =)

PS - I've never seen Frankenstein's Monster, so I just went to ebay to find one to buy and it was already up to $20.20!

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 09:54 am
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I will warn you that there's a "Project: They Only Thought They Were Joking" in the works... - ZM

Gary
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 03:09 pm
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Mike,
You wish to challenge my score, eh? Find a Squid Search machine and I will show you the secret of the score multiplier in level 99 thereby proving my abilities on this game.

D_Harris
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 05:57 pm
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I've been wondering about that 99,999,910 score myself. Was it videotaped? Was there a T.G. sanctioned referee present? Something fishy is going on here.

On a more serious note, about 5-1/2 miles from me in a "mom n pops" store, there is a Gorf machine. Todd's not going to be happy about this, but I managed a score of 3.4 million points in a long gaming session there three days ago.

And I have a witness. My fiancee was standing right behind me. Her name is... Morgan Fairchild. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Todd Rogers
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 09:56 pm
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Greetings all,
Lers see games people can beat me at starting with:
Chris Long ,
Whack a Mole --I would never play it
Tron--- Maybe you'de beat me
Tempest --Probably not im good at this game
Joust --im fair at it so 50/50
Iron Horse --never played it
Mike Stulir:
Squid search--never played it
Robert Mruzcek:
Frankenstein's Monster--BAD ROBERT BAD ROBERT never mention that game to me again!!!!!
Ken Sweet:
CrossBow---probably you'de win
SpeedBuggy---it would be close as i like that game too
Gary Vincent: --You da'man on squid search
Darren Harris: reading the posts quickly you made my heart skip a beat i thought you really KILLED my score i was ready to bow to you. But of course it would have taken you about 22hrs to do your 3.4mil.

Thanks all for giving me some interesting reads to see where i am weak....

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Richard M.
Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 10:56 pm
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Darren: Something fishy is going on with Gary's Squid Search score? Yes, that's one whale of a joke there!! We don't have to worry about your sense of humor starting to flounder!

I guess neither of us are going to appear on Comedy Central any time soon. :-)

Todd: How are you as a Galaga player?

-- Richard

Scootie
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 10:43 am
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Hey Everyone

Doesn't Fig leaf have the world record on Squid Search?

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 02:41 pm
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Hi Scootie:

No, he was playing at the wrong settings. The score was discounted.

By the way, Steve Krogman still is the undisputed champion of the coin changer machine. (Not sure how many of you remember his posts on how he "turned it over" !!)

Robert

Zotmeister
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 03:03 pm
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I almost turned over a token dispenser once. Seriously - it ran for like thirty seconds without giving me the last of my tokens, before shifting bins internally and giving me the rest I was due. That was apparently a modern machine that could "hold an extra digit", as it were. - ZM

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Todd Rogers are you good at

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Ben Davidson
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 02:58 am
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Hey Todd
Do you play Track n Field like the sort of counter part Decathlon on the Atari 2600? I noticed that you have ALL the high scores on Decathlon but how well do you do at Track n Field i see no scores tracked for you on it.Was it that you just did not play the game or was it to tough for you? Do you play any other sport games and do/did you participate any REAL sports in life?

Ben Davidson
a.k.a. Wonder Boy

Todd Rogers
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 11:02 pm
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Ben
I have played Track-n-Field and i did rather well with a 100 meter time of 7.04 or something like that. Yes i did participate in REAL SPORTS i wrestled in High School with a record of 38-0 no losses and i Prof Kick Boxed in the mid-late 80's. In 1980 i took the state title in arm wrestling when i was at my best i could run a mile in 4:08 and bench press 460 Lbs.I would go to BARS and bet people for money that for every 1 push up they would do i could do 5. So guess what there were a lot of broke people out there as i could easly do over 500 straight.Currently i have ALL the Decathlon records until someone beats me on them wanna give them a try Ben?

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:03 am
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They did make a T&F button-controller for atari2600. With joystick Todd would win, but if those buttons were good enough...And speed would help, then...

I'm afraid though, that decathlon could be too retro even for my taste.
Have to give it a quick try with some emu. And no, I don't have 2600 joystick

Scootie
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 11:52 am
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Hey Todd

How are you able to consume all that pizza and still stay in top form?

I assume you mean the 2600 version of decathalon. I have played it on both the 2600 & Commodore 64 - and I feel I am good enough at this title to, at least, make you "sweat" a little!

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 08:28 pm
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Todd:

Wow...460 ? That puts you in good company with Chris Long and probably Greg Sakundiak.

Your 4:08 is awesome...I managed only a 4:21 back then, but I'll bet my 1:57.8 1/2 mile is pretty good in comparison (I specialized at that distance...lost a LOT of steam afterwards)

Robert

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Scootie - My Progress

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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 08:41 pm
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Hello Scootie:

Somewhere amidst all the recent thread replies you had asked among other things how my SMA progress was coming along. I replied but forgot to address that query so here goes.

My average now is over 90K My verified personal best is 127,440 and my unverified personal best is 131,520 due to a corrupted INP.

Two nights ago I had lost only five cities at end of level (7-2), and amazingly guarded 4 cities in level (8-1) and had a full compliment of 6 coming into stage (9-1), but that didn't last too long.

In this game, when the smart bomb wave comes out before the missiles, it's the worst possible situation you could ever want. And that super-low flying plane that drops the missiles which tomahawk...that's the 2nd worst.

Robert

John Zabel
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 12:00 am
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Robert,

Those score are pretty impressive for SMA. Does your going past 100K on SMA mean your bounty is gone? I just need to know if I have to video tape once I do the conversion from MC to SMA.

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 08:53 pm
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Hey Rob

Very impressive! I recently got a hold of SMA for MAME - noticeably more difficult than MC.

If I play SMA on a regular basis - Does that mean my MC game will improve as well?

Scootie

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:02 pm
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Rob

Do you eventually plan on challenging Roy in Missle Command?

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:48 am
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JOHN - bounty is still ON !! Remember, my scores don't count. Those are the rules. All you need to do is pass the 100K mark.

SCOOTIE - not yet. I recently hit 322K on MAME at regular MC at TGTS. Not good enough to challenge Roy yet.

UPDATE - up to 141K on "Super Missile Attack", reaching stage 11-2, and this time the INP works fine. I will post to MARP later today. According to conversations with Roy, he said he maybe got 150K years back. So I'm as good as he was back then...of course he can always say he only played it once or twice. In fact I'm sure he will.

Robert

Scootie
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 09:12 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob

Do you find any "patterns" to MC or SMA or is it just great coordination/reflexes?

Scootie

John Zabel
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 09:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert,

What do INP and MARP stand for?

JRZ

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 10:23 pm
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Hi John:

I haven't a clue what INP stands for, actually. As for MARP, it's the MAME ACTION REPLAY PAGE or something like that.

One important thing...playing SMA is GREAT practice for classic MC. Trust me.

Robert

John Zabel
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:26 pm
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Robert,

Regarding Scootie's question, the only pattern that I can see in MC is there seems to be 3 waves and when in those waves the smart bombs show up. When smart bomb show up in the first wave you're in for a bad time verses when the smart bombs wait till the third wave then it's a “relative” walk in the park, since most of the missiles and planes/satellites are done and you can focus on shooting the smart bombs. Otherwise the angle/position/target of the attacking item seems to be of a random nature.

JRZ

Weehawk
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 12:22 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When one makes a recording using the "-record" parameter of MAME, the INPut data are recorded in a special file format and given by MAME the file extension ".inp"

Note that the player's input to the game is all that is actually being recorded. When you play it back essentially you are feeding the exact same input to the game again and therefore get the same results.

Short answer: .inp stands for input

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 06:47 pm
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Hi John:

Here's what I've noticed about SMA thus far.

Case 1 - two waves of missiles followed by a mini-wave and a barrage of smart bombs. This is the "easy" pattern that rarely comes up in SMA after stage (6-2)

Case 2 - smart bombs coming out a lot earlier than usual. Even 1-2 can be devastating at top speeds. Combined with the UFO and it's extremely hard.

Case 3 - the worst of the worst. A staggered missile drop combined with smart bombs coming throughout the wave and low-flying planes. Sort of a worst-case-scenario for SMA players. Low flying planes launch bombs at extreme angles and top speeds. It is very difficult to stop them at higher levels.

General strategy at TGTS

-> Protect the center base and at least half of an end base after 1st missile volley each wave

-> Keep protecting center base and use end-base missiles for critical purpose only (center base). Ignore cities completely after stage (8-2) unless you are a glutton for punishment or have Flash-like reflexes.

-> Try to end each wave as close to 79,995 or 87,995 or 95,995 (etc) as the difficulty reaches stage (9-1) and higher

Robert

John Zabel
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 08:08 pm
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Robert,

From what you are saying about SMA is it hard to get more than 8,000 points per round? The only time I played SMA was 23 years ago and it was set to a bonus city every 10K. I got destroyed
at around 74K.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 10:01 pm
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Hi John:

Here's what I believe...you average 8-9K per round for two reasons...

1st - If you get lucky with early clusters of missiles (worth 250 a pop), you can focus on smart bombs later, but I rarely see where the end wave is all smart bombs.

2nd - With 10 center base missiles, assume 4 smart bomb/aircraft for 4-5K, 2-3 missiles for 500-750, and 1st wave cluster of missiles for 5-6 at 250 a pop. The "gravy" would be airplanes/satellites/UFOs at 1K a pop.

Based on the speed I experience, picking off 4 smarts per wave is not easy in stage 10. But if you do, that's 5K right there.

If anyone could someone save all 6 cities in level 10, that's an estimated 21.6K per stage based on approx 13K per stage thru (6-2)

Robert

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To Robert M:

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Charlie Weatherbee
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 10:39 pm
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Robert,

My friend Mike Chandronnait has finally gotten to a point in Leprechaun where I am amazed he got to! His score was 606,570 or close to it! I am going to convert my Hi 8 tape full of Leprechaun scores. All of them are mine except the 3rd to last, 2nd to last and last entries I believe. if I can not convert them would it be okay if Shawn Cram verifies them off my video camera? There is a big war about to happen and it just happens to involve me, Steve K, Mike and You if your interested ;)

Vidiot
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 06:16 pm
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The Funspot Leprechaun game is the only one I've seen ever. Were these minigames ever popular?

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:27 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone

Even back in the day - Leprechaun was a game that was not very popular and very repetitious.

It never was ported to ANY console or 8 bit computer at the time.

Never saw a Leprechaun in ANY of the NYC arcades that I frequented back in the day. The first (and only) time that I saw & played a Leprechaun was at Fernandez Fun Factory (an arcade in Hawaii - of all places!) back in the summer of 1983.

The next time I saw a Leprechaun machine was the last year or so at Funspot.

Steve, Mike, and Charlie - If you really want to make a name for yourself - try going for a million+ in Donkey Kong - or go for a WR in some more "popular" game.

Scootie

jjt_defender
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 09:50 pm
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Steve, Mike, and Charlie Excellent arcade game scores on Leprechaun I see million points being scored by one of you. Good luck to the first person that scores a million points on Leprechaun.
Including TG chief referee Robert M who is also competing on Leprechaun. If I'm correct he scored 500,000pts.

Never mind what Scootie said anytime you can be the TG world record on any classic arcade games is fantastic. Or being in the top 3 in the world on any classic arcade game is great. Great score Charlie.

Good Luck Again
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Mike CHandronnait
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:18 pm
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THank You JJT, scootie, those would make a name for myself, and be more popular, but as said by I believe it was robert, that "Leprechaun is a game that is over looked and under estimated by many gamers" and its true, if you can find a leprechaun machine try and hit 500,000 or so, then go for steves new record of approximately 622,500 on leprechaun beating my new score for the time being, but not to offend you in anyway scootie as I am sure you are a very good gamer yourself, I just say don't judge a game till you give it a whirl.
~Mike Chandronnait~

Charlie Weatherbee
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:30 pm
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Well i was on a pace to beat the record tonight when all of a sudden i pulled my hamstring ( I also pulled it earlier ). I was mad and then i went to bowl and it didnt hurt lol. Oh well im taking a break from leprechaun and going for different records when i get the chance.

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:48 pm
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Hey Mike

Hope I didn't sound too "harsh". I did not mean to criticize anyone's favorite game - just stating a few facts.

I have played Leprechaun and you and Steve BOTH watched me play and score a respectable 350,000+ on my first guy.

Since I'll be up at Funspot next week - Why do you not play me doubles on some of the games that I'm good at??

Track & Field
Crazy Climber
Dig Dug
Donkey Kong

And I'll definately play you in Leprechaun & some of the other titles that you're good at..up for it??

Scootie

PS. Mike - you can e-mail me at Scootie1968@aol.com

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:37 am
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Hello all:

The "Galaga King" himself, Steve Krogman, thinks that this game becomes hard enough after a certain point that it warranted tracking by TG, and based on that recommendation alone, TG no longer refuses to track this title. We were guilty of the same misconception that the game is TOO easy, and no one other than Steve bothered to play it out to stages 49 and beyond. So now we know.

Robert

Zotmeister
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 03:04 pm
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Far too many games get neglected for one reason or another, and I can greatly sympathize with the efforts to bring them to the spotlight. I'd been trying to do that with Quartet for years, and it seems like I'm finally starting to succeed.

Incidentally, I feel Mark Spaeth has done a lot for bringing neglected games to light, but lately has seemingly given up, which I think is very unfortunate and is a great factor in my continually prodding him. [Well, that and he's a cool guy that I've only met once and would like to meet again.] He doesn't even respond to offers to buy his games (although that doesn't stop him from continuing to spit out those lists of what he wants to sell...). - ZM

Shawn Cram
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 05:45 pm
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Nice scores on Leprechaun this weekend,I'm glad I was there to verify them.I have digital shots of steve,and my son shaun's scores on this title.I also have a shot of eric's robotron score of 648,xxx. shawn

Mike Chandronnait
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 05:54 pm
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What did Shaun get on leprechaun by any shance Shawn?

Do you know when, if your gonna be up there this week Shawn?Because Im working all week and wondering if you were gonna be around If i could get a run verified, thanx.
~Mike~

Scootie
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:53 pm
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Hey Shawn

Thanks on behalf of Eric & myself. I'll probably be up there this Friday.

Scootie

PS. I might make a run at Crazy Climber this weekend. Would you (or someone else at Funspot) be able to "verify" any score I get that is over 180,000?

Shawn Cram
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 04:39 pm
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Shaun got 509,450 on the first game he ever played,about a month ago.I saw it but I don't think there were any witnesses,maybe Jason.The score I have a photo of is 417,950.(Scootie)I will probably be there sat.,sun.,and maybe some of mon.shawn

Mike Chandronnait
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 05:36 pm
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ok, because If you were up there friday I'd ask if you could verify a run where im gonna beat steves score. Right now it look like Me, Charlie, Steve and Scootie for friday after work at 5 or so. Monday I might be able to get up there, but not the weekend, plans. But thanx shawn.
~Mike~

mikeenphoppers
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 07:30 pm
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hi shawn. i was there. shaun did it on april 17th.it was just a great job by shaun.his first time playing leprechaun ! thanks. mike e.

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Commemorative Book

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Gary
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 02:10 pm
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Ken is assembling some commemorative books from the tournament. (I'm sure he's not looking for ET carts for the 2600) Here's the information:

I have completed printing the first batch of the 2003 Commemorative Programs from the Funspot Classic Game Tournament. The first run is a limited edition, numbered 1 through 25, in full-color with a glossy photo-cover. Subsequent editions will be printed in black and white. The program is 24 pages long and features the main story, a listing of results and records, many photographs, and articles. It will cost $10, plus $2 shipping & handling for those who need it mailed. Only one limited edition will be sold to each individual (individual is defined here as a unique humanoid entity). Any additional copies you order will be black and white. Ordering multiple copies at once will save shipping, but we'll work that out when it happens.

Now I know everyone wants one of the limiteds, especially a low number, so here's how I've decided to do this.

At approximately 12PM (noon) EST tomorrow (Monday, June 28th) I will post a message on the twingalaxies.com forum, under the sub-section "Funspot Arcade", announcing that you can now reserve your copy of the book. To reserve your spot in line, email me at psychocy@metrocast.net with your intention to order. Once you have done this, I will send you an email with the mailing address you need to send payment to. I will wait 1 week (7 days) from the time I send you my address to receive your payment via mail, pigeon, hand, or whatever... after this 7 day period expires you will lose your place in line. I will accept checks, money orders, cash, gold, or select Atari 2600 cartridges as payment.

Please visit http://www.tokenheads.com for photos of the program (under construction) for your viewing pleasure, on the new website I am creating (I think it will be of interest to you). Unfortunately, the image quality is lacking due to my camera's inability to deal with close detail.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

Ken Sweet
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:43 am
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Thanks, Gary!

That's right everyone, get ready to race. A few of you have already written to me... that doesn't count! No headstarts. I'll post on TG at noon (and here right after). Once the TG post appears, you can email me at psychocy@metrocast.net to reserve your spot in line.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

Gary
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:22 pm
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Hey Ken,
After watching you guys play Lemans Saturday night, I wonder if there are "cheats" for the old B&W games that we are not aware of? Video game popularity really soared around the Asteroids, Space Invaders and PacMan eras so maybe these older pieces have some secrets no one bothered to discover because they were passe by then. Perhaps a book of cheats for the older games???

Gary

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What Games Is Everyone Going For Record On?¿?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Chandronnait
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:22 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, Im just curious to see what records everyone is currently working on getting, im currently working on.
1.)Leprechaun(setting records as well as getting mine broken)
2.)Pengo(harder then it seems)
3.)Tiger Road(really low score as amazing as it seems)
4.)Marble Madness(hard game)
and others I can't think of off hand
~Mike Chandronnait~

Charlie Weatherbee
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:36 pm
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1)1942
2)1943
3)Pengo
4)Tiger Road
5)Leprechaun
6)ANY GAME MIKE IS GOING FOR LOL
7)I hope to be sending in lots of INP's for wolfMAME and get a nick name like Charlie " Mr Mame" Weatherbee like Todd "Mr Activision" Rogers or am I mistaken the title for someone else? Im also going to start going for more console game records.

Scootie
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:40 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Mike

Crazy Climber (179,500: WR is 478,000)

Dig Dug (679,300: WR is somewhere around 4.2 million)

Guided Missle (1920: WR is 2700)

and there are other games such as Mario Bros. & Donkey Kong that I am playing more frequently and getting decent scores on; but not actively pursuing a record on these games.

Will probably be up at Funspot at least part of next weekend..

peace
Scootie

Keith K Smith
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 11:36 pm
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EVERY CLASSIC GAME IN CIRCULATION, PRESENT AND/OR PAST! I WON'T REST UNTIL ALL THE TOP SCORES ARE MINE! MUHUHUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

(Just kidding.)

Actually, I don't have a lot of classic game machines (or redux versions) near me...mostly at laundries around here. So I have to rely mainly on what I have for my PacStation2.

1) Pac-Man: All four arcade programmes...I recently cracked the 9th Key pattern strategy for what Ken Uston called the "Manhattan Chip", so I now know how to get to the end no matter which of the 4 machine types is present. I am also curious as to whether the "last screen" can somehow be gotten around! [I believe in Possibilities, not Inevitabilities.]

2) Galaga: Without the no-bullets trick this time. In any case there is still the risk of one or both ships being rammed.

3) Dangar (UFO Robo): You may remember this as an "Go-Bot" deal where you pick up 6 pieces in sequence and slowly assemble them into a giant half-body. There's a slight problem with the local machine that causes it to "black out" and it has to be reset constantly!

4) Ms. Pac-Man: Someday I'll get to this one; I'm actually better at Pac-Land and Pac-Mania in the arcades.

5) Dig Dug Arrangement: Just cracked 2M last night (at home) using "dummy" 2nd players that you can blow-up for 10K points apiece!

6) Galaga Arrangement: I need a Player 2 to see if a combined score of 1M is possible here. Using "dummy" 2nd players at the end only gets me above 700K or so.

7) Pac-Man Arrangement: Also requires 2 SKILLED Pac-players to score effectively.

8) Super Pac-Man: With 16 difficulty settings...oh, decisions, decisions.

9) Dragon Buster: Is there ever an end to this game?

10) Buster Bros. Collection: Even my mom got a kick out of Don Pacos playing his castinets at the end of each Round.

11) Mr. Driller (once at Pinball Pete's in East Lansing, but no longer): Think Ice Climber™ in reverse! Or Pengo™ set vertically.

Probably too many more to list here. Did you know you can escape from "Hell" in the Genji and the Heike Clans (in most cases), if you have at least 80 pieces of money? Go into the middle of the red acid pit.

If Todd Rogers is a Mr. Activision™, then I guess that would make me a "Mr. Namco™".

Now I have a website of my "unofficial" high scores. It's still under construction, but the link will appear elsewhere on this forum in a new thread. Take a peek.

I reside in Lansing, Michigan.

Zotmeister
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 10:52 am
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I like to think of Mr. Driller as "I dropped my wallet in the Tetris Pit before all the blocks came down and now I have to go get it".

I'm surprised those Namco "Arrangement" games aren't as popular as I feel they should be. Pac-Man Arrangement in particular is virtually begging for someone to pry apart from the inside out, marking out a pattern for each stage for lots of points (particularly 7650x2-point ghosts towards the end). Playing with another player for the first time, I managed over 900k (I didn't continue, but the other player did several times); playing alone, I've yet to clear the boss. Rally-X Arrangement is one I've spent a good amount of time playing, but I don't recall my best and the arcade that had it doesn't anymore and it's been awhile. - ZM

mspaeth
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:59 pm
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No, there's no way around the kill screen in pacman... unless you run my modified romset...

Eric Ahlers
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:53 pm
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Hey Keith :

I've always been partial to Captain Hog.

Don Pacos being a close second.

Keith, do you ever play with Leopold or Sheila ??

Eric

Keith K Smith
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 09:34 pm
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"Pink Leopoldo" is my bias.

Sheila (the Thief)'s like playing a chess bishop; she can never attack in a straight line.

The music for Rally-X Arrangement always seemed off-timed beatwise (9.5/4 or something), as if the composer never checked his tempo signatures.

Got to the boss several times in Pac Arrangement; used quite a few continues. And you only get so many at that; in the event you use them all, the unfinished board in question just sits there with the ghosts moving around endlessly and aimlessly. (MAN, that's irritating!) Someday I'll try to record patterns for it.

Is it even worth doing a strategy guide for Super Pac-Man? I mean, with 16 difficulty settings...of course, if you play the game, you already know how to get past 1/4 of the boards already! (You know which ones?)

Gregory Erway
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:34 pm
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Wild Western - I managed a score of 826,900 on tape a few weeks ago. I have not had a chance to play since. That score is good enough for #2. The record is 1,099,900. I feel I'm at the point to be able to do this right now. My controller is not in good shape. I just bought a new spinner controller on eBay today. Should help.

Pepper II - I managed a score just over 506k a few week ago on tape. The record is just over 720k (real machine) and just over 750k on MARP. I hope to beat the real score and the MARP score on my real machine. I need a bunch more practice to reach that level though.

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 04:10 pm
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Hey Adam

I do not remember seeing any of the "arrangement" games in the arcades back then. I thought they were just graphic "updates" for the PS/PS2/GBA versions.

Scootie

Zotmeister
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 09:57 am
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No, they are definitely arcade titles - just not "back then". Namco Classic Collection Volumes 1 and 2 are two arcade titles Namco released in 1995 and 1996, respectively. Volume 1 includes the original and Arrangement versions of Galaga, Mappy, and Xevious (including Super Xevious):

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=N&game_id=8824

Volume 2 includes the original and Arrangement versions of Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Rally-X (including New Rally-X):

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=N&game_id=8825

I believe all video arcades should have both of these machines. - ZM

artz
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 07:42 pm
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My goals:

Pac-Man 3,300,00, current score 3,257,000 (MARP)
Tutankham 500,000, current score 369,000 (MARP)
Crazy Climber 300,000, current score 268,000 (not posted at MARP yet).

These are all MAME scores.

Sandinista
Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 08:50 am
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Galaxian Arcade

My Current best : 321,260 , 03 July

WR 389,770

Sandinista

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 09:23 am
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Hello Sandinista:

That's one heck of a score, and you're more than 80% there !! I'll let Perry Rodgers know that he has a serious competitor nipping at his toes. Best of luck on your pursuit.

Robert

Sandinista
Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 10:39 am
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Hi Robert ,

Thanx for your kind comments , especially as I know you`re an accomplished Galaxian player yourself .Yesterday was the first time I`d broken 300K , and it was a fantastic feeling !

Sandinista

Ken Sweet
Monday, July 05, 2004 - 11:07 pm
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Great topic!

My Current Gaming Goals:

Speed Buggy Off-Road (Arcade)
Record 148,00 Current 102,520

Chuck Norris Superkicks (Atari 2600)
Record 253,400 Current 207,000

Dark Cavern (Atari 2600)
Record 1,011,000 Current 250,000

Crossbow (Arcade)
Record 19,885,500 Current 1,557,500*

*Unofficially I have scores much higher on Crossbow, around 2.7 million. I know I can do better with some practice, and even that score will put me in second place, but I fear that 1st is forever out of my reach. I don't have the stamina or skill required to play Crossbow for that long on one token. I'll be happy with second, though!

Regards,
Ken Sweet

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 04:19 am
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Ken:

The Dark Cavern record is a good one to go after. I cracked 300K myself once. Nice game and good flow. Once you get those robots to 5K a pop try to keep them there.

The problem is bullets. I try to max out the bullets to 99 ASAP and then start to shoot, maximizing my chances. Bullets become harder to come by later. Even with 99 bullets in stock at 100K, I stil ldon't know how Todd lasted so long. The bullets appear for a scant second or two, not enough time to run after them, in the later stages.

Robert

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 04:21 am
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Hi Sandinista:

Perry wrote back to me early this morning. He's a late person like the rest of us. Here's what he had to say, unedited...seems like he is very impressed with your score !!

Enjoy the read.

Robert

***************************

Hi Robert,

Thanks for keeping me posted. That is a great score! Definitely got my attention. He's got my second best score of 304K beat. Any idea what his previous high score was? Sounds like he had a breakthrough game. I do visit the boards about once a week, half expecting news that someone has broken the record, given all the claims of 500K - 700K+ scores. So far, I've been able to sleep well at night ;-) but I don't doubt it may go down.

I've been attempting to climb back up the ladder, but "nothing to write home about" at this point. I scored 199K at Ground Kontrol in Portland during the contest and then 205K on my machine at home a week later, and started to find my rythym again with one 100K+ run in the 205K game. I know I'll need to dedicate some more time to be more consistent and rival the challengers, and time is at a premium right now. But when I do, my goal will be first to beat 205K and keep taking steps up the ladder. That pychology used to work for me when I tracked all my scores, so thought I'd employ it again and see what happens. Btw, did you see the tv coverage that Ground Kontrol received for the contest? They were kind enough to put me in front of the camera that day - www.groundkontrol.com

*************************

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 04:23 am
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Hello all:

There is a game at Funspot that almost never receives scores each competition, and has one of the older unchallenged world records.

The game is "Alien Syndrome", and the world record holder is the legendary Donn Nauert. His score is awesome...over 2M points.

Anyone feel that have a shot at that one ?

Robert

Charlie Weatherbee
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 08:58 am
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I play it on MAME but my high score is only 200,000.Also I am getting closer in score to Astro Fighters WR. I have scored 12,040. I plan to get the WR within a few weeks. I gave up Leprechaun for the time being to beat other WR's and practice.

Sandinista
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 03:07 pm
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Hi Robert ,

Please thank Perry from me for his kind words . My previous best was 293,280 on May 12 this year . I`ve had 5 or 6 scores above 275K , and thought a 300K score was never coming . I know nothing is proven till a score is sent in , and now I`ve got video camera ( arrived to-day !) , I`m hopeful of sending in a >200K effort to Twin Galaxies soon .

Sandinista

Ken Sweet
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 07:24 pm
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Robert,

I use the same Dark Cavern strategy as you, most of the time. It works well, but I know it's going to be ridiculously difficult to push the score up that far. When those bullets start appearing for such short amounts of time, it's almost luck, and I can't figure out any pattern yet.

Still, I'm going to do my best to figure it out!

Regards,
Ken

Scootie
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 10:06 pm
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Hey Artz

Is your 300,000 on Crazy Climber based on TGTS? Or do you start with 4 lives with a bonus life at 20,000?

That one extra life makes a BIG difference in this game!!

Scootie

artz
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 10:26 pm
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Hi Scootie,

My 268K was starting with 3 lives and an extra at 30k. I lost my last life on building 6 with approx 50 floors to go to the top. So yes, it was TG settings. You are right about the extra life. With one more life, I think I could have gone to the top of building 6 with no more falling girders. Completing building 6 would put my score right at 300k. I've had several games around the 240-250k range, but the 268k game was the first time I was able to get far into building 6. Let me know if you want me to send you the .inp. Plus, I use a keyboard.

Scootie
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 11:40 am
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Hey Rob

What are the settings used on Galaxian? 300K seems like a very unlikely score - considering that Funspot's Galaxian is set to the maximum difficulty.

On the easy setting - where you can have up to 4 of your bullets on the screen (thus creating a rapid fire effect - like on Centipede) a score of 300K (or higher) is possible, though still difficult.

Scootie

Sandinista
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 12:04 pm
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Hi Scootie ,

You`re thinking of a different game . Galaxian does not have rapid fire , or an easy or hard setting . 300K is possible though ..

Sandinista

Derek
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 01:44 pm
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Hi Perry,

Big Mario Bros fan here. Are you still able to play at your 3.4M level you got in the 80's? The new TGTS settings are medium (Though default seems like it shoud be Easy). Are you currently playing at Medium and did you play at Medium back in the day? If you are playing at Medium, what kind of scores are you getting?

Thanks and cool coverage on Fox news, I was hoping to see you play Mario Bros... :-)
Take it easy,
Derek

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 08:26 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Not sure what game you are referring to. Classic Galaxian allows ONE (1) bullet per screen coming from your ship. Next cannot come out until (A) it contacts an enemy, (B) it passes the top of the screen, or (C) you die and your next available ship comes out.

Even "Galaxian Part 4" has the same parameters,as does "Super Galaxian". Not sure about "Galaxian X" or "Galaxian Turbo".

Robert

Scootie
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:00 am
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Hey Adam

Are any of the arrangement (Pac-Man/Dig-Dug) titles still available for the Playstation 1?

I MUST HAVE THEM!!!!

Scootie

Zotmeister
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 01:13 pm
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None were released on the PSOne, as far as I know. The NamcoMuseum collections for PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube include Pac-Man Arrangement, Galaga Arrangement, and Dig-Dug Arrangement; the Game Boy Advance title Pac-Man Collection has Pac-Man Arrangement. As far as I know, none of the other three were ever released outside the arcade.

Scootie
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:55 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Rob

I don't know about MAME, but Microsoft's "Return of Arcade" which has the (supposedly) original Namco version of Galaxian, has an option that lets you have 1-4 bullets on the screen.

Anything 2 or higher makes the game THAT much easier.

Even on "4", my high is only 50,000.

Scootie

Sandinista
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 06:52 pm
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(supposedly) It isn`t ..

Sandinista

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 12:39 pm
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Scootie:

On the Namco Museum 3 for the PS1, I think that's the one with the Galaxian, there are two (2) difficulty settings, normal and expert. As for a setting which has 1-4 bullets at once, that must be custom for that game. The original PDF file I have at home of the tech specs for this title has no such provision.

Robert

Mike Chandronnait
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 03:17 pm
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I've recently got involved in the game Space Harrier, and am around 5 million right now but that will soon increase with a little practice.
~Mike~

sandinista
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 07:03 pm
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Galaxian , arcade scored 386,180 , 18 july ******* New Personal Best **************

Sandinista

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

GORF

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TJT
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:23 pm
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Walter Todd?

At CGE 2001 there was a Gorf machine, that I thought gave plenty of extra ships. What kind of settings have you played your scores? Mame settings are not quite right imo, start with 3 ships or alternatively, start with 3 ships and get only one bonus ship later.

So at your record game, what kind of settings were used? Most importantly, how often do you get extra ship, or is it really 3+1 ships whole game???

Ron C claimed that mame emulation at gorf is wrong anyway, your ship is too slow. He tested it with original machine and mame side by side.

Thank you,

TJT

Todd Rogers
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 10:53 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TJT,
Lets see... you are correct about the CGE 2001's settings i requested at that show to have them change it before i played the game as i always play with 3 ships. That particular game had a problem with the stick sticking to the left so i only scored 400k on it. Between that and my Tech TV/CNN interviews and other interuptions it was amazing i got that far.If my memory is correct you might get a free ship at 20k and at 100k but the recent GORF games that i have been playing are set to have no extra ships and you play with 3 ships only.I have scored over 1 Mil on both settings of GORF "TGTS" easy and hard.I haven't played the MAME version or im sure that i would have made a respectable score over 500k on it.I hope this has helped your questions.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Weehawk
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:22 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to MAME, the dipswitch allows you to choose either to get a bonus ship at Mission 5 (the first Flagship) or none. Unfortunately, the MAME driver for the game has them backwards, that is, if you set in to "none", you get the bonus ship after Mission 5, if you set it to "Mission 5", you get no bonus ship.

I put forth a challenge every week offering a monetary prize for MARP submissions on a Golden Era game of my choosing. See:

http://www.gegotw.net

This week's game happens to be Gorf. Of course you're welcome to participate, Todd. Even if you don't perhaps you would be interested in posting some tips for the competitors at:

http://forums.marpirc.net/viewtopic.php?t=11579

It would be cool to hear from the World Record holder.

John

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:38 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Todd, 1M with 5 ships...Huh!

Ron really did claim that Gorf is much harder at mame. Marp "top" scores correlate with hes claim.
I would think I should be able to score more fair percentage of your score, than I'm mameing right now (35k,marp top, duh). I haven't really played the game so much, maybe it takes long time to learn. There might be some tactics I haven't really "got" yet, especially at later galaxians...It also seems that game is not patterned, or patterns are very tought to do.
I can not see "laser war -stage" having any patterns though.

If Ron was right, and ship actually is slower, that would explain miniscule scores at marp. Having faster(normal speed)ship would help at all different 5 stages. Most at galaxians, least at invaders.

Too bad I didn't see you play gorf at cge...was propably too busy playing dragons lair and tempest first time after 80's

greetings,
TJT

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:43 am
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Yes John, it would be nice to see Todd's tactics.

Maybe he can try with mame and report us if there is difference. Or maybe he could submit at marp and take my pathetic first place score...which is bound to drop anyway this week...By me or someone else.
Too bad that if he does take part...I know where the bounty is going

TJT

Todd Rogers
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:52 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TJT
How do i submit and what do i play it on regular MAME or Wolfe Mame? Ill give it a whirl what the heck.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Weehawk
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:04 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll need a MARP account:

http://marp.retrogames.com/index.cgi?mode=create&tourn=0

I normally require the latest version of WolfMAME be used. Get .83 here:

http://wolfmame.marpirc.net/wolfmameplus-083.zip

You'll find information on how to submit recordings and whatever else you need at MARP.

John

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hehe, there goes my possible bounty

Wolfmame83, look at links weehawk submitted here. I think marp main page links for wolf83 at:
http://marp.retrogames.com/frames.htm
scroll down news.

You must register before submitting, I think new marpers register through "index" and log in...

Gorf seems to playback best without sound.

Waiting with interest,
Tommi

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:09 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And seems as John and I are allways typing message at exactly same time...Therefore double instructions...

Donald Hayes
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 10:56 am
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Gorf on MAME definitely has some issues. As others have pointed out, control of your ship is slower and more sluggish than the real thing. Also, the various waves are actually harder. For example, on the Galaxian waves, they fire many more bullets at you than on the arcade machine. I've gotten just over 34K on MAME, but I did 101K this past weekend at Funspot.

mspaeth
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 12:56 pm
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Does anyone want to buy my spare gorf?

I don't need 2 of 'em

TJT
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:25 pm
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Donald, seems like everyone is scoring little under 35k at marp. I'm sure Todd should be able to do more.
Unless the game really gets that hard compared to ship speed at that stage. I think possible to wrap up couple/few rounds more than round 5 anyway, if you're a good player. WR player could do more. He might have to alter hes tactics though.
Galaxians are quite hard, also that spiral wawe is hard...understandably if ship moves slower. lasers are not easy either.

jjt_defender
Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 11:12 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Why was Jason Smith from Midland,Texas score of 2,200,000pts. on the classic arcade game GORF removed?

Here is a site were you can see the past December Twingalaxies world record list in 1983.

http://www.spyhunter007.com/1983_dec_high_scores.htm

Your Welcome & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 01:01 am
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Juan:

Three things...

1st - is the fact that you were banned for life from the TG site the reason explaining why almost all of your recent wave of Funspot postings bashes TG whenever you have a chance ? I have a feeling that you're now postings twice as much on this site to make up for it.

2nd - remember, Gary has a policy of not to use his site for bashing other non-Funspot venues. Yo ureally don't give two hoots about forum policies, I think, regardless of which you're on.

3rd - I'm curious...are you going thru the TG 1st edition book page-by-page and comparing it to the scores as they now stand, intent on pointing out more "Why is this score..." messages in the future ? Did you NOT read one of my previous responses that said that we KNOW there are differences and we are evaluating each...some are omissions, some are not. Well, did you ?

Just wondering. But I suppose this IS a welcome breathe of fresh air compared to hearing of Area 51 or what scores you set again and again...and again.

Just an opinion.

Robert

jjt_defender
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 01:24 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do you hate me so much Robert. I've done you no wrong. This game message had nothing to do with you Robert.

I just asked a question about Gorf it is a game topic.
Can you answer the question Robert or Walter?
I didn't know I was banned Robert & for life I was told different. It frivolous anyways.

Why do you think of such things like that of me Robert?
I did not say anything bad about you Robert.

Why are you trying to incite something Robert to get me mad. If you want to argue Robert please,go to church talk to preacher.

I will pray for you Robert,your a good person.

This is not the place for it Robert,have some manners please & show some etiquette. Be a professional Robert.

I gave you respect Robert,stop with the taunts & insults.

Thank You & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Todd Rogers
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 01:34 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUAN
Let me just say that the score from Jason Smith from Midland,Texas score of 2,200,000 pts was bogus. I don't know of anyone else besides myself that has flipped 1 million Pts on GORF.Not only that the possiabilities of getting an Exact 2,200,000Pts would be hard but there were other circumstances involved with him for his score removal. So thats why you only see a score of 653,990 pts attained. In the early 80's the Arcade that i played at "Haunted Trails of Burbank Illinois" would get so tired of submitting my scores, that alot of scores that i made would have been better then some of the scores that are listed today.So thus we are forced to review all that is submitted and verified presently to keep accurate records so we don't have this kind of problem of people asking WHY this and WHY that.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

jjt_defender
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 02:21 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank You Todd Rogers for answering my question.
I understand.

Good luck on your other record attempts Todd.

1.How many video game records do you have Todd Rogers? I heard 2,000 to 5,000 records on different game platforms.

2.What are your favorite 3 platforms to play on as far as games Todd.

3.What are your favorite classic arcade games & console video games Todd?

4.What games are you playing now ,if you don't mind me asking?

ps.It would be nice if we could go back in a Time Machince & gather all the best classic arcade game players from the 80's at their peak,& have 3-week world classic arcade game championship tournament to determine who was the greatest video game player on each classic arcade game.

thanks again Todd Rogers

Tke care & good luck Todd
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 03:04 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juan:

In answer to your previous reply...and my apologies to all who may not want to hear this...

JUAN SAID...
Why do you hate me so much Robert. I've done you no wrong. This game message had nothing to do with you Robert.

RTM REPLY - No one ever said hate other than yourself, Juan. I am just extremely disappointed at how for over two years I had taken the time to reply to you, at great length at on my own free time well after hours at work, to all of your replies, and you are now at this time on a "mission", if you will, to promote distrust and challenging the integrity of the organization that I am now a part of. THAT is why I am so disappointed.

You say you have done me no wrong...well you have. I am an integral part of what makes TG work, so when you make bad remarks about TG, that does indeed reflect on me personally.

JUAN SAID...
I just asked a question about Gorf it is a game topic. Can you answer the question Robert or Walter? I didn't know I was banned Robert & for life I was told different. It frivolous anyways.

RTM REPLY - you didn't ask a question, your pattern of pointing out scores removed suggests an intent to illustrate a potential lack of integrity and trust issue with TG. Couching the words as you did can only imply as much when taken into consideration with the multiple postings on the subject matter that you have recently written on this forum.

As for your TG forum status, Walter said "you are now banned from posting on the Twin Galaxies forum indefinitely". Don't quote me on the strict interpretation of what Websters says...the intent is clear when you consider the previous paragraph Walter made in the same letter to you, which is confidential between TG and yourself so I will not reprint that text here.

JUAN SAID...
Why do you think of such things like that of me Robert? I did not say anything bad about you Robert.

RTM REPLY - I think I answered that earlier as to your saying "bad" things about me. But, as for why I say anything at all, when you suggest an impropriety about my organization, then as an officer within that organization I most certainly will post an immediate and appropriate comment rebutting whatever was said, should I have cause to do so.

JUAN SAID...
Why are you trying to incite something Robert to get me mad. If you want to argue Robert please,go to church talk to preacher.

RTM REPLY - YOU are trying to incite, Juan !! You are trying to use the court of public opinion to create an aura of mistrust about the integrity of TG in your recent campaign of postings when considered collectively. Mad ? I don't think I have to do that, I'd say that one definition of the word already applies.

If I want to argue, I'll do what they do in that famous "Monty Python" sketch, thank you very much.

JUAN SAID...
I will pray for you Robert,your a good person.

RTM REPLY - totally unnecesary, but the gesture is appreciated. Of course, that depends on what it is that you are praying for, for me that is.

JUAN SAID...
This is not the place for it Robert,have some manners please & show some etiquette. Be a professional Robert.

RTM REPLY - Etiquette ?? This word coming from the person who posts MULTIPLE times the same tired question over and over again...on not one but two forums no less...with never-ending custs and pastes from other gamer and site quotes. Simple forum etiquette includes not repeating the same topic time and time again ad nauseum.

As for being professional, we all try to be as best we can. I did tell you that this forum is not meant for bashing other organizations, and simple etiquette SHOULD mean that you yourself would abide that this forum's rules...but you don't. In fact, my own replies to you on behalf of TG are also a breach of this forum's guideliness, and I am fully prepared if this forum's moderator opts to excise them out entirely.

JUAN SAID...
I gave you respect Robert,stop with the taunts & insults.

RTM REPLY - considering the dozens of replies that I have kindly afforded to you over the past 2+ years, quite a few mind you, I find it difficult to see how your demeanor has changed so abruptly.

JUAN SAID...
Thank You & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

RTM REPLY - best wishes and regards, Robert

Richard M.
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 05:16 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enough!

Rick
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 08:20 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why waste your time attempting to reason with someone who insults your company non-stop. If he was banned from Twin Galaxies he should be banned from here.

I'll cast the first vote to have Juan removed from this forum the next time we see a post challenging Twin Galaxies integrity or the people who work there. This isn't the place for it.

Richard M.
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 08:38 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Funspot forum is not the place to air out Twin Galaxies' dirty laundry, in my opinion. Whether anyone should be banned from Funspot's forum should be at the discretion of their moderators and Twin Galaxies should have no say in the matter. Furthermore, if someone's status (banned or not banned) is too confidential to be discussed in TG's forum, then it's too confidential to discuss here. Just my opinion.

-- Richard

jjt_defender
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 01:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not here to argue with you Robert M.,this not a debate on frivolous issues.

Your intitled to your opinions Robert but lets keep on the subject of video games.

Enough is enough,banter,mud slinging & insults I & the rest the people on this game forum would appreciate it that it should stop.

I'm done with it Robert,you can argue by yourself.

Please Robert, a truce,let there be peace.
Lets talk about classic video games & stay on the subject.

1.What would you suggest Robert to make you happy,so we can all have peace.

I'm willing to negotiate. I'm tired of this.
I refuse to get into a frivolous debate with you Robert. I hope you Robert understand that. I will not respond to things like that.This will be the last time I post on frivilous/non-accential issues that are not on the topic or have kind words on there messages. Please Robert understand this & for all of us. We are adults.

Thank for listening & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

mikeenphoppers
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 01:53 pm
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it's funny . all this b&m going on while there are games to be played and records to be broken.i don't see how this can be happening when all i see is "catfight at the bitchspot forum". this game has alot of potential world record scores from all of you. lets just have fun guys and gals.just my 2 cents. thanks. mikeenphoppers.

Rick
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 01:54 pm
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Uhhhh, JJT, I believe you started all of this not Robert. Now it is "frivolous" and all Robert's fault?

Anonymous
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 02:26 pm
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Todd why is is so hard to get over two million points on gorf it does not sound like it would be that hard of a thing to do or are you just afraid that someone is better then you on the game. All we keep hearing about is Billy this and Todd that lets give them guys a rest and start talking about other people that are just as good.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 03:30 pm
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Hi Anonymous:

Personally, I never believe anything is 100% absolutely impossible (other than getting, say, more than 1.3M on "Donkey Kong"). But I think a 2M score on "Gorf" would be close to a 24 hour performance on just the few men offered. Put it to you this way, even Donald Hayes eventually lost his "Tron" game at 4.5M back in 2002. The point being, games with limited lives going for such a long period of time is a difficult concept to accept.

I'd say that a good analogy would be a claim of maybe 20M on "Tron", 2M on "Galaxian", or maybe 15M on "Scramble". Too few men to deal with, and too many opportunities over an extended period of time to maintain a mistake-free game.

That's all I have to say.

Robert

TJT
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 06:34 pm
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Well said Rob!

Marathon games can be marathoned because they give extra lives. If game gives you 3-5 lives and no more...it's not marathon game, best players can semi-marathon these kind of games, game lasting few hours.

How long you make 100k at Gorf? 30 minutes?

artz
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 07:28 pm
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jjt said:

"I'm not here to argue with you Robert M.,this not a debate on frivolous issues."

This coming from the master of "frivolous issues"! Nice trolling jjt. Seems like you're the one trying to entice well respected people on this forum into a confrontation with your jabbering nonsense. Please find another forum to harass.

Todd Rogers
Friday, July 02, 2004 - 08:12 pm
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TJT
My calculations on GORF i first said to Robert on the phone that it took 24hrs to get 2mil Pt. game, But thinking about it, it took me 6hrs to get 1Mil on it and almost 3hrs to get 500k at the 2002 Funspot Tourney. The game i played at Funspot gave you NO extra ships and i always play on a 3 Ship game.Most of the games that i marathon give you NO extra men or ships, Like Enduro,Journey Escape, and Donkey Kong of course these are all Atari 2600 games but none the less.

Todd Mr Activision Rogers

Anonymous
Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 05:02 am
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Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

Anonymous
Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 09:43 am
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Billy!Billy!Billy!
Billy beat Todd on gorf already so we don't have to hear him going on about it anymore.

TJT
Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 10:47 am
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Don't Donkey Kong A2600 have kill screen?
I call these games semi-marathon games...playing from 2 to x hours. When you play yx hours that must be called marathon then.

Tommi T
Marp Gorf champion

Robert T Mruczek
Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 05:57 pm
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Hello all:

I'm responding to three separate gamers above, in sequence...

To Anonymous 7/03 at 5:00am - wow, you're up late !! I like the "Jerry !! Jerry !! Jerry !!" comment...very appropriate.

To Anonymous 7/03 at 9:43am - really, that's news to me !!

To TJT - the 2600 to my knowledge has no kill screen. All it is are the barrel and rivet stages over and over again. There are just about two difficulty ranges for the game from when you start from the default first screen.

After a few levels, 8-10 or so, the next rivet stage has "jittery fireballs" that are quite annoying, and sometimes cross over gaps after a rivet has been eliminated. Very tricky. This lasts several stages, then back to normal, and then back to "jittery again", and repeats as long as you last.

As for the barrels, every few stages the tempo picks up. Barrels never come on angles, just straight down. Jumping is a lot harder than the classic arcade game. Very little margin for error due to the box-like graphic parameters surrounding each character. The hammers are your worst enemy except in the rivet stages, so I typically avoid them here at all costs. Unlike the arcade, barrels here can easily sneak underneath the hammer and get you.

The game is somewhat easy, but when the fireballs start "jittering", you can easily lose a life in the rivet stage due to the time running out. Todd, amazingly, never lost a single life in his marathon of this title...he simply quit. I think I may still be in 2nd place, or maybe 3rd, with over 800K from the 2000 or 2001 Atari/Coleco decas.

Robert

Scootie
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 11:16 am
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Hey John

What is the difference between WolfeMAME and regular MAME? Can I use MAME32(version 61) for your challenges?

Thanks
Scootie

Weehawk
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 03:39 pm
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Scootie

WolfMAME records the speed at which the recording was made, disables cheats while recording, disables pause while recording, etc

I normally require the latest WolfMAME version (currently .83) unless issues with a specific game require otherwise.

WolfMAME is a derivative of MAME32 Plus
http://mame.emu-zone.org/
and therefore has a GUI similar to MAME32 with each build.

John

Scootie
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:21 am
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John

Will the latest version of WolfMAME run on a PIII-500?

Scootie

PS. Since MAME32(version.61) supports just about every game ever made & has a record/playback feature - why is this version not acceptable?

Mark Boolman
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 01:22 pm
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Scootie, it has to do with wolf/tg mame having controls in place to prevent pausing/cheating etc, which regular mame allows; wolf does have these features as well, but they are disabled during recording inp's. Yes it will run, it's the rom's of some games that will be slow/poorly executed.

Weehawk
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 04:55 pm
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Scootie,

Because it doesn't record the speed at which the recording was made, disable cheats during recording, disable pause during recording etc..

500mhz will be enough to run most Golden Era games at acceptable speed. If needed you can try recording without sound and using a little frameskip to run faster. On more modern games where processing requirement are much greater, 500mhz won't get it done.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Longest standing records

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Donald Hayes
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 01:09 pm
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There was an article in the local Laconia paper about the Funspot tournament and Todd's Gorf record was mentioned as being the third longest standing record. What are the first two?

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 02:27 pm
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Donald:

I know that Scott Safron's "Asteroids" record is the longest...I forget who is number 2.

Robert

mikeenphoppers
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 05:05 pm
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i know jack hale's zookeeper's record was broken by the master shawn cram. but that record was held for eighteen years . would that be on the list ? thanks. mike e.

Scootie
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:42 pm
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Hey Everyone

The Crazy Climber record that I am actively attempting to break (478,000) has been there SINCE 1981.

That is a 23 year old record. I'm sure that must be Rob's unknown #2.

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 10:14 pm
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Scootie:

Walter would know for sure.

Keep in mind that over 15 years ago, Walter lost a large block of 1983 and prior scores, about 250 and all including some from the earliest days of TG. Remember, he wrote about that loss in his 1st Book of Records.

Thus, the absolute oldest scores on titles such as "Lunar Lander", "Lunar Rescue", "Cosmic Alien", "Deluxe Space Invaders" and so forth are forever lost.

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:49 pm
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Hey Rob

That Crazy Climber score is listed on TG's website so I believe it still stands.

If for some reason that 478,000 is no longer "official", it should make my job that much easier.

Scootie

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Challenge the Japanese Mame players to contest to see who is the best?TJT/Weehawk/BBH & the rest of the great Marp Mame players.

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jjt_defender
Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:54 pm
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TJT/Weehawk/tag_bmx/Joust god/BBH & all the other great Marp Mame players.

Why don't you challenge the Japanese Mame players to contest to see who is the best?

To decide who are the worlds best Mame players between Japanese Mame & Marp Mame.

TG referee Mike Morrow knows some Japanese Mame sites.

It's Good Idea & give you guys some competition.
Good Luck & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Weehawk
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 12:14 am
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1) If Mark (tag_bmx) is a MARP member, I am not aware of it.

2) As for "great Marp Mame players", the other three you mention are among the best. I am not in the same league.

3) MARP has members from all over the world, including many from Japan. Hisa "Novice" Chan is probably the heaviest contributor to MARP among them, but others have contributed world-class recordings as well.

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He's B-a-c-k.......

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Tommy
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 12:49 am
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newbies are not intended to understand this. so don't try! with a fresh pair
of steel toe boots to hoof those god awfull 80's video games, o'l j.s. is
headed to wreak havoc on the funspot! also those downtrodden musty arcades on
weirs beach that smell like new orleans in the french quarter before they hose
them out in the morning.. teen girls trying to distract him from setting high
scores with exposed bellies and scoop tops are urged to keep on truckin. anyone
able to identify mr. shields on sight will be given a 100 dollar bill by the
john shields club
the
pres.

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:37 pm
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{Dazed & Confused}

and I'm no newbie!!!

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 05:32 pm
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Hi Scootie:

I'm with you...no clue what was just said by "Tommy" above.

Being that every other sentence has lots of blank spaces, I think that this was either cut/pasted from a NotePad file, or from somewhere else. Nobody intentionally types like that...except Jack Nicholson's character in "The SHining" !!

Robert

Mark Boolman
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 06:39 pm
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Who is John Shields???

Anonymous
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 07:23 pm
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John Shields aka Tommy Tutelidge used to post bomb threats to arcades, games and people who played video games. He thinks pinball is the only game to be played. If you like to play video games he will post threats to blow up the games you play or the arcades they are in. He is usually found in the pinball user groups.

artz
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 07:58 pm
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I used to read about that nut case over at KLOV.com all the time. They really hate him over there. At least he has an email associated with his username.

Hopefully if we ignore him, he'll go away.

Richard M.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 08:04 pm
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Tommy had bombarded the Funspot forums around 2002 with his stupid posts. He repeatedly spoke about smashing video games into bits and other such cr*p. I don't believe that Gary allows Tommy to post here.

Tommy, go back to your cesspool where you belong!

-- Richard

Rick
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 08:30 pm
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It's smart to post messages telling the world you are going to Funspot "with a fresh pair
of steel toe boots to hoof those god awfull 80's video games."

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 10:00 pm
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Hey Everyone

Are you all serious. Is this Tommy that much of a "pinball" fanatic, that he would ACTUALLY THREATEN videogame players with bodily harm (or worse!)if they played Videogames?

Scootie

PS. Why was Tommy let out of the Institution - or did he escape?

Anonymous
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 12:03 am
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Actually if he wants to continue to threaten people that is a very interesting scenario if he want to go to JAIL.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 12:22 am
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Hi Anonymous:

If Tommy posts on the forums the actual text of his threats, he violates federal, state, local, and even international laws governing issuance of malicious threats over state lines. Basically he will seal his own doom by doing so.

Let him rant for a bit, then ask moderator to lock the thread and send to appropriate arm of the law.

Robert

Gregory Erway
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:09 am
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Yep, this is the guy that kept going on and on about being the one real Tommy. He even sent a picture of what he claimed to be himself wearing a Tommy t-shirt but it turned out to be of someone else that just had their picture taken at a Canadian pinball show. I also think he went so far as to photocopy money and paste a copy of that picture over the president and send that fake money into Funspot to register for the 2002 tournament.

Rick
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:48 am
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He posted messages here saying the terrorists on 9/11 were trying to crash the jets into video game arcades but the twin towers were in the way and got hit instead. he's a psycho ward candidate.

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 11:38 am
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Hi Rick:

You sure this isn't Tommy the "pinball wizard" gone amuck ?

Robert

Scootie
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 09:53 pm
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LOL....

Good one Rob!!

Scootie

mikeenphoppers
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 10:08 pm
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he's actually the "acid queen." thanks.mike " your wicked uncle ernie "e.

Vidiot
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 08:02 am
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Heh, Tommys just the average profile of a pin player.

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UMK3

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Charlie Weatherbee
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 12:33 pm
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I was wondering if anyone on this discussion board plays any UMK3 ( Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 )
IF so I would really enjoy playing someone with skill. Also i think the WR for this game is bogus bc it says no continues and the guy won 175 or so in a row and thats impossiblr bc theres only 20 or so ppl

jjt_defender
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:05 pm
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Joe Salamasina 175 wins (4hrs) at Cool Crest;Independence,Mo April 20,1997

Here is your answer Charlie Weatherbee:

This is how it was done Charlie this is from the 1st edition of TG Video Game & Pinball book of world records.

Ultimate Mortal Komat 3
Difficulty: 5-very hard;tracking: highest number of kills on each character
How to play UMK3:Player chooses the Master's Path and end up with about 10 wins. Now,when you choose your next path,you choose the ying/yang symbol-which means you will fight Ermac. Kill Ermac once & then let him kill you.(Since the contest is at a best of Two-out-of-Three,you must let Ermac win one match out of the three. Then,when the computer says "Finish him!" you must perform a mercy on Ermac.) After you do a mercy on Ermac,he'll come back to life- then,you'll have to hie him one more time(but only one more time). The computer will say "Finsh him!" a second time. Now, Ermac will become dizzy- but,don't touch him,just let him fall over and you'll get your victory and your kills willbe saved and the game will continue. And, as before,choose the "Master's Path" again. Now the computer allows you to repeat the entire process.Remember,you must do the mercy and let Ermac win one fight again,just like before. The computer will allow you to continue in this repetitive cycle as long as you can last and not make a mistake. At this point,you can keep looping through until you finally make a mistake. This system is the only way to amass a record number of wins.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

Charlie Weatherbee
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:26 pm
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Wow. Thanks. I never knew about that. The sucky part is UMK3 at Funspot wont perform mercies. I have tried numerous times. So has my friend.

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 03:40 pm
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Hey Chuck

I look forward to doing some "Brutalities" on you and Mike.

Scootie

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Weekend Scores From Funspot

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Brian Kuh
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 07:55 pm
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...too busy this week for the usual write-up. 2 scores that we got from this past weekend at Funspot:

Timber 2-Man 200,000
Le Mans 76

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 09:12 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Brian...

Good scores. Are you going to be there this weekend?

Scootie

Mike Chandronnait
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 08:14 pm
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He was there today scootie, I talked to him most of today, and I got a good score on Space Harrier, about 4,88x,xxx or so, Brian took it down, but thats about all I got for a score this weekend.
~Mike~

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To Eric, Rob, Chris, Brian, and all NYC/NJ/Phila. area Gamers?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 09:27 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone...

Checked out "Carosel family Amusements" in Seaside Heights, NJ. This arcade is the NEXT BEST place to Funspot. Many classics - all working and well maintained.

Also checked some other shore locations on my way back. Only Asbury Park (of all places!!) had a decent arcade/bar on the boardwalk, with a dozen classics.

I was wondering if any of you NY/NJ/PA gamers wanted to get together some weekend (next two are out) in late July/Aug. for some serious gaming at Seaside?

Scootie

Gary
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 09:40 pm
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Scootie,
Have you ever been to Crab Towne USA in Glen Burnie, Maryland? I've been told they have about 50 classic games in great condition. I know Maryland isn't New Jersey but it is a whole lot closer to you than me It is always nice to hear of other locations that are keeping some classics in their lineup.

Gary

Mike Stulir
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 09:54 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was at that arcade two weeks ago. I played a Sinistar that looked like it just rolled off the assembly line.

I think one of the showcase games there is the cockpit Speed Buggy with the panoramic screens.

I spent entirely too much time playing Hercules.

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 10:10 pm
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Hey Gary & Mike

Never been there but if I hit Cape May later this summer, maybe I'll take the ferry across and check it out.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to Funspot this weekend. It always nice to come "home", even if only for a few days.

Any chance of temporarily setting Track & Field to marathon settings?

Thanks
Scootie

PS. Will there be anybody around this weekend in case a score needs to be made official?

Scootie
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 10:24 pm
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One more thing....

Does Crab Towne serve good crab/seafood?

Scootie

Richard M.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 10:41 pm
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I visited Carousel Amusements once, last summer. As arcades go it was better than anything I know of in Connecticut, but nothing compared to Funspot. I remember playing Gyruss there and having considerable trouble with their joystick; I barely turned it over. Tempest was in good shape though.

As for Crab Towne (I've never been there), it's in Glen Burnie, which is a suburb of Baltimore, just south of that city. The ferry from Cape May won't get you there! For me it's a 400-mile drive one way; if I have a reason to be in that area, I'll make a visit.

-- Richard

Gregory Erway
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:00 am
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I have not been to Carousel Amusements in a few years. But it was a nice arcade to visit. There was another just down the boardwalk that was decent too. Except they decided to install ashtrays bolted to the front of all of their machines. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

This is pathetic, I actually know the serial number of the Tapper at Carousel Amusments is the brother (next highest number) to one of my Tapper machines. Yeah, I admit I look at the serial number of many cabinets I run into.

Gregory Erway
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:02 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the way, I will be on vacation at Virginia Beach the week of July 19th - 23rd. So I will most likely be heading down to Flipper McCoys (the one on the road next to the ocean) a few of the nights after the kids are in bed. If anyone will be in the area let me know.

Scootie
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 07:53 pm
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Hey Everyone

The games that I played there (at Carousel) were fine. I did not check the other arcades there out, but I will next time.

Mike - I assumed that by the name "Crab Towne", that the place was somewhere along the Maryland shore thus making the Cape May ferry part of my plan in getting there.

Scootie

PS. Carousel is actively adding more classics to their collection. As retrogaming continues it's increase in popularity - more and more arcades will add classics. Almost all the classics can now be played at my local Dave & Busters on one of 5 different machines (Retrocade, Ultracade, Ms Pac-Man/Galaga class of 81, Space Invaders/Qix, Centipede/Millipede/Missle Command)

Mike Stulir
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:18 pm
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Scootie:

I have never been to Crab Towne. Looks like Gary & I posted pretty close together, so I can see how my reply was mis-interpreted.

I was at the arcade inside Carousel in Seaside Heights.

Mike Chandronnait
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 09:48 pm
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Scootie, I may not be able to get up there friday due to a potential family plan, I emailed you on it also, but saturday I shouldn't be up to anything after work, but idk yet, its up in the air for now.

For scores being verified, I was talking to steve yesterday at work and he said shawn comes up on saturdays a lot but im not sure if he'd be up.

~Mike~

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 11:43 pm
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I visited Crab Towne last November when I was in Baltimore for a table tennis tournament. A nice selection of classic games but many weren't in the best of shape. The place is actually a seafood restaurant but I didn't eat there so I can't comment on the food.

Chris Long
Thursday, July 01, 2004 - 09:30 pm
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Sounds good to me; we should make some plans.

-Chris

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Perfect PacMan is 5 years old today

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Nelson
Saturday, July 03, 2004 - 11:08 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just in case your calendar doesn't yet have it labeled as an official US holiday. It was 5 years ago today (July 3rd, 1999) that Billy Mitchell acheived the world's first perfect game of Pac-Man!

Nice job Bill !!!!

TJT
Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 02:01 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy birthday Perfect Pacman!

jjt_defender
Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 06:02 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Birthday to America & to all Americans 4th of July

Congradulations on the 5yr.aniversary of the 1st Perfect Pacman game.

God Bless America
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Anonymous
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 03:49 pm
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Congratulations to Rick Fothergill, who also played a perfect pac-man one month later after Bill. He beat Billy Mitchell in the previous Funspot contest and did the perfect game FASTER!

artz
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 04:34 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can also add Chris Ayra and Tim Balderamos (MAME) to the perfect Pac-Man list. Are we missing anyone else?

Anonymous
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 03:19 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hoorah to billy mitchell! Our lord savior!
Rick Fothergil is a pacman pattern whore. All praise Billy Mitchell, master of the freestyle pacman!

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 06:18 pm
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Hello fellow gamers:

To my knowledge, just the four have achieved a "perfect" complete game.

Out of curiosity, is anyone else noted for at least having achieved a perfect thru the last blue screen ?

And to Anonymous - did you try to search if a site called "www.complaints.com" or "www.ihaveagripe.com" exist ? I think you would be more welcome at such a site, or rather more at home.

Robert

Rick
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:36 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert,
Some people cannot move on with their lives once they have been wronged, or believe they've been wronged. Instead of concentrating all their energy on self betterment, they focus all of their energy on getting back at someone. No good ever comes from this and you eventually find yourself alone as your friends tire of listening to your tales of woe.

When I was in my 20's an old friend relayed a wise phrase to me which, I will share with everyone... A road to happiness cannot be built with stones of resentment.

Think about it...

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:31 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you, Rick, for reminding me why I still come here. I shouldn't let a few attempting intimidation stop me from enjoying the company and the wisdom of the many others here, and I hope others feel the same.

Your borrowed wisdom is apparently aimed at the tormentors, although it's arguably just as pertinent to the tormented. I also have borrowed wisdom (paraphrased) to share that came to memory this morning, and it's the other way around: a storyteller on a variety show - I believe a Smothers Brothers' show - told this story of an ugly, hunchbacked, festering-looking man who came out of hiding and boldly marched straight through town one day; he was promptly taunted, yelled at, run away from, and the like. Three times he was stopped in his tracks and confronted by a tirade of insults to his face, but he simply walked past afterwards, saying to himself, "I'll show him", "I'll show her", "I'll show them". When he reached the opposite end of town - where the cathedral was - he entered it, went upstairs, sat down at the carillon, and started to play the most beautiful music anyone in town had ever heard, and it rang throughout the city. - ZM

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:49 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert,

I believe Rick Carter has done a perfect blue-time game. He posted a MacMAME .inp that was slightly modified to allow it to be played by PC MAME (a couple of frames of data were added to the start of the .inp, if I remember).

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 01:27 pm
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Hi Donald:

Thanks...that's good to know. I have to believe that if someone can get a perfect thru stage 20 then a perfect thru stage 254 or 255 is do-able. The kill-screen stages are a different matter, as getting all the hidden dots is not guaranteed, as evidenced by the near-perfect 3,333,270 from Funspot 1999 by Ric Fothergill.

Getting a perfect thru 20 is no small feat. It would be awesome if Rick could make the "1st Five" list of perfect Pac-masters !!

Robert

Weehawk
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 02:09 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the recording Donald refers to Rick misses eating three or four ghosts.

No "perfect eat" game has been submitted to MARP thus far.

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 05:22 pm
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I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying that Weehawk.

Robert, I thought in Rick F's game at Funspot that he missed the perfect game because he had died somewhere else earlier in the game and therefore didn't have all his extra men heading into the split screen.

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:10 pm
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Being ninety points shy of the perfect game certainly would imply that. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:21 pm
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Hi Donald/ZM:

Wasn't 100% sure if he somehow botched one of the kill-screen lives (i.e. running into a ghost before eating the 1st of the 9 dots on that life), so didn't want to presume.

I was there for that one, probably playing Star Wars, and heard that there was a big crowd around Pacman, so I looked overhead but there were gamers 3 & 4 deep so I figured I couldn't get a good view and would take a look later on.

Robert

Anonymous
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:55 pm
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Rick Fothergil did'tn beat Billy Mitchell to get a perfect game because he needed Billy to do it first, so he could learn from Billy. Most people when they play pacman use patterns that they findo n the internet or make in their basements. But BILLY MITCHELL! did the entire game freestyle. Without using patterns, he can play at such a level where his joysticks move his pacman but also he controls the ghosts with his every move.

Never Compare Billy Mitchell to any of the other perfect pacmaners. He always will remain the Supreme, American Hero.

Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 11:22 pm
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Hey Everyone

July 3, 1999 SHOULD be declared a National Holiday!

Billy Mitchell did MUCH more than score a perfect Pac-Man. He proved that humans are, and always will be, superior to machines!

Scootie

Donald Hayes
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:38 am
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I think it would actually be hard to not get even one of "hidden" dots except for the first man where you might be trying to clear the regular dots and die over there. Four of the hidden dots are so close to where your man starts the screen that it would be unlikely that you weren't able to at least get a couple of them before running into a ghost.

jjt_defender
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 11:01 am
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Anonymous wrote:

Never Compare Billy Mitchell to any of the other perfect pacmaners. He always will remain the Supreme, American Hero.

I have disagree with you Anonymous,there is 1 noted player that being Chris Ayra.

Chris Ayra has the fastest Perfect Pacman & has the MsPacman world records. Plus,he has beaten Billy on both Pacman & MsPacman in the 80's.

Thank You & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 05:55 pm
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JJT

You forgot one thing.....

Billy did it FIRST!!!

Chris may have done a perfect pacman in less time - but that was AFTER Billy had already acheived his perfect pacman.

What happened back in the 80's is irrelevent. Chris MAY be a slightly better pacman player, but Billy acheived the perfect game FIRST!! Chris (from what I understand) also used "patterns" in his perfect pacman; which is why he completed the game in a shorter amount of time than Billy, who played the game freestyle.

I personally feel that the better player is the one who can acheive the SAME results without relying on patterns..

Scootie

Alfred E. Newman
Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 07:08 pm
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All HAIL BILL MITCHELL--HALLALOUYA OUR SAVIOR!

Bill Mitchell is without question the greatest human being that ever lived. I will swear to that anytime. His achievement of the perfect pac-man score is greater than the first man walking on the moon! His birhday should be a national holiday! When he dies his body should be enshrined at the Smithsonian. I will name my children after him and will never take his glorious name in vain.

Hey Billy-did I leave anything out?

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 07:22 pm
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Hi Alfred:

What...you worry ? (about leaving anything out, that is)

Seriously, though, if you have a girl, you may not want to name her "Billy Mitchell".

Robert

Richard M.
Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 07:25 pm
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But Johnny Cash was "a boy named Sue!". Besides, Alfred could always name her Billie Mitchell Newman. ;-)

-- Richard

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 26, 2004 - 11:33 pm
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Hello all:

This is weird...the forum said that the last post was "07/26 03:22pm" yet no 7/26 post exists !!

Robert

Richard M.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 01:05 am
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I saw the post from earlier today. It was pure garbage, and was undoubtedly deleted by the forum moderator.

-- Richard

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 02:05 am
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Hi Richard:

Ah...that would explain things. Thanks. I'm actually glad I missed that one, then !! For a moment I thought the forum software was acting up on Gary.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 11:38 am
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No, not the forum, just some of its inhabitants apparently, as usual... :P - ZM

Anonymous
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 09:08 pm
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So does Alfred E. Newman = Roy "Mr. Awesome" Shildt? Inquiring minds what to know!! Just wondering if there is more than one person out there criticizing and NOT competing.

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Elevator Action

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Cameron Feltner
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 01:24 am
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I've begun some research as to what is possible for scores on this game.

Initially, I'm working with the game on easiest difficulty with maximum lives. This seems to be the best place to start.

So far my highest score is only 104,200.

Does anyone know if any of the four players listed in the first book currently exist? (are able to be contacted)

I've determined that the game probably isn't marathonable. It becomes as difficult after awhile on the easiest settings as it does on tournament settings. It just takes a little longer to get there. Maybe one building per difficulty?

More on that later.

D_Harris
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 06:03 pm
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I think that "one building per difficulty" is correct.

And the game is definitely not a marathon game.

I also think that you will come to the same conclusion I did. And that is that there is no way "G. Ben Carter" scored 143,450 on any setting. In fact I don't believe that "Sean Jensen" scored 129,100(on any setting).

I remember scoring over 100,000 on one man, and not even making it to 105,000. The posted record scores on this game are the reason I became disenchanted with record scores, and quit playing back in the mid 80s.

And what's all this about a tournament setting?

Nothing other than factory setting is needed.(When I'm not feeling lazy, I'll get my EE manual and confirm what that setting is).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 07:51 pm
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Hi Darren:

Even I'm not 100% sure what "Tournament" setting is. I do know that at the 2002 Funspot event we played at a harder difficulty level than normal...one notch up.

I am going to ask Walter what he knows about the top two scores in EA. Will advise.

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 09:35 pm
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The tournament setting was inherited from the mame tournament setting, which was used in one of the mame decathlons. Prior to the Funspot event, there wasn't an arcade tournament setting for EA as far as I know.

If the game cannot be marathoned, then perhaps the tournament setting should be the easiest possible setting (maximum lives, etc.) to avoid some potential problems? Games do take a little longer, but it's not a big difference.

I also don't think either of those two scores are legit. And who knows what settings the other two scores were on? The only recent score listed is the 42,000 by "Russ Krook". If any of the four players still exist, he seems the most likely.

I'm working on near-suicidal point leeching now. (okay, so far it's more than "near") I think an optimistic pace is about 11,000 points in just enemy agent kills per building (the rest of the scoring is fixed). At this pace, completing the seventh building would score 132,500.

That's if leeching at that pace and completing the seventh building can both be done in the same game. Somehow, I'm certain that this kind of thing wasn't done back in the 80s, regardless of whether it's "possible" or not.

A 143,450 would need to be near the bottom of the eighth building at this pace, or having completed the eighth at a slightly slower (but still high) pace.

I'm sure that if either of those two players were that good at EA (even on easiest settings) back then, they'd love to come out of retirement to put on a show for us. I know I sure would.

I see there are two more scores listed online at Twin Galaxies. There's a 104,750 by Andrea Musumeci, and a 61,500 by Jason Wilson. The setting listed is "Difficulty : 5. Start Units : 5 Men."

I'm not even sure what difficulty the Funspot machine was set to, as I couldn't tell just by playing at the time, and I didn't get a look inside the machine. I did know what the extra player was set at, and how many players to start, but those are a little more obvious. One of the goals of my research is to be able to determine the difficulty setting as well by either playing or watching.

I couldn't find my EA manual, but a pdf from online lists the difficulties as: "Very Easy", "Easy", "Difficult", "Expert". I'm not sure how to tell what the default is.

D_Harris
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 12:23 am
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"The tournament setting was inherited from the mame tournament setting, which was used in one of the mame decathlons. Prior to the Funspot event, there wasn't an arcade tournament setting for EA as far as I know."

***If I remember correctly, Mark Longridge came up with "tournament settings", because he didn't know how long a player could last on a factory set game.

"If the game cannot be marathoned, then perhaps the tournament setting should be the easiest possible setting (maximum lives, etc.) to avoid some potential problems? Games do take a little longer, but it's not a big difference."

***The factory setting is all that is needed.

"I also don't think either of those two scores are legit. And who knows what settings the other two scores were on? The only recent score listed is the 42,000 by "Russ Krook". If any of the four players still exist, he seems the most likely."

***Actually, since the number of men on those games were also not in line with factory settings, those top two games should not be valid. This is assuming that 3 + 1 is the factory norm. I believe it is, because every game I've ever played(including the one at Funspot) is set that way.

"I'm working on near-suicidal point leeching now. (okay, so far it's more than "near") I think an optimistic pace is about 11,000 points in just enemy agent kills per building (the rest of the scoring is fixed). At this pace, completing the seventh building would score 132,500."

***In all honesty, I'm not going to say that G. Ben Carter's score is *impossible*. I think a 13,500 point press along with the completion of the 8th building would be necessary to get that. But that would have to be one incredible game *and* the machine would have to keep the *impossible situations* down to a minimum.

***I say this because I do remember getting past the 8th building. But the 9th was *effectively* a kill-screen. It is not a matter of difficulty, but just that the machine will do things to make sure you just cannot advance. The most common occurance is the laying down of the men in black when they shoot at you and dodge your bullets. And you can always count on jumping to avoid/kill a bad guy and being shot by another one who comes out of a door when you are still helpless in the air.

"That's if leeching at that pace and completing the seventh building can both be done in the same game. Somehow, I'm certain that this kind of thing wasn't done back in the 80s, regardless of whether it's "possible" or not."

"A 143,450 would need to be near the bottom of the eighth building at this pace, or having completed the eighth at a slightly slower (but still high) pace."

***We need to correlate our point per building average.
1) what is your average score upon completion of the first building?
2) Is your point-per-building average consistent from one building to the next, or is there a point curve involved?

***Upon completion of the first building, I can once in a while get just over 14,000 points(plus 1,000 bonus), but I usually average about 1,000 points or more less than that.

"I'm sure that if either of those two players were that good at EA (even on easiest settings) back then, they'd love to come out of retirement to put on a show for us. I know I sure would."

***That's a big IF. :-)

"I see there are two more scores listed online at Twin Galaxies. There's a 104,750 by Andrea Musumeci, and a 61,500 by Jason Wilson. The setting listed is "Difficulty : 5. Start Units : 5 Men.""

***I believe factory settings are suppose to be 3 + 1.

"I'm not even sure what difficulty the Funspot machine was set to, as I couldn't tell just by playing at the time, and I didn't get a look inside the machine. I did know what the extra player was set at, and how many players to start, but those are a little more obvious. One of the goals of my research is to be able to determine the difficulty setting as well by either playing or watching."

***It seemed to me that the Funspot machine was set on "Easy".

"I couldn't find my EA manual, but a pdf from online lists the difficulties as: "Very Easy", "Easy", "Difficult", "Expert". I'm not sure how to tell what the default is."

***If I'm not mistaken that would be the easiest setting.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Weehawk
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 01:23 am
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The default settings on MAME are:
Difficulty = easiest
Men = 3 + 1 at 10,000

The high score at MARP is 118,050 by Raymond Kan.

Points by building:
After
building:...Total..........That level
1............20000...........20000
2............37600...........17600
3............56900...........16300
4............74450...........17550
5............93850...........19400
6...........115250...........21400
7...........118050............2800

died on the 7th

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 08:18 pm
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Darren:

Agree...tournament settings are for marathonable games. If EA was not possible to marathon, then at most the normal difficulty would be the TG settings unless the default settings (possibly easier than normal) proved to be as challenging.

For example, in "Mr Do's Wild Ride", the game is insane enough at easy without having to play at a harder setting. So we left TGTS at easy for that one.

I am awaiting information from Walter on EA's top WRs on the TG site based on the E-MAIL that I sent him the other day. Still no reply. He might be busy.

Robert

Cameron Feltner
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 11:31 pm
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If the factory default is:

Difficulty: Very Easy
Lives: 3
Bonus Life: 10,000

it would make sense, as all 6 dip switches involved would be set to "off". However, it would also make "cocktail" the default over "upright", as well as messing up the coins per credit setting, so I don't feel I can read the intent of the manufacturer by just that.

It does seem as good a setting as any, so long as we can prevent players from using more than 3 lives to start. The main problem with the higher difficulty settings is that some players could play on lower ones. With the number of lives, the difference isn't as dramatic, as most of the lives are used on the later buildings, and the score difference isn't as much. Still, there is a difference, which is why I'm using 6 lives to map the game out.

The settings on mame differ slightly namewise. Instead of 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 for the bonus options, mame lists 24,000 as the top one. I haven't played on this setting to see where it awards the bonus. The difficulties listed in mame are Easiest, Easy, Normal, Hard. My assumption is that the wording is all that's changed on these settings, including the bonus.

Based on the feel of the game at Funspot, I'd say that it's on "Difficult", but I'm not sure. If they haven't changed it since the tournament a couple years ago, we could presumably still find out.

Is that 118,050 on mame the game that I heard about at this last Funspot event? I didn't see the recording at the tournament, but I heard there was a lot of leeching on the first building, scoring about 20,000.

I haven't played enough with leeching to have a good feel for my average scores per level. I always used to play for survival. So far it tends to fluctuate based on how well fishing for agents goes. Here's a breakdown of my current high score with 6 lives to start:

Bldg...Score....Bldg..Agents..Doors..Bonus
...1...13500...13500...10000...2500...1000
...2...29350...15850...10850...3000...2000
...3...47100...17750...11250...3500...3000
...4...66150...19050...11050...4000...4000
...5...88700...22550...13050...4500...5000
...6..110500...21800...10800...5000...6000
...7..114950....4450....2950...1500

As you can see, if the difference between difficulty levels is merely that they start you on a different building, the red door count gives it away. The Agent points fluctuate, but stay near 11,000 so far (on a good pace), except for the first building. My leeching was done at the bottom of each building until time expired, then I attempted to flee. After time expires is when I'm losing most of my lives, so this pace may be a bit too high to be realistic, but did just make the 11,000 mark.

I finally did see that inp of the 118,050. On the first building he did his leeching at the top, and still had half the building to do after time ran out, but still made it out alive. Either he got lucky or the first building is more forgiving.

Cameron Feltner
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 08:54 pm
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I've switched to playing on the highest difficulty. So far buildings 1-4 match buildings 4-7 on the lowest difficulty perfectly.

I did manage to increase my high score with 6 lives to start before I switched. It's now 125,200. My fourth death was on the fifth building, so this game wouldn't have been close to this score if I'd been playing with the default (by all indications so far) of 3 lives to start. I'll have to tone back the aggressiveness (and scoring average) to survive with just 4 lives total. So who knows if I could match that on those settings.

Cameron Feltner
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 07:16 am
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Ok, I'm thoroughly convinced now that the difference between the difficulty levels is that they start you on different buildings. I've played on all four of them now.

This means that the building I'd become accustomed to thinking of as number five is really number seven.

Also it means that any game played on an easier setting, with the necessary stats recorded, can have its equivalent score on any more difficult setting calculated exactly. This is true because the more difficult game is a proper subset of the easier game.

It's time to revisit milking, to see if it can be done safely.

Cameron Feltner
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:23 pm
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Playing on default settings of "Very Easy" and four lives (including the one at 10,000). Trying to increase safety while maintaining a high milk rate. Not "very easy" yet. ;)

One decent game, posted at MARP. The first three lives lost seem avoidable. Had I been playing with seven lives, or somehow did avoid the early deaths, I probably would have reached 129,100.

In this game I managed to exceed the 11,000 agent pace on each of the first six levels, using all of the time on each level.

I have yet to finish the seventh building while milking (in the same game), which would be required to approach 143,450. I have, within the last couple weeks, at least doubled the number of times I've been to the eighth. I don't know for sure if I've ever finished the eighth or not. I know I haven't recently done so.

Most likely milking would have to be forsaken from the seventh on. I had a tough enough time on the sixth.

Here's a breakdown of the equivalent scores for this game at all the harder difficulty settings:

.........Diff_1...Diff_2...Diff_3...Diff_4
Bldg_1....16000........0........0........0
Bldg_2....34800....17800........0........0
Bldg_3....52500....34500....15700........0
Bldg_4....72300....53300....33500....16800
..........82500....63500....43700....27000...Life_1
Bldg_5....95300....75300....54500....36800
..........99450....79450....58650....40950...Life_2
.........108550....88550....67750....50050...Life_3
Bldg_6...117350....96350....74550....55850
.........125650...104650....82850....64150...Life_4

The following picture was from a different game.

"You guys have a secret document Cliffnotes, by chance?" --Otto

Cameron Feltner
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 10:59 pm
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Speculation on the limit for scoring potential on EA currently leads me to guess that it's around 165,000 (default settings).

This is from close to a 12,000 agent average for eight levels, then a little bit from the ninth level.

However, I still don't believe the scores listed for EA.

Googling for the players online led me to a story about "G Ben Carter Jr"'s Centipede WR of exactly 5,500,000 being eclipsed by Donald Hayes...and an inability to locate the former "champ":

http://www.twingalaxies.com/fremont_tribune_12_29_00.htm

Also, I found a listing of the Guiness records for videogames in the 80s. The score by "Sean Jensen" was the 85 record; the score by "G Ben Carter Jr" was the 86 record:

http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/wr/guinness/

The 86 Centipede record eclipsed another blatantly bogus score of 4,444,444. At least he came up with a better sounding score for EA. Both these players burst onto the scene with multiple world records in the year they first appeared on the list. No one wanted the Super PunchOut record in 86 apparently, but the EA score was coveted enough to post a score for.

What method did they use to generate the posted scores for EA? Take the highest score they'd ever seen and double it? Triple it? I know they didn't get them from playing.

This game's difficulty really ramps up as scores increase. Achieving 90% of one's high score is trivial, compared to many other games. I doubt if either of those two could get 80% of their posted scores. G-Ben probably hasn't scored 60,000 to date. Since Sean came up with a more believable false score, he may actually be better at the game than G-Ben is. Hmmm... 129,100... divide by 2... 64,550... a legal score... hmmm... Yep, that's higher than G-Ben's of *under* 60,000--say 43,450?

Yeah, I'd believe 43,450 for G-Ben and 64,550 for Sean. Those are high enough to want to be really good at the game, while being low enough to want to post false scores.

Donald Hayes
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 11:09 pm
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"The 86 Centipede record eclipsed another blatantly bogus score of 4,444,444."

I know this thread is about Elevator Action, but I have to point out that the above statement is incorrect. It is actually rather trivial for an expert Centipede player to stop at any given score on purpose.

Donald Hayes
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 11:11 pm
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Oh, and Elevator Action happens to be this week's "Golden Era Game of the Week" on MARP. Are you going to beat your 125K Cameron? :-)

Cameron Feltner
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 11:59 pm
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I defer to your knowledge of Centipede on that one.

I guess if it goes long enough, even someone playing a current world record game would stop intentionally, and a "cute" score makes sense in that case.

I'm starting to doubt the last sentence from my previous post. I was thinking that if a player can score close to a world record, they would be more inclined to beat it legitimately. After thinking about it, I'd say that the motive to cheat probably has no relation to one's ability whatsoever.

Regarding the MARP "Golden Era Game of the Week", I think beating my own score would be easier than getting WolfMAME to run on my pc.

The last time I tried to get a WolfMAME to run, the window launched, it found games available, but I got a page fault when I tried to start an emulation:

"MAME32P caused an invalid page fault in module KERNEL32.DLL at 017f:bff87ede."

If anyone has any ideas as to what is wrong, I'd be glad to hear them.

At least I know not to post any more scores this week unless I do them on WolfMAME.

Weehawk
Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 12:17 am
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By sheer coincidence, I decided that this week's game would be Elevator Action about the same time this thread was started.

Cameron: Get WolfMAME .84 here:

http://wolfmame.marpirc.net/wolfmameplus-084u2.zip

If you run into a similar problem, post it on the MARP forum. I'm sure some of the resident MAME experts will be able to help solve any problems you might have.

Cameron Feltner
Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 02:28 am
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Thanks for the link.

I saw the unicows.dll was included with this one. That was the first error I ran into before. I do still have the same problem with the win32 of this version, but discovered that I can run the command line fine (I probably didn't check that with the earlier version).

The main thing that's different from what I'm used to is that the screen appears to wobble as I move vertically (which looks like a side-effect of framing), but I think this is due to the fact that the resolution is higher than the actual game is, and looks smoother at the (original) lower resolution. The music sounds right, and timing it against the version I had been playing seems to indicate it's going at the right speed.

Next is to play.

TJT
Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 07:29 am
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I got rid of the "video tearing" at earlier mame versions(occurred at Track&Field, made timing harder at longjump and highjump) using command -scanlines (or -noscanlines)

Some other mame32 versions did require zip32.dll, zlib.dll,audiow32.dll

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Leprechaun kill screen

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Charlie Weatherbee
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 11:47 am
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Hey everyone,

I have used mame to try and get to a kill screen on Leprechaun and all i can get to is board 50. I just go for the pots so i can find out what level the leprechaun starts to go slower so i can find out if the bounty is actually possible. Ive heard of 700,000 scores and even 1,000,000 on mame but the joystick at Funspot really needs some Lays Potato chips ( if youve seen the commercial youd get it ). I am going to spend some time trying to find tricks out on it. If anyone else cares to give it a try on mame you may want to use 4 lives to start and a bonus just to give you some leway.

Weehawk
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 03:17 pm
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Charlie Weatherbee wrote:
--------------------------
If anyone else cares to give it a try on mame you may want to use 4 lives to start and a bonus just to give you some leway.
---------------------------

Or you may want to use MAME's cheat feature to give yourself infinite lives or freeze the leprechaun.

Ah...the beauty of MAME.

Mike Chandronnait
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 07:58 pm
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Yes, me and charlie were brainstorming on leprechaun after work the other day and I came up with some questions

1.)does the score roll over
2.)is there a point where the game starts back at the beginning, kill screen or anything.
3.)if the bounty really is possible

Robert T Mruczek
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 08:48 pm
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Hello Mike:

Yes, it is possible. One of the world's top gamers maye have already done so. unofficially and on MAME.

Robert

Weehawk
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 09:04 pm
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The score does not roll over at one million. It even appears that there is room there for a ten millions digit, but I wasn't motivated enough to play that long.

Screenshot (two million):
http://weehawk.marpirc.net/lepr2.png

Scootie
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 11:21 am
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Does Leprechaun even HAVE a kill screen??

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 08:12 pm
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Hi Scootie:

If it does, no one has ever lasted that long.

Robert

Charlie Weatherbee & Mike Chandronnait
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 10:32 pm
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Does anyone else think that the picture is bogus and photoshopped. If it is not then i would like to see the INP of it so i can see that he actaully did it. I think it is bogus bc of what it shows. Does anyone else see 2 Leprechauns on the screen. Unless there is 2 Leprechauns later in the game?

Weehawk
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 12:57 am
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The picture I linked to is an unedited MAME snapshot.

There's clearly something else that Messrs. Weatherbee and Chandronnait do not understand, but I think they deserve to be left that way.

For the benefit of everyone else, I am merely reporting that the game does in fact display a seventh digit (possibly eight, but I do not know), and that through two million points (about 250 screens) there appear to be no killscreen-type glitches.

Mike Chandronnait
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 08:11 pm
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Not to critisize you or you score, It is in afact a great score, but there are indeed 2 leprechauns in the picture, I just wondered if you cared to explain why that is?
~Mike~

Anonymous
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 08:57 pm
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Hey guys, the score was obtained using the cheat functions in mame and made only to answer your question about the 'kill screen'. That was not intended to be a legit score, just to investigate the max displayable score and the kill screen. The best, legit score I've seen is in the 700k range still.

Weehawk
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 09:24 pm
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Thanks, anonymous.

And I'm not sure about the double image on the leprechaun. It's either a snapshot taken while the leprechaun's position was in the processing of being updated, or may have been related to the "freeze the leprechaun" cheat. It also occurred in the snap I took at one million.

There is a recording at MARP made by reigning DECA champion "destructor" scoring 780k on Pot-O-Gold, a clone where the difficulty ramps up much faster.

Charlie Weatherbee
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 10:29 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry about the misunderstanding. I thought you were trying to send it in and i didnt know you did it for us sorrry once again. I thought the same thing about the Leprechauns at first but who knows.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 12:22 pm
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Hello all:

One of Australia's greatest players, Robert Macauley, sent me an INP of a score in the 19M range...effectively a glitch as the score was side-by-side, sort of like 19501950. He wanted me to be aware of the glitch since I have an open bounty. Did this in the 1st screen, too.

Robert

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Scootie's idea of a "Dream Vacation".....

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Scootie
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 10:25 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...is a one week (all expenses paid) - trip to "Austin Park & Pizza" in Pflugerville, Texas!!

I had to say that one!!

Scootie

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 11:08 am
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You mean "dream" as in "nightmare"?

I had to say that one... - ZM

jjt_defender
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 03:32 pm
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Scootie wrote:
I also made the point of calling Austin Park-n-Pizza. Turns out that you do have some hi scores there.

JJT: Thank you Scootie for verifying my modern arcade games highscores at Austin Park 'N' Pizza in Pfugerville,Texas.

Thank You &
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 03:42 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie wrote:
I also made the point of calling Austin Park-n-Pizza. Turns out that you do have some hi scores there.

JJT: Thank you Scootie for verifying my modern arcade games highscores at Austin Park 'N' Pizza in Pfugerville,Texas.

1.Tsurugi 1,199,400pts.

2.Police Trainer 2 122,860pts 16 completed games

3.Star Trek Voyager 328,750pts 6 completed games

4.Jurasstic Park 3 768,430pts. solo 978,640pts.doubles playing solo hard difficulty

5.Time Crisis 3 1st player & 2nd 1.5 million on both 1st & 2nd player on Hard difficulty

6.Crisis Zone 3.5 million pts. on hard difficulty

7.Trophy Hunting 7,800pts. & 6,960pts.

8.House of the Dead 3 170.620pts. C 175,880pts D on Max difficulty

9.Jurasstic Park Lost World 30,020,000pts. FOR 5 STAGES

10.Area 51 999,999pts.

11.Maxium Force 9,999,999pts.

Thank You again &
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Eric Ahlers
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 06:35 pm
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JJT:

I play Time Crisis 3 every now and then and really enjoy it.

Can you tell me how far you get on your 1.5M game. I'm curious because i always get up to the first boss...( the one who looks a little like Guile from SF2)....and always seem to die there. I never really look at my point total.

also, i see that you do this on MAX difficulty, i'm not sure how it is set at the Jillians Arcade where i play, but it is probably not difficult

Anyway, JJT, please advise whether your 1.5M score on TC-3 is completing the game on 1 credit from start to finish. And if so, please provide some basic strategies to help me improve my game.

Thanks in advance

Eric

jjt_defender
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 09:02 pm
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Congradulations Eric on you scoring 708,000pts. recentlty on Robotron on TGST settings.That is fantastic score it leaves you in a elite company.If I'm correct that would put you in 3rd or 4th alltime on Robotron TGST. good Luck in breaking the Robotron TGST record.

good luck Eric
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Gary
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 09:58 pm
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jjt wrote:
"Thank you Scootie for verifying my modern arcade games highscores at Austin Park 'N' Pizza in Pfugerville,Texas."

As far as I know, a player phoning the Austin Park & Pizza is not a recognized method for verifying scores if you are looking for any sort of official recognition.

Gary

TJT
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 12:58 am
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Come on Gary...you don't trust Jim from Austin Park'n'Pizza??? ;)

Vidiot
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 08:03 am
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What's wrong with this picture? Previous posts put JJT at 43 years old but he has almost all the top scores at Austin Park & Pizza in Pflugerville, Texas and stakes his claim on many more high scores at Austin Park & Pizza in Pflugerville, Texas! Does this guy have a job or a LIFE or does he live at Austin Park & Pizza in Pflugerville, Texas? Unless you are full of shite or collect government assistance how could anyone possibly have that much time to master that many games at Austin Park & Pizza in Pflugerville, Texas.

Anonymous
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 11:21 am
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Hilarious!

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 02:22 pm
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Hello Vidiot:

I know !! Sounds a little like that "Seinfeld" character "Kramer". Doesn't work (apparently) but loads of time to do everything but.

Robert

Scootie
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 05:44 pm
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Well said Vidiot...

Scootie

Scootie
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 05:52 pm
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Hey Everyone

It just occured to me that many of the "modern" arcade games have flawless translations on the PS 2 or Gamecube. Perhaps JJT spends most of his time playing a title on PS2/Gamecube, and when he feels he's good enough then it's off to Austin Park-N-Pizza in Pflugerville, Texas to play the game and log down a high score.

Perhaps JJT is one of those $200/hour "consultants" - meaning that he only has to work 2-3 days a week.

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 06:15 pm
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Hi Scootie:

Good point. Considering the lawyer-like postings, he could even be a colleague of Johnny Cochrane.

Can you just hear it on the forums..."If the score isn't legit you must omit" !!

Robert

jjt_defender
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 08:29 pm
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I've only been to Austin Park 'N' Pizza a total of 20 times. Plus,for a package deal price you can play the arcade games on free play/free buffet/laser tagwall climbing that is a deal.The place is open from 10a.m. to 11p.m. weekdays.

Todays arcade games are not hard to get good at.
The modern arcade games are more expensive to play.
I'm still learning the games,I will get alot better.

I'm a natural good shooter anyways. The video game guns are alout different than real ones.
Target/clay/boar/range/distance/accuracy/cans/assembly/making smiles on targets

Only 4 modern arcade games that I have played more than 10 times.
They are:
1.Tsurugi 'Blade of Honor" sword (39 times)
2.Time Crisis 3 (11-times)
3.Police Trainer 2 (14 times)
4.House of the Dead (11-times)

Good luck guys in your classic gamming endeavers.
thank you & God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Scootie
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 02:42 am
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Hey JJT

That what almost ALL modern games are about; either shooting, fighting, or driving!

Scootie

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Funspot mentioned on rec.games.pinball!

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mspaeth
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 06:18 pm
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...but I didn't say favorably...

------- 8

: Well on a rainy Thursday in the lakes region of NH, the urge bit to go
: check out Funspot. Yeah, I kinda expected in advance what I found.
: They had about 30-40 machines (but I didn't count), split about half
: and half between pre 90 and post 90, with the mid 80's being the most
: represented. Everything I played had at least minor issues, with most
: machines having one or more MAJOR issues, placing several on the verge
: of unplayable. The good news is that they all were setup on 3 balls
: for one token, which was .16 if $20 was purchased (my kids can kill
: unlimited tokens in skee ball, so I was a big spender..)
:
: Just up front, I was at Funspot a few years ago. Can't say things
: then were much better then, but as the machines age and don't get
: repaired, there is little if any reason left to visit again in the
: future. This shows me that playable machines will soon be found only
: in private collections, if not already. Pinball on location, is
: effectively dead, especially in concentrations of more than 2
: machines, where a caring op may keep a good earner in good shape
: (though I have doubts they will bother for much longer). The arcade
: experience is all but over (rare places like Video Video excepted),
: but we already knew that didn't we.
:
: Here's the quick list of what I threw a token or two in, and what was
: wrong (from memory). Since they were all filthy, assume very very
: dirty unless explicitly stated otherwise below. I'd wager a month's
: salary that there was at least one bulb out on every game in the
: place, some were going on 6-12 remaining bulbs period (in the entire
: game). Most had broken plastics.
:
: STNG Probably the only mid 90s pin that didn't have major issues.
: Playable.
:
: AF Beat like a redheaded stepchild, flippers had NO power, not much
: fun. Future "donor" machine.
:
: HS Not many lights, but playable, barely
:
: FH Upper flipper at half mast and barely moving, rudy's mouth jammed
: open, this one made me sad, as I own a FH.
:
: Devil's Dare This one was relatively clean and working, even almost
: nice. Too bad it'll get trashed soon enough.
:
: BK Beat, no fun
:
: Kiss Beat, no fun
:
: Pin*Bot Functioning
:
: F14 flipper issues
:
: WW flipper issues, no power again.
:
: Fire (Williams) OK, but played real slow
:
: Jokerz Don't know it ate my token
:
: Close Encounters Another token eater
:
: Xenon Beat, no fun
:
: Fireball OK, but slow
:
: I know I played more, but I can't remember/ it doesn't matter. I
: guess I had a little fun, but not much.

Scootie
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 06:36 pm
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Hey Mark

Who had the &%$# nerve to "diss" Funspot like that!!

The guy who wrote that article should be tied (naked) to a cactus, and left for the Buzzards!

Obviously this guy has not been to any videogame store (Egghead/Electronics Botique) recently - otherwise he would know that retrogaming is alive & well. I don't think this guy had been in ANY arcade recently - since many of the "modern" arcades now have at least SOME classics!!

Always nice to read a thread that gets the blood boiling.

Scootie

Anonymous
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 07:14 pm
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I'm sure this is probably that tommy tutu guy...but no mention of any 'hoofing' of the games.

Vidiot
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 07:34 pm
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The rec.games.pinball post is the main reason why pinball is as dead as dead can get. Pinball players suck and they complain constantly. They all need to go have their mommies breast feed them so they can take a nap and be less moody. Funspot should put all their pinballs in a pile out in the parking lot and burn them just to spite these A-holes. Let these suck sacks play with themselves at home on their one machine they spent their entire life working on. Pinball sucks.

Rick
Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 08:15 pm
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If you don't like Funspot pinball, you should play at any one of the thousands of arcades in the country that offer pinball.

Anonymous
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 08:00 am
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Funspot,
Do not listen to krap the rec.games users spew out. They want you to think all of your pins are junk so they can come in and offer you $100 each for them. When you tell them their offer is too low, they will pull out a copy of the messages as proof the machines are worthless.

I am not a huge pinball fan but have always found the machines to be in good condition. I cannot say they were perfect, but better than any other arcade. If these people are looking for new out of the box, zero-problem play, they should purchase one machine and keep it at home and not let anyone play it.

ps: 16 cents per play and this person had the nerve to complain? The few machines I have seen in past years are all 50 cents per play.

Zotmeister
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:05 pm
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Guys, your positive [?] attitudes regarding Funspot are perhaps well-meaning, but you're all forgetting one crucial detail: he's right.

It isn't even about just pinball, either.

It took me five years to get good enough at Quartet - a video game, not a pin - to be able to set a serious record on it, which was apparently required for Mary's joystick and fire button to be repaired. Yes, it was broken for five years, and yes, I reported it multiple times over the years, and I wasn't the only one who reported it, as I'd heard.

Quartet is fixed now. Quartet's picture is on that wall - I just happen to be standing next to it. The caption may as well read "Adam Wood finally gets someone to repair the poor Quartet machine in the back corner". As far as I'm concerned, that's my REAL record.

Those pins get even less attention than the video games, and their very nature means that they need more.

There's a reason I only visit Funspot once a year, and it isn't the drive. The tourney seems to be the only time I might be able to get someone to repair a machine!

Yeah, perhaps it's bad business - unprofitable - to get someone to go over each machine one at a time, repairing all their issues, so that everything works. But it's worse business to leave busted, unplayable machines out on the floor and turned on for players to drop their tokens into and get thoroughly frustrated over.

Who remembers the Sky Shark machine the first three tournaments?

You know, guys, you do have a museum up there, and as interactive as it may be (or aspire to in some cases), it's okay if you need to mark a few exhibitions as "display only". You could probably mark a full QUARTER of the machines up there that way without letting anyone down - we know they're old, we know they can't always be working, and thank you for letting us know our tokens would be wasted on them at this time. There's plenty else we can play. Maybe one's favorite is out of commission, and that's always disheartening, but at least one didn't spend their money to find that out, and that would be appreciated.

Besides, many of them are perfectly astounding just to look at. Curious coincidence: I often assist with warehouse work at my job, and today we have a marvel sitting in our depot - a 1974 Gottlieb "Top Card". No backglass, plenty of cabinet damage, probably unplayable... and absolutely beautiful. I can't help but stare at it as I walk past it. It feels like magic to me.

Funspot has the potential to be a truly mystical place. It just needs to be treated like one. Fix the machines at the rate you can afford to, but don't let any one game be neglected for too long, and don't let broken machines sit unlabelled as such and hiding like snakes-in-the-grass among the functional ones. It's beyond business at that point - it's a matter of common courtesy. - ZM

mspaeth
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:37 pm
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I guess none of you people who are 'defending' funspot play pinball. The poster is completely correct in all of his assertions. Remember that this was a pinball guy going up there to play pinball, not a vid guy who went up there and decided to try pinball. This was someone who owns pinball machines, plays pinball a lot, knows how games SHOULD play, and expects them to play that way.

Randy does a great job of maintaining the vids at funspot in most cases, but the majority of the pins are unplayable trash, since Bob simply doesn't care about the games.

Nobody's posting so they can 'lowball' funspot on the games. I've asked about selling/trading before and they're simply not interested. Yes many of the games could be 'saved' by collectors, but many of them are also far beyond hope of restoration (ie. the playfield on black knight).

To 'Vidiot':
If the joystick is broken on a FS machine, would you feel cheated? Is pacman fun if you can't move up and down? Well pinball sucks when the flippers are so weak you can't hit ramps. How will burning the machines 'spite' pin collectors? It'll just make the machines we still have worth more. Personally, I think FS *should* take out most of the pins. It's a hell of a lot of space they're wasting for games that don't get much play, BECAUSE they aren't well maintained.

To the 'anonymous' moron:
FS pinballs are NOT well maintained. I've been saying this for years. Sure there are a lot of route games that see more play and are in worse shape, but if you take a run out to Salisbury or Hampton, you'll see arcades that maintain their games and they bring in good money. He's perfectly right in complaining about the poor condition of the games, regardless of price. I'd rather pay $.50 for a game on a machine that works than dump tokens into most of FS's games. $.50 for a play is fine, but even dropping a $.16 token into a game and walking away feeling cheated sucks.

Finally, I think it's ridiculous that people are allowed to post here and hide in anonymity. If you don't have the balls to say who you are then your opinion shouldn't count.

Ken Sweet
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 02:50 pm
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Hey all,

During the nearly 5 years I worked for Funspot I was often told that they didn't have the resources to pay people to work long hours on the pinball machines, which admittedly require a lot of work and money.

I spent most of my very sparse maintenance time (I worked around 20 hours per week and most of it was security) on simply cleaning playfields and replacing burnt bulbs. Pinballs are not particularly profitable and require almost constant supervision as far as maintenance goes. I could easily go through a pack or two of light bulbs and a myriad of rubber bits & pieces each night, not to mention much playfield cleaner/wax, just maintaining a few games. I highly doubt those games made that money during the entire week of play.

When I was working full-time tech/maintenance, and Bob Eddy still worked there in the tourney's early years, the games were much cleaner and functioned better. I remember this very well, it was the year that Randy was pulled to the front and congratulated by all on how well the machines worked and looked. In the months before the tournament Bob Eddy and I went through and cleaned/tested every single game in the entire building. Any serious repairs were written down for Randy who worked through them at superhuman speed. We all worked extremely hard that year - and probably sucked up huge amounts of Funspot's money taking care of all those classic games.

This isn't really defend Funspot, I actually can see both points of view and offer an objective opinion now that I am no longer associated with Funspot. I agree that Funspot would do well to sell most of their pins, since they aren't exactly space or cost efficient, and maybe 75% of player complaints I would hear or read were directed toward pins.

Not sure how recent that post was, but we should keep in mind that Funspot is in a transitional period, having recently lost two game maintenance/tech people in one day, so Randy is pretty much alone and probably up to his ears in work. Maybe when they hire some new techs things will be straightened out.

Regards,
Ken Sweet

Rick
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 03:41 pm
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Like it or not kids, it's all dollars and cents in any business including Funspot. How much do they earn on their pins now and how much would they earn if, as you would wish, they had a full-time pin tech? Would the supposed increase in income offset the cost of the pinball tech? I have a hard time believing they are making a killing with that room full of old games. If they were, everyone would have a huge room full of old games. Funspot, care to elaborate?

Anonymous
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 04:12 pm
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Quality technicians are hard to find in any state. Several years ago I worked in the office of a company that serviced broken computers. Each time we put an ad in the paper looking for QUALIFIED service technicians we received piles of applications from so-called "techs" that could do nothing more than solder two wires together or swap out boards. With the crash of high-tech after 9/11, there should be a large pool of techs eager to get to work.

Gary
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 04:39 pm
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Mark,
Thank you for bringing the rec.games post over here or I never would have seen it. I will bring this up Monday to the owners.

Gary

PS to Rick: I have said the same comment time and time again; If these games made a lot of money, everyone would have a hundred of them in their arcades.

PS to anonymous 4:12pm: I can relate to your story. The few times I placed ads in the newspaper/bowling magazines looking for qualified AMF pinsetter technicians with a minimum 5-years experience, I always got at least a dozen people applying who said they were "handy" and could learn quickly.

mspaeth
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 05:44 pm
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Well maintained pins do make money, otherwise the arcades at Salisbury, etc wouldn't all have a lineup of the newest Sterns. Maybe you got burned on Monopoly and it took a long time to earn its keep, but then again, was it ever in a good location? Only places I've seen it is at the entrace to the bowling alley (hard to concentrate with all the noise and people walking around on all sides), and over by the shoe counter where it is now.

Funspot gave up on pins years ago. Next to the trashed (2001) Monopoly in the bowling alley, what's the next newest pin? Probably the (11/1993) STTNG. I understand the financial risk of buying new games, especially when there's so much competition on site between the new game and the older games, but once the decision is made that it's not worth getting new games, and it's not worth maintaining old games, it's not long until a fire in the parking lot is the only viable auction.

When new games are released, all of r.g.p posts asking where there's one in the area. Salisbury got their LOTRs and RBIONs, and I'm sure the arcades sucked in a lot of cash from people coming up to see the new games.

...but hey, what do I know... i'm just one of the hundreds of game collectors within a few hours' drive of FS who seldom thinks it's worth the trip. (I have been to Salisbury and the Hamptons several times in recent months though).

Incidentally, I've been ranting about the condition of FS's pins for years. If I'd known all it'd take was a post to r.g.p for it to bring the problem to the owners' attention, I would have posted there years ago.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 06:40 pm
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Hello all:

I believe what Mark says is true...a well maintained pin is a moneymaker. But moreso than that, I wish I could actually SEE the playfield action !!

The Addams Family pin is one of the best at Funspot, and yet it is so dark I can hardly see the pin action or where the balls are up to. In contrast, the oldest pins (Superman, Sky Jump, others) are quite visible due to the less cluttered playfield, and the downstairs pin (Monopoly) is in a well lit area, so those are the best to play, I think.

High Speed is an awesome pin, but the upper right flipper just STANK when I last tried it. Makes the jackpot nearly impossible to get.

Lastly, "Spooksville" is one in dire need of physical repair. A great title, but prone to abuse and easily breaks down.

I hope Randy, who is just one person mind you, has the time to fix some of these.

Robert

Mark Longridge
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 08:03 pm
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I like pinball well enough, and Xenon and Black Knight were a lot of fun, I can remember when those games were new. I would think it's pretty hard to get parts for those pinball machines.

Pinball is definitely high maintainance, no doubt.
A lot of operators don't like pinball machines because of that.

An arcade with classic pinball machines? There can't be too many of those around.

Scootie
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 09:25 pm
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Hey Everyone.....

I have always felt that Funspot does a better job of maintaining it's games - compared to other arcades. This is especially true of the older "classic" titles. As for Pinball - I have played quite a few at FS, and never had a problem.

Ken - I am disappointed to hear that you are no longer at Funspot. I understand that two other dedicated/loyal employees also left that same week. And all three of you had a BIG hand in making this year's tournament a successful one.

Gary - While it may be tough to find a highly qualified tech - maybe you could take a "promising" candidate - and take it from there. Here is a good example...

In 1999 I graduated Oneonta (SUNY) with a Degree in Environmental Science and a minor in Computer Science.....

Within three days of vacating my dorm room, I was on my way to an interview in the WTC for a Desktop Support/Y2K Consultant position with CIBC Financial Markets.

After a ten minute interview I was hired - and put to work right away.....

I had NO KNOWLEDGE of PC's whatsoever (other than what I learned in class). However I always tried to hook up with a more experienced tech (if possible) when I was slow, and I was NEVER afraid to ask questions.

Six months later my "contract" was up. Everyone (especially my boss) was impressed with how much I had "picked up" in a relatively short period of time. My contract was extended another 6 months plus a $4.00/hour raise..

Unfortunately, after the second six month period the company merged. Initially they wanted to give me a permanent position at 55K a year - but due to the merger - it never happened.

Anyway - What I'm trying to say here is the employee who is inexperienced but EAGER TO LEARN - may be a better bet in the long run than the tech with 20 years "experience".

"Why does our society frown so much on self learners"?

Common sense would dictate that an individual who is eager to learn new concepts/material on his own accord - is hardly a risk!

Plus you can pay them less than you would the tech with 20+ years experience, until they gain the proper exp.

As for Funspot - I still say that the games are better taken care of than in most other arcades!

Scootie

PS. There are TWO more Addams Family pins on the Wiers "strip". Both of them seemed to be in good working order.

Gary
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 09:45 pm
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Hi Scootie,
The problem I had with locating a good AMF pinsetter mechanic had to do with the fact that I stated in the ad we were looking for someone with at least 5-years experience. These machines are not hands-on friendly and a mistake made by an untrained person could be fatal or cause them to be permanently maimed. This is a one-person job so there is no one available to teach the position to an eager person. You either know the job or you don't.

We eventually found an excellent mechanic who was also a pro at measuring and fitting bowling balls. He now heads up our bowling department.

PinAddict
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:24 pm
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Past remarks would make this appear to be a long-term dilemma and not one that arose yesterday. What you need to know for an informed response is who has been servicing the pins for the past several years and what their experience consists of. Who are the technicians, what is their work background, where were they trained, how many years experience do they have and to what extent is that experience with pinball in particular. If Funspot is in great need of pinball service they should be looking to get people with pinball experience in their tech department. It would appear this has not been done in the past.

Precisely adjusted EOS switches, slingshots, pop bumpers and rollovers are crucial to good play action. An inexperienced eye will miss many of these often-overlooked problems. Pinball, especially EM requires a delicate touch and years of practice to fully master. An unskilled tech in a pinball can be just as ghastly as no tech at all, sometimes it can be much worse. Too often I have come across pinball machines with wood screws holding the flipper assemblies in because someone was too indolent to find the correct machine screw or to tap out a stripped thread. Four EM’s with all the contacts sanded was another tragedy that passed before my eyes. Playfields and back glasses touched up with house paint, drywall screws holding plastics to the playfield, pop bumpers with the tops glued on… The list is eternal. Pins should only be serviced by people who know how to service pins. A great pin mechanic should be proficient enough to shop a pin in a ½ hour or less, a good pin mechanic ¾ of an hour, a fair pin mechanic, 1 hour. If it takes longer than that, you should not be working on pins, period.

Scottie, you have a point about taking eager people and training them but not every eager person may be competent for the job at hand. Possessing enthusiasm is not always a guarantee the person will be able to do the job.

Scootie
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 02:09 am
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Hey PinAddict

You wrote: Scootie, you have a point about taking eager people and training them but not every eager person may be competent for the job at hand. Possessing enthusiasm is not always a guarantee the person will be able to do the job.

True - But that's when other factors like Intelligence would come into play. I would rather have an eager, inexperienced, smart person over an eager, inexperienced, dumb person.

By the way - what pins are your favorite?

Scootie

Vidiot
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 07:55 am
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"There's a reason I only visit Funspot once a year, and it isn't the drive."

Do the rest of us a favor and don't bother making the one trip.

Scootie
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:37 am
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Hey Adam

First of all, Funspot is half the distance from you (in RI) as it is for me, here in NJ.

I suppose there is an arcade near you, that has LOTS of classics, and keeps them in MINT condition??

Even though the Jersey shore has plenty of those "Boardwalk arcades" - most do not take good care of their older (usually classic) games; which is why I ALWAYS look forward to a long weekend at Funspot.

Even if a game is out of order - FS has so MANY great classics - that it really isn't that big a deal.

Scootie

mspaeth
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 07:22 pm
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Scootie:

We're not talking about vids in this thread, we're talking about pins. Randy does a good job with the vids... he's great with monitors and they all look gorgeous... but he's not the one working pins.

Robert:
If you think FS's TAF is great, then you've obviously never played one that actually works properly. You're right, however that the weak upper-right flipper on HS makes the game unplayable. It doesn't help that the speech hasn't worked on it in the past 3 years at least.

In any case, I know a pin tech who's looking for (extra) work, so I told him to give gary a call... He's getting married i na few weeks, so I'm sure he won't be able to start for a while, but maybe there's hope.

Anonymous
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 11:14 pm
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"In any case, I know a pin tech who's looking for (extra) work, so I told him to give gary a call... He's getting married i na few weeks, so I'm sure he won't be able to start for a while, but maybe there's hope. "

Finally, a constructive comment grows in a forest filled with negativity.

mspaeth
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 07:05 am
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Hey, you moron... don't blame me for negativity, when the reality is negative. All the comments were constructive, in the vein of "here's what's wrong so you can fix it", not "what a flaming pile of sh!t".

Maybe if you owned games, you'd understand.

Anonymous
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 07:33 am
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I was complimenting you on offering a solution and taking a step toward correcting the problem. Thanks for calling me a moron.

Scootie
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 06:12 pm
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hey Mark

Which Salisbury are you referring to? I'm assuming you are referring to Salisbury, Maryland.

and the Hamptons???

I'm assuming you mean the Hamptons on the east end of Long Island(NY)???

Mark - whenever you refer to a town/city that is in two or more states, please mention which one it is, that you are referring to as to lessen the confusion.

Scootie

PS. I'm glad you did not mention Springfield. Now that would be a confusing one!

Mike Stulir
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 08:37 pm
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Mark: Fred Pastore & I played a LOT of pinball at Funspot this weekend, and we found the conditions to be nowhere near as bad as you, or this newsgroup poster described. We found few problems, and none of them were major. Care to back up your claims? For example, tell us EXACTLY what is wrong the "trashed" Monopoly pinball. A generic useless comment like the game is "trashed" doesn't tell us anything. I personally played that game for over 30 minutes this past Friday evening, and had NO problems. Back up your claims and explain what is wrong with the machine.

Adam: I agree with Vidiot. If you don't like the conditions at Funspot, then shut up and don't come. All you do at this tournament every year is BITCH non-stop for four days. I, for one, am tired of your act. I have personally watched Randy, Gary, and other Funspot employees come to the aid of gamers at this tournament every year when problems appear with the games, so I find it hard to believe that Quartet was broken for "5 years" as you claim.

Mark & Adam: Funspot is a palace when compared to the other Weirs Beach arcades such as Half Moon, or any of the shore arcades in MA/NH/NJ. I walked through Half Moon this past Friday afternoon, and easily 1/3 (probably more) of their games were shut off, or had "Out of Order" stickers on them, Heck, even 1/2 of their change machines had "Out of Order" signs. Yet, the eggagerated conditions you guys describe makes it sound like Funspot treats their games every bit as poorly as Half Moon does. Give me a break.

Of course, I am sure that you have forgotten that games broke just as often in the 80's as they do now. I do not EVER remember seeing an arcade back "in the day" that had 100% fully functional games on the floor.

Scootie
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 09:34 pm
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Hey Mike

Well said...

Scootie

Carnival_Fred
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 12:12 am
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As Mike stated, I was there this weekend and decided to check out the ****filthy*** pinball machines that "Jsurf" referred to. I only wish I had a printout of this when I went so I could check all that he mentioned.

First, I would have had no problem whatsoever putting a piece of pizza on any of the pinballs there, bar none. The machines were all clean.

Seems odd to me that the games he beat were "no fun".

I did play Xenon and Fire and both are fine.
Xenon did have a bulb out or two, no big deal really.

I also checked Monopoly first thing Saturday morning and it seemed fine to me. I can only assume that this machine is either not the same one that Mark S saw or it has been shopped since.

Unfortunately I did not check the others.

Btw, Superman was fine.

If there are games flipper with problems, then these need to be addressed and I'm sure Gary will see to it once a tech/repairman is found. The lights really are a minor issue to me.

Anyway, the point of Jsurf's post was that this is the reason for the end of pinball in locations. Actually, I think is really boils down to money and availability of parts.

I'd like to second Mike's point that the games broke down 20 years ago as often (if not more so do to more games being played.)

Like Mark L, I remember Xenon & Black Knight too from way back. No matter where I played, I would sometimes find that Xenon's left flipper would sometimes be so weak that the tube shot was only possible with the ***right*** flipper. Likewise on Black Knight's upper flipper... that would many times be bad is some way... and drop targets on various games would be half falling off etc.......

In sum, although I did not play the same machines as Jsurf, the machines I played all seemed fine to me.

Carnival_Fred

Rick
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 06:31 am
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Salisbury is in Massachusetts, the Hamptons are a reference to Hampton & Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. Correct me if this is wrong.

Vidiot
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 08:15 am
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Adam says: "Quartet is fixed now. Quartet's picture is on that wall - I just happen to be standing next to it. The caption may as well read "Adam Wood finally gets someone to repair the poor Quartet machine in the back corner". As far as I'm concerned, that's my REAL record."

What an ungrateful jerk this guy is!!! His scream in the middle of the 2003 tournament should have got him tossed that year (we know my thoughts on that subject). He was mellower this year (almost didn’t recognize him) but his post in this thread shows his true colors (complainer). I agree with Mike. It’s hard believing Funspot or any body would listen to this guy complain for 5 years about one joystick and do nothing about it. I’d fix it to make him go away.

Anonymous
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:32 am
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mike, thank you for putting mspaeth & zotmeister in their place. Funny how mspaeth isn't responding to your challeng to explain the pinball problems. zotmeister just sounds like a whiny baby.

Zotmeister
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:44 am
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I've come to expect continuous, incorrigible negativity from the anonymous - and I still have no words left for such - but frankly I'm surprised by Mike.

I'm very sorry to report that it did indeed take five years to get Quartet's third player repaired. It took two years for Sky Shark to stop moving the plane down automatically; disrepair is one thing, but to the best of my knowledge, that machine with that problem remained on for those two years, continuing to invite tokens to play a broken game. This concept is what I complained about in my post, nothing else.

You said this "Half Moon" place has a lot of machines labelled "out of order". From where I stand, that is better than Funspot, since it's at least visible to the patron. A few machines here and there having a problem is status quo - I very much do recall how arcades were never perfect - but when those problems are reported by customers, how the arcade reacts reveals the way they do business. I consider Gary a friend - he has been no less than that to me - and I have great respect for him and the way he runs things... save one significant detail that I don't think is all that far-fetched to deal with.

[There was that one time a Funspot employee threatened to slap me, but that was just a misunderstanding resulting from her obscure pun and her lack of wisdom, and was resolved amicably thanks to Gary and Tina. I'm glad that Gary felt approachable enough to me for me to bring it to his attention to begin with, much less that it was dealt with.]

If it's broken and you don't repair it, shut it down. I had NEVER seen a piece of tape over Mary's coin slot, which is all it would have taken. I'm asking for common courtesy, not miracles.

If I were a truly bitchy individual, I've have kicked back at that bloody pin player who couldn't keep his temper from flaring or his legs from flailing during the tourney. Now that was troublesome. Sure, he apologized, but he still didn't seem to be a safe individual to be anywhere near. He spent, as best I could tell, his entire time at the tourney busy being very, very angry. But did I complain about him to the refs? No. I had no desire to make him "pay", nor to make him angrier, nor to involve myself any further in the issue; it's not like he worked there. I don't keep vendettas, unlike at least one other here. - ZM

Scootie
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:58 am
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Hey Adam

Why did you not play on Quartet's first player, if the third player was broken?

Scootie

mspaeth
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 11:25 am
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Rick: Yes, I was referring to salisbury, ma and hampton beach in nh. I assumed this would be obvious in context, since arcades hundreds of miles away aren't exactly 'competition' for FS.

Mike: I'm sorry you think the pins are so great. I suggest you find a collector and learn how the games are supposed to play before making such ignorant statements.

'Anonymous': you dumba$s. Sorry, I couldn't respond to the "challenge" to describe what was wrong with the pins in a timely manner (Like hmmm, the 14 full hours between his post and yours, dipsh!t). I was waterskiiing all day yesterday in VT, didn't get back until late then slept (yes, thats what you do after a day of physical exertion -- wiggling your joystick doesn't count), and am only reading the FS message board now, over lunch.

In any case, my 'claims' as to the condition of the pins will not likely be up to date, since I haven't been up to funspot in over a month, and perhaps some of the problems have been fixed since then (and for the record, I was there because we were dropping off 5 games as donations, not to play games).

I won't bother with burned out bulbs, since that pretty much goes without saying, but here goes:

Monopoly:
Dirty, needed new flipper rubbers, diverter didn't work, back door didn't work properly.

TAF:
Dirty, needed new flipper rubbers, flippers weak, 'thing flips' diverter inoperable

Funhouse:
Rudy completely broken, so why even bother playing.

High Speed:
upper flipper extremely weak. No speech, filthy,
at least one slingshot didn't fire.

Spooksville:
Right flipper hardly strong enough to get itself up, let alone try to move the ball.

Sorry I don't remember more, it's been a while. Perhaps some of the problems have been fixed since then.

Further pin suggestions:
Use white rubber instead of black. Black may last a little longer, but it's the reason the playfields look like old ashtrays. White is much more alive. There's no excuse for pitted flipper rubbers that look like they're about to snap. You can get away with rotating flipper rubbers quite a few times before spending $.25 to replace them.

Also, it'd be nice if FS's games (vids not pins) had working power switches, so they could be turned off when something major was wrong. I doubt normal people are going to go searching for the switch to power cycle games, and seeing games off is a good red flag for the staff to see that something's wrong with a game. since it's usually a pain in the as$ to track down any FS employees, and what's the guy who makes change going to do about it?

Zotmeister
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 11:33 am
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Like Gauntlet, the different players are unique in their skills and abilities, so it's not just a matter of using a different coin slot - it's using a different strategy. Just as it's different playing Gauntlet with the first player (Thor the Warrior) as opposed to the third (Merlin the Wizard), it's different playing Quartet with its first (Lee) as opposed to its third (Mary). I don't think I could play well with the fourth player (Edgar) at all!

Incidentally, I played on the second player (Joe). His joystick stopped moving left on Friday, but it was repaired for Saturday morning along with Mary's. I was shocked, frankly, but very pleasantly shocked. I just felt good vibes coming from that machine that morning; if any video arcade game ever had a soul, that one did, and it was shining. It felt thankful to me, and I'm quite glad it shared its bounty with me that morning. On my first try, no less. It is no coincidence that I appear to be hugging that machine in my photo, because that's exactly what I was doing. It's my buddy.

That, for those who care to know, is why I come to Funspot each year. I told you, something about that tourney is just mystical. Besides, I wouldn't be frequenting this message board if I didn't like Funspot; anyone who thinks otherwise about me isn't paying enough attention, as I know I've expressed more care and concern over the place than most here. - ZM

Zotmeister
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 11:54 am
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Mark reminded me of something. "Back in the day" I used to carry a pad of Post-Its® into arcades that didn't have approachable staff (which, incidentally, is not a problem I've had at Funspot, although to be thorough I'm only there at tourney time); when a machine had a problem, I'd write a detailed description of what was wrong with it on one and stick it to the coin door over the coin slot. Some arcades would run me through the pad, but that didn't matter - what did is that others didn't waste their money on them, and in a week or so I could go back and find out if any repairs or proper "out of order" labels were made. If they did, I continued to patronize the arcade, typically to the tune of $20 a week as I recall. [Gtech paid me well.] If they didn't, I wouldn't return, simple as that. It's been years, but I do recall not missing the arcades I abandoned and becoming popular at the ones I utilized.

Just because Funspot is the only place of its kind and is the site of that great tournament doesn't mean I have no right as a customer to lodge a complaint. In fact, keeping others in mind, I feel I have an obligation to do so, especially given how simple the issue is. Mark and I may be complaining about different things, or at least have different solutions in mind, but the principle is the same - customers are alienated. I don't know what Mark's motives are, but if they're like mine, they're perfectly noble. I just want to see Funspot reach the glory it's keeping just out of arm's length. - ZM

Mike Stulir
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 05:37 pm
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Mark:

I am a collector and I own pins. Like you, I have donated games to Funspot including a pin. To use your term, why are you making such ignorant statements? You complain about the condition of the pins, and when put on the spot about it, you back off and say your complaints aren't up to date & they have probably been fixed already? Man, you have brass ones.

Let's address your Spooksville complaint for a moment. Do you know that Randy had to do a hack job with flippers from other pins to get Spooksville even close to operating condition? It's not like you can just call up Allied Leisure and order everything needed to fix both of the broken flipper mechs. The fact that the game is working as well as it is suprises me -- especially considering the way people beat the hell out of it when it is played. Randy had to tear the thing apart at least twice (that I know of) during the 2003 tournament because stuff wasn't working right. The amount of time & effort & $$$ that those guys have invested to save that game from the scrapheap is over and above the call of duty, in my opinion.

Monopoly: As I said, I played that "trashed" machine for over 30 minutes last weekend and observed none of the problems you stated.

Funhouse: Didn't play it last weekend, but did during the tournament a few weeks ago. Rudy was fine.

TAF/High Speed: Didn't play them last weekend.

I did spend a lot of time playing Superman with Fred Pastore. I own a Superman pin & I know this game inside and out. I detected no problems.

I played Harlem Globetrotters, Sky Jump, Devil's Dare, Fire, KISS, and Addams Family quite a bit. Again, I did not notice any major problems with any of them. I will echo Robert M's comment that Addams Family is a bit difficult to see, but that appears to be a lighting issue in that part of the room -- not an issue with the pin.

Here is the deal Mark -- What was your motivation for putting that newsgroup posting up here? OK, so someone wasn't happy. Did they bother to talk to anyone at Funspot? I see no evidence in that message that any of their concerns were brought to the management. Why do you feel the need to complain about it further when your information is clearly well out of date? It shows an utter lack of class to whine in a public forum provided to us by the people you are complaining about.

If you have a complaint, concern, or suggestion, I don't know why you don't pick up the phone & have a private conversation with Gary, or Bob, or Randy. Drop them an e-mail if you have to, or go up there and speak with them directly. I have NEVER known them to not listen to what their customers have to say. I have NEVER known them to ignore a known problem with any of their machines. Sounds like you just don't like the pace at which they take care of problems.

Mike Stulir
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 05:53 pm
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Adam:

I do not believe for a second that that joystick was broken for five years. You can say it all you want. I do not believe you.

Why? I have personally witnessed the Funspot staff tear games apart during tournaments to fix problems, and do other things (that they were under no obligation to do) in order to keep the players happy. Remember a few years ago when Dwayne wanted to play Robotron on HIS joysticks? They pulled the control panel off of the machine and replaced the sticks with the ones Dwayne brought.

I will echo what I said to Mark. You are showing a complete lack of class. There is a difference between making a private concern/complaint to the Funspot staff and the crap you are posting in a public forum. But since you think you are so "noble" let's examine what you have said:

Quote: Quartet is fixed now. Quartet's picture is on that wall - I just happen to be standing next to it. The caption may as well read "Adam Wood finally gets someone to repair the poor Quartet machine in the back corner". As far as I'm concerned, that's my REAL record.

Tell me what is noble about that comment.

Quote: There's a reason I only visit Funspot once a year, and it isn't the drive. The tourney seems to be the only time I might be able to get someone to repair a machine!

Tell me what is noble about that comment.

If you don't like it, don't go to Funspot. Good luck finding a well stocked classic arcade to play in.

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 06:19 pm
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Hi Mike:

Based on our collective assessment, here's what I would suggest to Gary.

1st - pins that have decidedly darker playfields need to be moved to the more well-lit area in the back, or some other minimal lighting accommodations need to be considered.

2nd - "Spooksville" is a problem...the game is prone to breakdowns. I can't blame Funspot for not having this on in top-top shape every day of the week.

Personally, I'd pay 4 or 5 tokens to play that one just so Gary can turn over a bigger profit to keep repairs cost-justified. It's not like I'm gonna play that one a hundred times in a row anyway, so a few extra tokens won't break the bank for a gamer.

Robert

John Zabel
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 08:47 pm
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Hi Robert,

I've followed this thread for a while and thought I would put in my two cents. I agree that pins with darker paying fields need to be moved where its lighter to make them playable. When I've play pinball at Funspot I can say that I was disappointed with flippers that didn't work properly making the game less than interesting. I understand that pins are much more maintenance intensive than vids, so for me I would not have a problem having to spend multiple tokens to play a game if that would allow them to be kept up properly. If you buy tokens at $20 a wack that’s only 16 cents a token. These older games cost 25 cents to play 20+ years ago and if anyone hasn't noticed prices have gone up in that time. For me it just goes back to the saying " You get what you pay for", if you expect to pay only 16 cents for a game then don't complain when it's not perfect.

JRZ

mspaeth
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 09:03 pm
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Mike:

I didn't back off, I just qualified my statements., since I know I'd get jumped on for every observation I made if it was no longer true. Also note that my last visit was PRIOR to the tournament, and PRIOR to the bike week closure, so I'd expect that at least SOME maintenance has been done since my last visit. Do I need to go up to FS and play every pin and make a list of what's wrong with all of them to convince you?

Spooksville in its current condition should not be turned on. It's quite irrelevant what was done to 'fix' the flipper, when it's still utterly unplayable. In its current form, funspot is an arcade, not a museum; the games are there for play, not exhibition.

Most of the pins you listed are simple old 1-level rampless games where there's not much to go wrong. If something breaks on them, it's a 5 minute fix, so there's really no excuse for problems with them.

I reposted the post from rgp as it echoes some of the complaints I made every time I've gone to FS. I've tried to deal with Bob enough in the past when he ran a retail shop to know not to bother with him. If FS can't even bother to reply to emails when I want to GIVE them stuff, why would they reply when I write and say which games are having issues?

As for dwayne and the joysticks. FS should have simply been embarassed that they had cheap-a$$ happ microswitch sticks in the game instead of the original controls (which I noted in the previous year were sitting in the ataxx [robotron conversion], long shafts and all).

As for dark/light pins: if 1/2 the GI lighting in some of the pins weren't out, there'd be plenty of self-lighting to play them! I regularly play my pinbot, star trek 25th, TZ in the dark, as they simply look much cooler that way. Pins are designed to be played in bars and other dark places. Unless there's problems with overhead lighting putting a glare on the playfield glass (like the Junkyard I play at MIT), lighting should never be an issue.

As for spooksville: It's not any more prone to failure than any other pin. While some of the basic mechanics may be unique to allied leisure, the coils and other electrical components are pretty much interchangeable with other manufacturers, and it should be no more difficult to keep running than any other EM.

Like any other game operation, people shouldn't HAVE to complain for the games to work right. Just like location games, if people come in and the games don't work right, they won't come back to play them.

Scootie
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 09:07 pm
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Hey Everyone

Let's end this once and for all.

No arcade is perfect and that includes Funspot!

I totally agree with Mike above. I have alway felt that Funspot takes very good card of their games and that includes Pinball. I am by no means an expert pin player - but all the pins that I've played at Funspot always worked fine. Any issues were minor such as a burnt out bulb...No big deal.

Adam & Mark - You guys are right to be pissed if a game swallowed your token - but the few times that has happened to me at FS - either on a video or a pin - I have found the staff at Funspot to be very receptive and cooperative in such a situation.

Unfortunately, both of you come across as being whining crybabies. My experience with whiners usually reveals that they were either born with a silver spoon in their mouths, or they had it "too easy" as kids. And when they do complain - it is ALWAYS about something that most would consider trivial or minor!!

Unlike you guys - I am VERY EASY to please. I do not require a gold - edged red carpet, for me a plain green doormat is fine. I do not require a palace for a house, for me a little log cabin in the woods is just fine. Not suprisingly, I am very un-materialistic - when compared to most people. Again, this all boils down to how easy or difficult we had it as kids. With the exception of Colecovision; every other gaming platform I had then, I either worked for and bought myself - or made a signifigamt(>50%)$$ contribution to it.

Another thing about most whiners/crybabies(this goes for snots/snobs too!) is that they tend to be VERY materialistic and unable to appreciate the simpler aspects of life..

Sorry to lecture on like this..I've always had a "pet peeve" with crybabies/snobs.

Scootie

Anonymous
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:04 pm
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Mspaeth,
First I thought the Bob you talked about was Bob Lawton the owner of Funspot. Your last post now makes me think it was Bob Winterson who has not worked at Funspot in over a year and a half. He works in Massachusetts now.

Rick
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 07:18 am
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OK guys, enough now.

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 10:36 am
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There's nothing more to be said here. Others aren't listening anymore, and I'm not about to repeat myself. I'm not watching this topic anymore. - ZM

mspaeth
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 10:59 am
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Yes, I was referring to bob winterson, negligent destructor of most of the pins in the NH-MA-ME tri-state area. Whether he ever actually 'worked' at funspot is debatable.

As for you scootie, you sound like you need a good smack. Just for your information, the only 'game system' I had growing up was a 2600 that we got in about 85 when friends were moving out of state and were going to trash it. I picked up a NES for $20 from a friend in 1992 just to play tetris, and guess what -- that's the most recent 'gaming platform I own'.

Or let's talk computers? My parents bought a TI 99/4a on closeout at radio shack for $50 in about 1982. I moved up to an Apple //c in 1985 since my mom (as a teacher) needed to learn to use one. I shelled out $1200 for a pimped out used Apple IIgs system in 1990 when I was in HS...

So I guess that makes me a snob, eh? But not a materialistic snob. What has value is TIME, not STUFF. It's a waste of my time and simply not FUN to play poorly maintained games. When I bought my last pin, I spend $100 in parts and a SOLID WEEKEND tearing it down to the bare playfield and building it back up before playing it for the first time. Why? Because it wasn't going to be fun until it played right. Fun doesn't come for free. I've done the same for friends' games (without asking first, the night before the big superbowl party) to ensure the games would be in top form for everyone to enjoy.

In case you hadn't noticed, pinball is almost dead.

Why?
Because people stopped playing them.

Why did they stop playing them?
Because they stopped being fun.

Why did they stop being fun?
Because they weren't maintained.

Why weren't they maintained?
Because ops are lazy, and didn't think they brought in enough money.

And guess what, it's a vicious circle and a self-fulfilling prophesy. Pins require maintenance to bring in money. Vids, juke, pool tables, etc generally don't. When pins were the only game in town, ops had to put in the time to keep them happy to earn a living. Then games like space invaders and pacman came along, where could buy for $2500, and get your money back within 2 months doing nothing more than emptying the coinbox, and it was all profit after that. Ops liked this. More money, less work -- so pinball was neglected.

Now, no games (except probably Golden Tee -- ugh) pay for themselves and turn a profit within months. And why? Because game companies are greedy and release games for the home market too quickly. Why pay $.50 in an arcade when $40 will let you play all you want. Game developers are stuck in a creative rut since game manufacturers get a fixed price for a game, while the ops are the ones that either win big or lose big on new titles. So ops only want sequels and spinoffs and games just like the last game that made the big bucks, so now every game looks the same as every other game, and they all suck.

...and coin-op gaming is dead.

Rant over.

Scootie
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 06:51 pm
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mark

You make some good points in your above thread, especially regarding the death of coin-op games. However I still feel that Funspot keeps their games in better condidion than most places - and this includes the pins. I have never had any MAJOR problem with FS pinball

Again - If I offended - I do apologize.

Scootie

Scootie
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 06:51 pm
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mark

You make some good points in your above thread, especially regarding the death of coin-op games. However I still feel that Funspot keeps their games in better condidion than most places - and this includes the pins. I have never had any MAJOR problem with FS pinball.

Again - If I offended - I do apologize.

Scootie

Scootie
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 07:01 pm
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sorry - didn't mean to post twice

Scootie

Mike Chandronnait
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 05:18 pm
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OMG, Funspot is basically the best condition I've ever seen, I was down in the weirs half moon arcade with my grandmother that gary vincent knows well, and my fiance, and we were in the aracde, and the games down there are trashed. The games are all out of order, burnt out, screens 30 sizes zoomed in to much, controls are busted and faded out, its truly sad, but funspot definately takes care of their equipment, I know so much becasue Im helping keep them going.
~Mike~

mspaeth
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 01:07 pm
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Uh, mike... this thread is about PINBALL, not video games.

*shakes head at the lack of reading comprehension evident in this thread*

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 11:25 pm
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Well, since I didn't get to check ***all*** of the pinball machines on July 10th to see how "filthy" these machines were, I took another trip up on the 17th.

I was about half done and Randy walked by. I introduced myself and asked him if he could spare a minute to review the pins. A bit of a surprise to me was how welcoming he was and wanted to know what I found and ***encouraged*** me to keep going!!!!

He took out his notepad and wrote what I found and also played a few times.

Here's an update to my response to Jsurfs posting.....

I stated earlier that Xenon was okay but now the entire playfield's lights have gone out since July 10 and some voice is gone.

Jokerz and Close Encounters did not eat any of my tokens.. dropped two in each acceptor.. no problems with coins or the games themselves.

F14 flippers were fine by me.

Star Trek Next Gen.... Randy fixed a loose rubber band right there.

Addams Family... Flippers had plenty of power..... can't understand what he's talking about unless it was fixed in the 2-3 weeks after he was there.

High Speed.... Barely playable???? Well, the voice was not working but the lights were fine. Yes, the voice is important in this game, imo, but no mention by Jsurf... how could he leave out something like that????? seems odd to me.....

Fun House.... Yes indeed, Rudy needs work His eyes don't close, nor does his mouth as it is stuck open. Randy mentioned how parts are difficult to find for Rudy.

Whitewater... couldn't check... after about 5 seconds of game play, the game went to test mode and shut down. Randy put a "needs service" sticker on the game and shut it off.

Other findings....

Laser War, the kickout was a bit weak.

Fireball II - Top flipper weak

Kiss- Right coin-in doesn't register

Mr&Mrs Pacman - This seemed to be the most popular of the day. I felt the flippers were weak and the middle bumper was dead.

Flash -flipper stuck

Black Knight - Not mentioned by Jsurf, The upper left flipper seemed a bit weak to me.. I had trouble making the loop-around to lock the ball, so maybe it's just me.

I am not expert in most of these games but they all seemed to be fully funtioning when I played them and were all problem-free ( I did not bother checking insignificant burned bulbs)..

Freddy
Cyclone
Time Machine
Monopoly
Big Guns
Mata Hari
Playboy
Harlem Globetrotters
Superman
Space Shuttle
Grand Lizard
Gorgar

In sum, based on my visits of the last two weeks, I did not find a single game that was "filthy". Most of my findings have been given to Randy and the rest will be e-mailed to Gary later.

As for Jsurf, the gist of his posting was not about knocking Funspot, it was to point out that arcade pinball was nearly dead and he used his experience to support his conclusion.

Frankly, I considered it dead many years ago, or at least on the way out.

Just my opinion of pinball's demise in arcades, I can't give solid evidence as to why, but one reason, for me, I hated when the games started adding all that game info to the backglass during gameplay.
I think we can all agree that the condition of games in private collections
will almost always be better than in a public venue especially when we are talking about games that are 10-20 or more years old.

Apparently we all have different satisfaction levels as to the condition of a game.

Personally, I had GREAT fun the last two weekends.

Carnival_Fred

mspaeth
Monday, July 19, 2004 - 12:26 pm
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Was the ramp diverter on TAF working?

(ie. did you ever here "Well played thing! You're really on the ball!" -- one of my favorite quotes)

Carnival_Fred
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 10:59 pm
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As for Addams Family, I know Thing picked up the ball. The voice was probably 100% but I cannot honestly say that I heard everything I should have in the game.... I assumed that if some voice worked, then all worked.... My main purpose of playing that one was to check the supposedly dead flippers, which they weren't.

Although I may have heard "well played Thing", I cannot say for certain that I did.

Btw, the best thing in pinball is locking the third ball in Fire Power.... love the way game goes crazy.

Funny thing on High Speed, the game would say "Hey Buddy, Pull Over" when not being played yet the voice was not working during a game.

Carnival_Fred

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Need help on Donkey Kong!!

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Scootie
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 11:06 am
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Hey everyone

How do you get past the "spring" board on Level 4 and up?

I played DK at Funspot last week - scoring 77,000 on my first guy, and then proceeded to lose ALL my guys on the 4th level "spring" board - ending up with a mere 86,200.

Once I am able to get past it, (and I know it's possible - because others have) I should have no problem reaching 250K or better.

Scootie

mspaeth
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:38 pm
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There's a pattern to the springs. There's only one place in the sequence where there's time to climb the ladder...

look for the spring that hits under the ladder when it's fully compressed.

artz
Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:44 pm
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Brian "kill screen" Kuh is who you're looking for.

Scootie
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 12:03 pm
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Hey Mark....

If I am standing to the left of the ladder, and I see that spring you mentioned - How many springs do I have to count until I can safely make it up the ladder?

Scootie

artz
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 12:18 pm
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I found this at Twin Galaxies site in the "Coin-Op Video Games" section posted around March 2003. This is the record holder Steve Wiebe (947,200) explaining how to get past the spring board levels.

http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1253&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45

You are correct and other players as well. I don't know of any brain dead scheme to get up the ladder and it wouldn't be any fun if there was. Not saying there isn't one, but I haven't found one. I have gone up successfully by running from the right but I prefer running from the left. There is a way to clear consistently with no reliance on luck, but it does take decision making based on knowledge and experience. To get the best jump, you start up the ladder (running from the left) when you see a spring hit furthest most right (or at least the center of the gold frame of the leftmost elevator). Start running at the instant the spring hits the platform the 2nd time. As you make your way up the ladder you will have to judge whether the spring will hit you based on its position as you begin ascent. This is a split second decision. If you can see that it hit leftmost when first appearing on the screen (and you got a good jump) then you will make it every time. I'm usually focused on the ladder so I don't see exactly where the spring hits, but I can tell in my peripheral vision if it will nail me by how close behind it is. It’s like pulling out into traffic. You know if you have the room and time based on the oncoming car’s speed and position. If I think it has any chance of hitting me, I retreat and try again. Even if I’m partway up the ladder there is still ample time to go back down and to the left starting point. With practice and experience, you will get the feel and will never be killed again on the elevators or your money back . Next time you play, on the level 4 elevator stage use all your men and practice getting up the final ladder using this approach. If you die, make a mental note (or study video tape) of where the spring was in your peripheral vision as you ascended. If you succeed also make a mental note but don't clear the screen and go back down and try again. Repeat until all men have expired for several games. Eventually with enough practice you will create a mental image of where the oncoming spring should be in order for you to easily clear. Soon it will be obvious when you will clear or when you will die. There still may be times when you know it's too close for comfort so you may want to retreat just to make sure. There is no reason to ever die and you can't afford to die on elevators if going for a high score. You have to save lives for when you're screwed on pies or rivets. I’ve never searched for a pattern or an audio clue. What I’ve found is that there are a handful of frequently occurring bonus times when I clear (which suggests a pattern). But I wouldn’t rely on bonus times, patterns or audio clues of when to go. Use the fail-safe approach above and it will work 100% guaranteed. If it doesn't then you've misjudged the oncoming spring. I hope this makes sense and good luck.

Steve

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This One's for Q*Bert Fans

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Robert T Mruczek
Saturday, July 10, 2004 - 02:19 am
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Hello fellow gamers:

Just noticed something about most of the Loony Toons games...they are largely based on the absolute classics.

Thus, it goes without saying that one might be based on "Q*Bert"...and you're right !! Here goes...and it's trickier than the arcade classic.

http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/games/games_display.jsp?id=lt_games_pyramid_collapse

Robert

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What were the rankings for each player & game scores for the 2004 Funspot tournament .

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jjt_defender
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 03:06 pm
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What were the rankings for each player & game scores for the 2004 Funspot tournament. The results for each tournament.

1.What were the games contested in the 7 classic arcade game tournament?

2.What were the scores for each player on the clasic arcade games contested in the tournament?

3.Who were the players that competed in the classic arcade game tournament?

4.What world records were set?

thank you
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

jjt_defender
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 05:13 pm
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1.Did anybody try Defender or Stargate on tournament settings at 2004 Funspot tournament?

2.What were there scores?

3.Has anybody want to admit that they tried playing Defender & Stargate on tournament settings recently?

I would appreciate it if someone would answer these questions.

Thank You & God Bless
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Richard M.
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 05:27 pm
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Neither Defender nor Stargate seemed to be played that much in Funspot 2004. In fact, I don't recall seeing anyone play either game; I'm sure they were played a few times.

I'm waiting for the final tournament results myself.

-- Richard

Anonymous
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 05:28 pm
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Why should anyone answer your questions when you won't answer their questions.

Scootie
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 05:42 pm
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Hey JJT

Tournament games 2004

Color....

Make Trax (aka Crush Roller)
Motorrace USA
Crossbow

Monochrome...

Star Castle
Guided Missle
Clowns

Pinball....

Mata-Hari
Harlem Globetrotters
Close Encounters
Superman

Scootie

PS. In addition there was a "mystery" game each of the 4 days. I know that Time Pilot and Gunfight were among them

ladies' challenge games included Space Invaders Deluxe, Kickman, and one other title that I'm not sure of.

Carnival_Fred
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 10:48 pm
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JJT,

You may be interested to know that someone did show up at the end of the Tournament who was completely unaware of the Tournament. He was a Defender a player and so I took him over the listing of scores that Walter had. He said he could destroy the Defender score. He also said he would like to participate next year as he seemed excited to potentially be in a World Book of Records.

My suggestion to you is make to your plans now for 2005.. The weekend after Memorial Day is the usual date, but it is still up to Funspot of course. Tell your friends, family, religious friends now that you plan on being there. I am sure these people will gladly help out too knowing that you'll be setting World Records on many games... I believe Robert M has offered to help financially. You are welcome to use my camcorder and I'll provide the tapes and even copy the VHS-C to VHS all at my expense.

Carnival Fred

Scootie
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 01:54 am
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Hey Fred

Don't feed JJT's ego any more than you have to. This guy still has to "prove" himself first!

"I am sure these people will gladly help out too knowing that you'll be setting World Records on MANY games"...

I always knew that you had a great sense of humor, Fred. That one almost made me fall off the chair.

Scootie

Mike Chandornnait
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 06:17 pm
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3 of the mystery games I know of offhand were, Foodfight, Lazarian, and Blue Print, not sure of the 4th game.
I wasn't aware that time pilot wasw among them, but I agree that he still must prove himself.
~Mike~

Mark Boolman
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 07:16 pm
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The last one was Ring King

jjt_defender
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 09:59 pm
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Thank You guys!

God Bless
Red Skelton used to say that at the end of his show.
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Richard M.
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:03 pm
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You're Welcome!

We have a big shoe for you tonight.
Ed Sullivan used to say that at the beginning of his show.

-- Richard

Charlie Weatherbee
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:12 pm
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Does anyone know what the middle button on Ring King is for and if you get far why is there a glove under your guy. IS it a bonus life or special move?

jjt_defender
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:29 pm
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I remember that show Richard,good one.

good luck in breaking the Galaga records.
I'm sure you can do it.

your fellow gamemaster JJT

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Question for Richard M.?

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Scootie
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 09:04 pm
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Hey Richard...

I found this while looking for arcades in NY/NJ that had classics..

"Visited Lazer Park last evening after having visited NYC for the day; I checked out Galaga on the reunion machine. Game takes quarters and costs $1.00 to play - which is understandable considering midtown Manhattan rents. Surprisingly, Galaga is set on rapid fire; this I find fun to play but hardly a challenge. While playing Galaga, I managed to pull the "ball" off from the joystick. While I was able to manually screw the ball back on, it felt loose for the remainder of my game. I did not play Ms. Pac-Man, that will have to wait for another rainy day, although if the joystick can be attached more securely and I can be in NYC earlier in the day, I just might see if I can score 10M on their Galaga." :-)

I am assuming you posted that since it was by a Richard M. and Galaga was mentioned.

I was just wondering where in midtown Lazer Park
is? - because I have relatives coming over next weekend, one of which, is very much into classic games.

Thanks

Scootie

Richard M.
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 09:57 pm
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That was me. :-) The Lazer Park entry from Classic Arcade Game Locations.

Lazer Park is on 46th just east of Broadway. The last time I was there was a few months ago (March or April); the fire button on their Galaga needed desperately to be looked at. The high score on Ms. Pac-Man (which is turbo) was something like 980K. They have a good selection of classic games on the upper level, but the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga is downstairs.

(I never could get to NYC early enough in the day for a 10M attempt on Galaga, although since then an arcade in Connecticut put the machine on fast fire and I achieved that score twice.)

-- Richard

Scootie
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 09:59 pm
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Hey Richard

Thanks for the info.

Where in CT is this arcade? And do they have other classics as well?

Scootie

Richard M.
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 10:09 pm
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The arcade in Connecticut is Shooters in Southington. It is quite small, but they do have an original Centipede and a Robotron (and of course the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga), but that's it. They are more into billiards/pool than into video games and pinball.

-- Richard

Richard M.
Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 10:15 pm
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Oh, when when I said "that's it" in my last post, I mean as far as classic games were concerned. They have several of the modern games, including a DDR, and they also have foosball.

-- Richard

TJT
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 04:57 am
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Pool, Robotron and Galaga sounds fine to me...

Donald Hayes
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 10:00 am
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Richard, is the Centipede in decent shape? And do you happen to remember what the high score on it is?

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 11:49 am
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Scootie:

Never looked at this before, but they have their own website at www.lazerpark.com and possibly list their games there. Not sure, though.

Robert

Richard M.
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 08:02 pm
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Donald, the last time I played Centipede at Shooter's I scored 55K which is one of my best scores on that game. The machine seemed to work fine. Unfortunately the high score memory does not work and scores are erased when the machine is turned off. I've therefore never seen any real high scores, although I did see a daily score of over 100K recently.

If you are planning on visiting Connecticut to play Centipede, may I suggest the Treehouse Arcade within Foxwoods casino? There is a Centipede/Millipede/Missile Command on the arcade's upper level; the high score on their Centipede is 969K.

-- Richard

Donald Hayes
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 08:47 pm
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Thanks Richard!

I wonder how many "continues" went into that 969K game at Foxwoods.

Richard M.
Monday, July 12, 2004 - 09:49 pm
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Always a fair question to ask! I believe I saw this player about a year ago. His initials are YIM or something very similar, and I saw him play Centipede about a year ago in a game where he finished at 680K as I recall. Incredibly this person is a kid about 15 years old! (The arcade is not on the casino floor and is therefore open to people of all ages.) Based on what I saw of his play, I doubt that the 969K score had continuations, but one can never be too sure.

I can tell you for a fact that the four highest scores on Galaga (on the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine) had no continuations. ;-)

-- Richard

Richard M.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 04:24 pm
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Donald,

Last night I made a return visit to Shooters and played Centipede. I scored 21K, but more to the point, the trackball was not reliable and I had difficulty moving down to the bottom row. I could move down but it involved a concerted effort to do so. I mentioned this to the arcade manager but I can't regard the machine as being "in decent shape" until the problem has been fixed.

-- Richard

Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:52 pm
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Hey Richard & Donald

GREAT score on Foxwood's Centipede - how long would one play to get a score in that range?

I'd like to check out this Foxwoods arcade. I have seen exits off I-95 for Foxwoods in the Mystic/Stonington area (exit 92 or 93 I believe)

What I want to ask is how far is Foxwood's from I-95. I'd like to stop there next time I drive up to NH if it's not too much of a detour.

Then again there is always the Dave & Busters in Providence.

Thanks
Scootie

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 11:07 pm
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My normal scoring rate in Centipede is around 800K per hour, so 969K would be about 1h10m for me. A decent Centipede player should be able to do at least 650-700K/hour. Using side feed trap or blob, the rate falls to about 500K/hour.

Back when I set the record, someone who claimed to be an expert player at Centipede posted on a newsgroup that he did not believe anyone could score at the rate I did. My best score after 1 hour is just under 900K, but that's rare.

Richard M.
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 12:38 am
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Scootie,

Foxwoods is maybe (rough guesswork here) five miles from exit 92 on Route 2. That is not the way I go to Foxwoods though. Coming from NYC I would take 395 to exit 79 or 79A, as though I were going to Mohegan Sun. I believe that is the route 2A exit. Follow 2A until the road ends at route 2; go right and Foxwoods is about three or four miles away, Instructions aren't as simple but it's more direct.

-- Richard

Scootie
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 05:17 pm
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Hey Richard/Donald

Thanks for the info. Definately will check out, next time I'm passing through the area.

Don - Great scores!! How long can you play Centipede before either passing out from exhaustion, or having your bladder(or bowel) "explode"?

Scootie

Richard M.
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 02:16 am
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In my last post I said "exit 79 or 79A" off of I-395 to go to Foxwoods, because I wasn't sure. Now I am sure; it's exit 79A.

-- Richard

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Anybody else get the Funspot Commemorative Book?

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Phil Younger
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 04:52 pm
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Yesterday I got the Funspot Commenorative Book
from Ken Sweet. It has great photos and content
and nice cds too. I got #3 so after reading it
I archived it and put it away. In 1991 I lived
in Pasadena and there was an arcade called the
Pac-Mann Arcade. It had over 200 games and half
were classics but at last check there were only
7 classics. I don't think Funspot has any
Competiton now.

Phil Y.

artz
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:09 pm
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I have #9. Great job on the program and the cd's.

Carnival_Fred
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 10:44 pm
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Got mine this weekend. A big "Thanks" to Jenn for bringing it by Funspot. Apparently, Ken was m.i.a. !!!!!

I'd also like to say "job well done" to all who contributed on the booklet and to Mike too, of course, with the cds.... and I can only hope that the "Lost Episode" doesn't taint his reputation!

Btw, there are still some left for those interested in one... see the other thread for info

Carnival Fred

Gregory Erway
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 11:55 pm
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I got mine (#2) and love it. Great job Ken!

I assume Ken kept #1 for himself. I would have if I did all the work like he has. Just curious who has #1.

Martin Bedard
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 03:00 am
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I just ordered mine, lucky number 13!

Ken Sweet
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:03 am
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Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the compliments and support. You guys rock!

I didn't keep number 1... Donald Hayes got it. Since he won Player of the Year 2003 it was a good coincidence, but he actually earned it fair and square by emailing me less than one minute after my post!

Regards,
Ken Sweet

PS - If you haven't received a 2004 interview yet, and would like to be interviewed for the new program, please email me at ken@tokenheads.com. I'll email you the interview questionnaire to fill out. I'm also looking for more digital photos of the 2004 contest. Thanks!

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:54 am
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This reminds me of the old TV show "The Prisoner" :-)

"Where am I?"

"In the village"

"Who are you?"

"I am number 2"

"Who is number 1?"

"You are number 6"

"I am NOT a number...I am a FREE MAN!!"

Haven't seen that show in years. They used to show it on the PBS station here in NH every now and then.

TJT
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 04:01 pm
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They're showing it again here in Finland, Mondays at 2-3am, yawn.
Seen those 2 times already.

Patrick McGoohan also played corrupt prison manager at Eastwood film Escape from Alcatraz

TJT

Whose side are you on!
...That would be telling...

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 05:14 pm
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I have the full The Prisoner series on DVD. There was also a graphic novel that served as a sequel - or afterword, as it were - and I have that, and it's rather illuminating. It definitely makes sense of some things that needed to be made sense of. It did little to nothing for those things that didn't need to be, which was great; after all, "questions are a burden to others, answers a prison for oneself". [Not that I believe in that philosophy, mind you.]

Patrick McGoohan also played Longshanks in Braveheart!

BBC America is airing The Prisoner again - it's on 10 PM Fridays, and started just last week. - ZM

Robert T Mruczek
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:14 pm
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Hi ZM:

Didn't know you were a Prisoner fan. I assume that after multiple watchings of "Fallout" that you have an opinion on what the heck happened in that episode, yes ?

By the way, did you know that there is a real life village that was used for the series, and it is a tourist attraction. Haven't been there but it looks just like the place. Somewhere in Europe, I think.

Many fans believed, or suspected, that Number Six was in fact the character from "Secret Agent Man" abruptly retiring, but I don't know if that was ever officially confirmed or denied by Patrick McGoohan.

There was one college that offered an entire course on this TV series, billing this as a study in individuality. Basically you watched the show and commented on what you thought was motivating the lead character. Wish I took that course for fun !!

Always thought that the Otto in the Berzerk game was based on this TV series but was later proved to be incorrect on that assumption.

The opening remarks "Who is Number One ?" followed by "You are Number Six" can be interpreted in two vastly different ways in the context of the opening scene, one of which might explain why he saw himself at the end of "Fallout".

Still don't know how that gorilla came into play in that one, in the number one costume.

My favourite episodes include the one where he was duped into thinking he was a different number, and a double was used to portray number six, and after he shocked himself (literally) to restore his memory, it was very clever how he almost got out of the village were it not for one small fact he got wrong at the end.

Another is I think the Chimes of Big Ben. That's the one where they had him fooled into thinking he had actually escaped.

Definitely one of the best TV series' ever, even when compared next to anthologies like the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits (classic series).

By the way, McGoohan also played the evil warden in the Clint Eastwood movie "Escape from Alcatraz".

Robert

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 11:52 am
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I had a number of theories on "Fallout", to be sure, and Shattered Visage (the aforementioned graphic novel) largely confirmed one of them.

I've heard of the "The REAL Village", but I've certainly never been there.

Patrick McGoohan wanted to quit from "Secret Agent Man" but got himself tangled in a contract bureaucracy. Presumably, "The Prisoner" was conceived from this ordeal.

At least one of the Numbers Two, in saying "You are Number Six" at the beginning of the show, effectively put a comma in after 'are'.

TJT mentioned "Escape from Alcatraz". I'll add another classic he was in - "Scanners".

Although I have the whole series on DVD, I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. In fact, it's still in its shrinkwrap. I should do something about that soon.

I also have the entire Monty Python's Flying Circus series on DVD - that I've watched in its entirety. - ZM

sandinista
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 10:53 am
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Hi to all the prisoner fans here !

The Prisoner was set in the Welsh village of Portmeirion , which is in North Wales , adjacent to England in The UK . I did use to holiday nearby when we were kids , and believe we did once visit the place , but it was many years ago now .

sandinista

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A Classic game pack I would love to see...

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Scootie
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 08:20 pm
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Hey Everyone

Almost every major coin-op company from the 80's came out with various packs for the PS/PS2/X-Box/Gamecube. Companies like Atari, Namco, even Williams..

Why does Nintendo not release their own classic game pack. With the increasing popularity in retro/classic gaming, it's bound to be profitable - especially if it is released for ALL the home consoles & PC.

"My" ideal Nintendo pack would have the following....

Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong 3
Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 3

Hope someone from Nintendo is reading this...

Scootie

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:54 am
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Nintendo has a different business model regarding their classics. They seem heartlessly disinterested in reissuing their early arcade ventures, but the NES versions of them seem to be being hocked in any alternate platform they can find: at least a dozen NES titles are playable as part of Animal Crossing for the Gamecube; e-Reader card sets with NES games are widely available; individual GBA cartridges of ported NES titles hit store shelves in the last month, including some non-Nintendo titles (Pac-Man, Xevious, and Bomberman).

The NES Super Mario Bros. games have all been given the GBA treatment as the Super Mario Advance games; a recent Gamecube promotion saw the release of a Legend of Zelda anthology, allowing all Nintendo-platform LoZ games to be played on the Gamecube save Link to the Past, which was already available for GBA.

Nintendo is cranking out their classics like mad! They're just not being as auspicious - or generous - about it as one might hope.

Personally, I'd love to see a Taito anthology. Talk about overlooked... - ZM

Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 01:48 pm
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hey Adam

Completely forgot about Taito!!! They made some GREAT games like Jungle Hunt/King, and Zookeeper. I would LOVE to see that too.

I have seen those e-reader cards, plus all the GBA classics - but Nintendo COULD do so much better by releasing their classic titles for the PC & the non Nintendo consoles. Thank goodness for MAME.

I am also getting VERY MUCH into Planescape. I have (finally) managed to locate Pharod - and have agreed to help him with his quest.

One problem I still have is that my party still only consists of Morte and myself. I would like to add more NPC's to my party (a mage or cleric would do nicely). I have been offered a chance to "learn" some thief skills at the bargain price of 50 copper and have done so.

I have "died" a few times now - and have noticed that I gain an ability, or increase in AC, every time I am "reborn".

Can you please give me a few more hints??

Scootie

PS. Wanted to apologize for the remarks on the previous "pinball" thread. You and Mark are much more proficient pin players than I am - and you guys are able to see flaws/inconsistencies that a more novice pin player like myself, may be unaware of.

Eric Ahlers
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 03:04 pm
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Scootie :

That Nintendo disc would not be complete without...(drum roll).....POPEYE

I'm surprised you left that one off your list.

I, too, wish that Nintendo would release such a compilation for the PS2/XBOX. I would have no problem forking over $100.00plus for a disc like that.

Zotmeister, the same goes for the Taito disc !!

Eric

Zotmeister
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:07 pm
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Taito's absence from the bandwagon is greatly auspicious and regrettable. Let's see, there's Space Invaders, Qix, Jungle Hunt, Zoo Keeper, Elevator Action, Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Land Sea Air Squad, Operation Wolf, Rastan, Top Speed, Chase H.Q., Final Blow, The New Zealand Story, Cadash, and Crime City, and those are just the more popular titles in their pre-1990 library, omitting sequels, double-screen games, and titles they may still have licensing rights to. They could fill a compilation disc EASY.

Torment: Don't worry too much about not having other party members - the XP isn't being split as much - but if you want the company of others, [assuming you haven't killed any of the following] a fighter/mage githzerai is in the Smoldering Corpse Tavern (not the Dustman bar, but the other one in the south) back in The Hive that you could recruit, you'll get a thief very soon, and a cleric is forthcoming (when you get to the classy part of town - the Clerk's Ward - look for a sexless brothel... you'll understand when you get there). In the future, look out for a modron, a very dangerous fire mage (actually, you may have already met him...), and an even more dangerous administrator of justice (do NOT get on his bad side). That's the full list.

Oh, and apology unnecessary but greatly appreciated. For the record, I can assure you there is no snobbery on my part. - ZM

Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 09:53 pm
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Hey Eric & Adam

Silly me..How could I have forgotten Popeye!

I have always associated Popeye with "King Features Syndicate". That was the studio that created the original 1930's Popeye cartoons, as well as the late 40's/early 50's series, and the 60's series. The late 70's/80's series (CBS Saturday mornings) was by Hanna Barbera.

I forgot that the videogame Popeye was a Nintendo game. The most annoying enemy in Popeye (I think) is the Sea Hag. She is VERY unpredictable - especially on the higher levels where she can throw skulls at you. Her pet vulture (or is it a buzzard?)on the "ship" board, can be very annoying too.

Adam - Great selection for a Taito pack. Oh - and we all forgot another company...Tehkan! They came out with "Bomb Jack", a 1984 gem that is due for a "revival".

Thanks for your Planescape hints. I have already came into contact with that mage you were talking
about and he is TOUGH!!

Right now, I am in the Northwestern corner of the Hive. I definately look forward to getting more "bodies" into my party. if I really get stuck, I'll explain (in detail) what the situation is and perhaps you can give me enough hints to get out but not spoil the plot/story. It is becoming VERY INTERESTING!

Scootie

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 11:58 am
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Dak'kon is my favorite character in the game.

I like to consider myself a master of giving non-spoiling hints, and I seem to have a lot of "satisfied customers". I'll certainly offer my services. - ZM

Scootie
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 05:06 pm
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Hey Adam

Add another satisfied customer to your list.

Scootie

PS. In Baldur's Gate II, Imoen is "pressuring" me to have sex with her. While Imoen is a dear friend and valuable mage - she is also my "sister" - sort of! If I take her up on her offer, wouldn't that be regatded as incest?

Scootie
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 05:10 pm
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Adam & Eric

Two other companies that were not mentioned. (thanks Eric)

Exidy - Mouse Trap, Spectar, Targ, Rip Off - am I forgetting any?

Centuri - Phoenix, Pleades(hope I spelled it correctly), Mr.Do, Mr Do's Castle, Mr Do's Wild ride.

Any other lesser known companies that I forgot about?

Scootie

Zotmeister
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 10:06 am
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Exidy: Yeah, you're missing a few. Let's see - there's Death Race, Circus, Targ, Spectar, Mouse Trap, Venture, Pepper II [currently at the top of my list of games I wish Funspot to have], Fax, Top Secret, and of course all their tracking-gun games - Crossbow, Cheyenne, Combat, Crackshot, Clay Pigeon, the last one that begins with 'C', Hit 'N Miss, Showdown, and Whodunit. That's just eighteen of their more popular original titles. I understand that there are a few here familiar with Hard Hat, which I'm not. (Rip Off is a Cinematronics game.)

Centuri: I don't believe Centuri ever had an original title - they were merely a distributor. Phoenix and Pleiads (don't worry about spelling that one right - the game's marquee gets it wrong) are Tehkan games, and the Mr. Do! series is from Universal.

I believe you mentioned Tehkan earlier. They're a good candidate: beyond what's already mentioned, they have Pinball Action, Star Force, Mighty Bomb Jack, Rygar, Solomon's Key, Gemini Wing, Tecmo Bowl, Ninja Gaiden, Silkworm [one of my favorites!], Wild Fang (a.k.a. Tecmo Knight), Super Pinball Action, and Final Star Force, to name just a few. In case you didn't know, Tehkan and Tecmo are the same company - they just changed their name in 1985.

Universal, sadly, doesn't have much to draw from - some early shooters and the Mr. Do! series, but that's about it. - ZM

mspaeth
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 01:12 pm
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Uh, the mr do series was done by universal, not centuri. While we're at it, how could you forget the best of them all Mr. Do Run Run! I've never played Neo Mr. Do (too expensive), and there was at least proto footage for an Adventure Mr. Do! laserdisc game.

(This, of course, is addition to all of the non-do universal games, like cosmic alien, which I've been waiting for a few months for gary to dig out so I can fix it).

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To Shawn:

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Charlie Weatherbee
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 11:15 am
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Hey,

I was wondering if your going to be able to come up on Friday to verify some games. I would only need you to do 4 games for me. Astro Fighter, LSA, Leprechaun, And possibly Quartet. I do not want you to come up and verify me unless you have already planned to make the trip up there. I hope to see you there.

Mike Chandronnait
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 05:13 pm
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Charlie,

Wouldn't that take a long time to watch all those games? And come on, me and steve both say your not gonna get the Leprechaun record, but the others you stand a good chance at.
~Mike~

Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 09:15 pm
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Hey Mike

How long did your 622,000 leprechaun game last?

Scootie

Charlie Weatherbee
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 09:43 am
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Well Mike,

Astro Fighter would take approx. 7 min
Quartet would take approx. 14-20 min
LSA would take approx. 15 min
Leprechaun I can do I just need to get lucky like you and Steve and just have the pot next to me in Kells.

Well I think Im going to have my dad bring me to get a new Hi8 tape. I believe Im going to Funspot today just incase Shawn cant verify me tomorrow.

Charlie Weatherbee
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 09:43 am
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Well Mike,

Astro Fighter would take approx. 7 min
Quartet would take approx. 14-20 min
LSA would take approx. 15 min
Leprechaun I can do I just need to get lucky like you and Steve and just have the pot next to me in Kells.

Well I think Im going to have my dad bring me to get a new Hi8 tape. I believe Im going to Funspot today just incase Shawn cant verify me tomorrow.

Charlie Weatherbee
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 10:45 am
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Sorry about the double post

Shawn Cram
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 05:20 pm
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hi charlie,I won't be able to make it on friday. I have to work sat.and sun.,but I should be up there on sat.shawn

Mike Chandronnait
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 06:46 pm
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Scootie,

the 622,000 is steves score, I got a 606,000 score, and it took me about 45 mins - 1 hour.

Charlie,

If you watch the tape again you will see I didn't not have the pot in kells and lost 2 men, and I got lucky making a dash for the ppot in the top of the middle of the screen.

Shawn,

Next time I'm up on a weekend, which will be the 23rd and 24th, I'll just need you to watch one game which shouldn't take much more than 15 minutes tops, and It currently has no record so there will be no worry about that.

~Mike~

Scootie
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 01:02 am
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Hey Mike

Cool!! Looks like there is going to be a serious duel going down between You, Mike, and Charlie for the Lep WR.

Scootie

PS. Sorry about the confusion...

Alex Weir
Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 03:48 am
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Amazingly, Kells, over the years, has transformed from a little Irish country town to a rather busy place. And harder to get through....

Who can mention all the Irish references from 'Leprechaun'???

I can't.

Cheers,

AL

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Question for JJT?

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Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:43 pm
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Hey JJT

On a previous thread you mentioned that you had played in some of the Penn Station/Times Square arcades back in the day.

I was just wondering if you played in any of the GREAT arcades in Queens?

The arcades were Super Amusements, Gameland, and Entertainment World. All three were in the Flushing/Whitestone area of Queens.

I also remember a good arcade in Coney Island, and an arcade in the King's Plaza shopping mall. Both were in Brooklyn.

Thanks
Scootie

Weehawk
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 10:53 pm
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In this post:

http://www.funspotnh.com/discus/messages/10/692.html?#POST4644

JJT was quoting Robert Mruzcek as having played there.

I don't think Juan ever mentioned being in NYC himself.

Scootie
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 11:12 pm
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Oops....Sorry about that

Well - Let me then ask Rob/John that same question.

Did either of you guys ever play in any of the above mentioned arcades??

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 12:06 am
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Hi Scootie:

Other than Penn Station and Times Square, the only other NYC arcade that I visited was that one you remembered we both used to go to years back ("Adventurer's Inn")

Robert

Scootie
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 04:59 pm
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Oooohhh Rob!!!

"Adventurer's Inn". My parents took us there back in the summers of 1974/1975. Unfortunately, it closed a year later. NYC used to have quite a few of these small/medium size amusement parks. That was before Great Adventure came to NJ, and before Rockaway Playland moved it's operation to Rye - thus becoming Rye Playland.

Do you remember the "Batman Slide" at AI?

Scootie

PS. Thank for bringing up some very pleasant childhood memories

Eric Ahlers
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 05:36 pm
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The arcade at "Adventurers Inn" was called Gameland and it was very impressive.

For a while, back in 81' they had 10-12 Ms. Pac Man's lined up next to each other right when you walked in the place. The place was huge.

A year later (??), they had the same amount, if not more, Q-berts.

Not to mention 150-200 other vids and pins.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, July 15, 2004 - 06:16 pm
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Hi Scootie/Eric:

AI had a few gamers that I never saw anywhere else, surprisingly...

Lunar Rescue
Tail Gunner
Sea Raider

There were more for sure, but these I remember clearly. They had a LOT of the old mechanical games, such as those where you drove the car around a track, and the car was of the "Matchbox" variety, and the track was an oval. Another was just the front piece of the car and you drove "into" the game. A cylinder turned with the "track", which was basically metal pipe cleaner thickness rails.

The only ride I remember vividly was the one right outside the arcade...a small one where the car circled up a cylinder and then dropped down sharply, a very small roller coaster, in effect. My dad almost got clocked on that one by a low hanging bar...scared the bejesus out of him as I recall. I may only have been 5-6 years old, but I do remember him getting rattled.

Robert

Robert

Scootie
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 01:41 am
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Hey Rob/Eric

Back in the summer of 1981, I walked into Gameland for the first time with $40 ready to go. They had 2 crazy Climbers there at the time and I was already very good at the game,(due to a small arcade called Sophistokids - which was only a block away from my home - having it)making it to the sixth building on an average game, and hi up on the seventh on a really good game.

Gameland's Crazy Climbers gave an extra man at the start (4 instead of 3, and a bonus at 20,000), so I was able to clear the eighth building without a problem, and remember making halfway up the tenth - on two or three games.

Unfortunately, I don't remember my exact scroe from then - but I do know it was clearly in the 425-460,000 range on a good game, and maybe even approaching 500,000 on my best games. All I really cared about then was how much "playtime" i could get on one quarter.

They also had an interesting game by Gameplan called "Kaos" - in which you had to collect coins - falling from the top of the screen - before they hit the bottom of the screen and turned into dragons who could go after you and "kill" you. There were 5 levels of moving platforms in which you moved your man in this game and going "off the screen" on any of these moving platforms(on the first three boards), lost you a life, as did falling thru athe small gap on the lowermost platform.

There were anywhere from 1-3 swords within jumping distance of the topmost platform that you could get that made you "invincible" for 20-30 seconds and able to kill the dragons for double-triple the points of a coin.

Does anybody remember this game?

Scootie

PS. I have never seen "Kaos" in any other arcade besides Gameland.

Mark Boolman
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 02:16 am
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Hey Scootie, Kaos is in mame.

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Hunchback

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Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 02:28 am
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Hi:

Does anyone know what to do in "Hunchback" after you rescue the Esmeralda character in board 15 ? Near as I can tell, the goal is to somehow get Quasi to climb the ropes, but I never live long in that stage.

Thansk.

Robert

Weehawk
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 03:39 am
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The WolfMAME .78 recording here:

http://marp.retrogames.com/inp/2/a/8/kbz_hunchbak_256400_wolf78.zip

by MARP member Mocha demonstrates.

You go across the bridges on the lowest level, destroying them. Then you jump on the rope on either side when it is lowest. When it raises to its highest point, jump onto the next level and cross the bridges on it, repeating the process. When you have eliminated all the bridges you are reunited with Esmeralda. Very similar to the second level of Donkey Kong.

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 04:06 am
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Hi Weehawk:

Thanks !! Much appreciated.

Yesterday I ramped up my high score from 101K to 170K, and I figured I was close to the end. This is good news indeed.

Robert

mspaeth
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 01:06 pm
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Are you playing the original Century version, or one of the bootlegs on scramble or DK hardware?

Robert T Mruczek
Saturday, July 17, 2004 - 04:23 pm
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Hi Mark:

ROMSet is "HUNCHBAK"...I suspect this is the original.

Robert

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Perfect MAME Pac-Man recording!

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Weehawk
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 04:21 am
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Congratulations to Neil Chapman, who has submitted the first perfect Pac-Man game recording to MARP!

For those wishing to watch, the WolfMAME .83 recording is available here:

http://marp.retrogames.com/inp/a/9/c/nc_pacman_3333360_wolf83.zip

artz
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 06:00 am
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He is the man! I wanted to add him to the list of perfect Pac-Man players, but knew he hadn't "quite" scored a perfect game yet. He had told me last year that he came within one dot of a perfect game on the arcade platform several years ago. I have even seen him play thru the 9th key perfectly on Mame before. This is a player who can do both patterns and grouping. Now he can be added to the elite list of players.

D_Harris
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 10:40 am
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Where have you been? :-)

Neil has been in the list of elite players for many years, and he is also a confirmed *master* player on Ms.Pac-man, making him a member of the "Six-pac". I hope he gets around to making it official(on an arcade machine) as far as T.G is concerned.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

jjt_defender
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 10:44 am
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Congradulations Neil Chapman on your perfect Pacman game on Mame.
Are you going to try doing it on classic arcade game?

I see that Rick Carter will be next to get a Perfect Pacman soon.

Congradulations again Neil
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

TJT
Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 04:16 pm
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Congrats Neil

"I hope he gets around to making it official(on an arcade machine) as far as T.G is concerned"

BS...

artz
Monday, July 19, 2004 - 05:53 am
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D. Harris says:

"Where have you been? :-)"

I stand corrected. I only meant that now he has a perfect game under his belt. I've seen his recording at Mame for Ms. Pac-Man (perfect grouping skills), and from what I've heard, he's not too shabby at Jr. Pac-Man either.

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Does anyone know how to contact Steve Harris?

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Jon Pearl
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 03:16 pm
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How can I contact Steve Harris the founder of Electronic Gaming Monthly? Does anyone have an e-mail address?

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 03, 2004 - 04:39 pm
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What happened to him anyway?
Last I remember, he sold out to Ziff-Davis and then literally disappeared.

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Cameron Feltner/Elevator Action

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Weehawk
Saturday, July 24, 2004 - 01:33 am
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Cameron took first place on last week's Golden Era Game of the Week with 126,800.

Congratulations to him.

This week's game will be Crystal Castles. Anybody interested can check it out at:

http://forums.marpirc.net/viewtopic.php?t=11649

John

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To Mark B - Star Wars TGTS

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Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 04:58 pm
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Mark:

Just got word from "Ground Kontrol" arcade in Portland on the west coast...Brandon Erickson has been increasing his skillset rapidly, and I have a new tape coming in the mail with, upon verification, a 5.5M score at TGTS.

Hah, looks like I won't even make the TGTS record entry in the 2nd TG Book of Records, now !! You're in 3rd, still, if this score is legit. Just wanted to let you know there's another Skywalker playing the game.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 06:06 pm
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Rob: So does this mean the Palmer score is back in?

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 07:57 pm
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Hi Mark:

No, that is a separate issue still in the works. This new player, Brandon, is a true SW prodigy. He is reaching farther into the game faster than anyone I've heard of to date. Pretty scary. I can only imagine where he will be in a couple of months !!

Robert

TJT
Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 08:21 pm
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Never seen anybody have so many midi-chlorians, not even master Yoda.

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 09:08 pm
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Hi TJT:

For the weak-of-mind (moi), what's a "midi-chlorian" ?

Robert

Mark Boolman
Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 11:56 pm
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microspopic lifeforms that are the basis of life and the source of the force.

Anonymous
Monday, July 26, 2004 - 12:59 am
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What’s really surprising is that Brandon has only been playing this game with any effort being applied for a few months at most. He recently became an addict to the game and spent a couple of nights a week playing for a few hours at a time.

His ability to recognize/react to patterns is amazing. I watched his second attempt when he got over 5.2M points [with the last .5M occurring with NO SHIELDS left] this past Saturday. He made it roughly 1M points on 1 shield.

He then went back to break his same score later that day, with the 5.5M that has been mentioned. Good job Brandon.

Mark Boolman
Monday, July 26, 2004 - 02:00 am
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"What’s really surprising is that Brandon has only been playing this game with any effort being applied for a few months at most. He recently became an addict to the game and spent a couple of nights a week playing for a few hours at a time."

This is one advantage that Brandon has...the game is fun for him still. I personally tend to lose concentration from boredom, having played so many times that the game isn't as fun as it used to be. Congrats to Brandon. Now I have to play again and try to get something better on tape. The competition is starting to get interesting; now that's where the fun is, but the force is strong in this one.
Robert, how's your game repair/replacement coming along? Instead of a helicopter game, why doesn't someone do an arcade SW game where you can link machines together for multiplayer games...now that would be fun. Have you tried the pc x-wing/tie fighter series?

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 26, 2004 - 02:52 am
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Hi Mark:

I have plans for end of September or later in October to get an entire new machine !! Until then I'll just practice other titles.

The helicopter game is an idea that the company I work for has for one of our clients. They happen to have a division that manufactures copters. That's about all I can say right now that won't break confidentiality, but once designed I would have access to the title.

Robert

Zotmeister
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 11:30 am
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Robert:"For the weak-of-mind (moi), what's a 'midi-chlorian' ?"

Someone hasn't seen The Phantom Menace.

Wait - that may be a good thing. :P

I liked midi-chlorians better when they were called mitochondria. Lucas isn't fooling anyone. - ZM

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Weekend Scores from Funspot!!

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Scootie
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 01:52 am
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Hey Everyone...

Here they are....

Crazy Climber - 256,950 - Beat my tourament score by over 75K. Unfortunately, Shawn was not there at the time to verify it.

Dig-Dug - 706,990

Guided Missle - 2,550 - getting CLOSE!!!

Donkey Kong - 114,300 - FINALLY got over 100G at Funspot. This was acheived yesterday, so no one was able to verify it. I played doubles with Shawn on Saturday and died TWICE on the first level rivet board. This NEVER happens to me anymore. I am USUALLY able to make it to the Third Level Conveyor belt board on my first guy.

I should mention that I was somewhat tired that night - having hiked (10 miles) up & down Mt. Washington that day.

Mario Bros. - 154,000 - made it to the 22nd level AND achieved my first "perfect" on the third "coin" level where the platforms become invisible!

Star Wars - 1,245,093 (upright)

Rally X - 54,350 - First time playing this game and I made it to the 7th level. This game is a carbon copy of Radar Rat Race - a game I played a lot back in the day on my VIC-20.

Red Enemy Cars(Rally X) = Red Enemy Rats(RRR)
Rocks(Rally X) = Cats(RRR)
Your Car(Rally X) = Your(Blue)Rat(RRR)

RRR is Rally X in every way/shape & form; even the patterns are similar. RRR was supposedly a Commodore "original". Did Bally ever sue them over this??

Scootie

PS. Also got 135,000 in Mouse Trap. This is a GREAT score, especially considering that I am a southpaw.

I guess Exidy forgot(when they designed MT) that 10-15% of the population is left handed!!!

TJT
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 09:56 am
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Mouse Trap description at Klov:

Collect all the pieces of cheese to clear the maze. There is a teleporter in the middle of the maze that allows you to escape a tight situation, but you will be teleported to a random corner where things could be either better or worse. Eating a doggy bone will allow you to use the dog button, which, in turn, allows you to eat cats. However, both the dog and the mouse are vulnerable to the hawk that flies over periodically. Alter the maze in order to avoid and block off cats. Pressing a certain color button will move the respective doors on the screen.
Occasionally, prizes including big blocks of cheese, paper clips, safety pins, skeleton keys, candlesticks, apples, etc. will appear in the maze and they can be eaten for bonus points. Going into the "IN" doorway in the middle of the maze makes the hawk become stupid.

...Ok...hehe

mspaeth
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 11:21 am
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I really need to start playing mario again... I haven't played mine in years, but I used to be able to drop 400-500k when I was a kid.

Good score on rally-x.

Ever try new rally-x?

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 11:26 am
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Rally-X is one of the true nutcrackers - it's a tough game, able to break the shell of many a player and expose his weakness. Very few have managed to break 100k. 50k is an excellent score. I forget what my record is - I'd have to check NamcoMuseum after work to find out - but it's definitely not 100k, and it's probably not 80k, either (although I think it's close to that).

New Rally-X doesn't try to kill you off quite so quickly. Rally-X Arrangement is a lot of fun as well if you can find it. - ZM

Zotmeister
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 11:29 am
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Oh yeah, and Mousetrap is a great game if you can learn how to play it. I admit that the arcade cabinet is a pain to play on, though - those buttons aren't all that friendly even if you're right-handed. I recommend Pepper II as well if you like that Exidy maze game. - ZM

Derek
Thursday, July 29, 2004 - 01:44 pm
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Pepper II is a great game, more fun than Mouse Trap to me though maybe because it relatively new to me . The Key to Mouse Trap is to know when to leave the screen and to keep collecting the objects till the point the cats get crazy. 300-400k Mousetrap scores are fairy easy after a little practice. The 61M record seems a bit out there but who knows.

Mark, if you can get 500K on Mario, I would have thought that was the past the point where the difficulty increases and you could play to Perry scores of 3.4M and beyond. I am still stuck around 300k and need to find the time to practice to break through. One of these years.....

Scootie is that CC score on 5 men? I though the settings at FS were set wrong, did they fix that?

Derek

Scootie
Friday, July 30, 2004 - 02:48 am
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Hey Derek

Yes - During the first day of the tournament the settings were changed to TGTS (3 men - free at 20,000). CC was still on TGTS a few days ago when I got that score(256,950) and hope it stays that way.

Most, if not all of Funspot's classic games are on TGTS.

Scootie

gastrainga
Friday, July 30, 2004 - 11:00 am
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Derek, on Mario there is a definite wall that you hit around 300K, but even once you get past that you don't immediately start getting into the millions. Its one thing to be able to clear phases like 30-36 (which seems like maximum difficulty to me) with no deaths 40% of the time (which lets you get scores of say 500K-600K), and another to be able to do it the 90+% of the time that it takes to get 3.4 million.

- George

Gregory Erway
Friday, July 30, 2004 - 01:04 pm
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I agree, Pepper II is much more fun than Mousetrap. I do love almost all the Exidy games though. They have a great feel to them. I think I am starting to like Hardhat even more then Pepper II now.

Derek
Monday, August 02, 2004 - 06:32 pm
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Scootie, Great score on CC. I know most of the games are set in TGTS at FS but some like Mr Do start with 4 men (It was as of 2 Sunday's ago). The last time I played CC at FS the settings were set on 4 men but that was before the tournament I guess. As for the game play on CC, I find the bottom of the 3rd and 4th buildings are harder than the rest of the buildings, am I the only one to feel that...?

George, you think phase 36 is the max difficulty then it seems to repeat 30-36? I think my 306k score I got to around phase 31 or 32. What is your high in the game...?

Greg, Yeah I really like Hard Hat and wish I had time to play on MAME for last months contest. I hate playing the game with the arrow keys though and would love to get a board set to play in my Pepper II. Better yet, I would love to find a full machine someday...

Scootie
Monday, August 02, 2004 - 07:26 pm
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Hey Derek

Actually - I find the bottom of the second building to be tougher than the bottom of the third building.

Fourth building is tough all around!

Next time you're at Funspot - I'd like to play you Mario Bros. I am very interested in seeing the increase in difficulty beyond phase 36..

Scootie

gastrainga
Monday, August 02, 2004 - 11:22 pm
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Derek, I'm fairly sure that phases 30-36 is max difficulty on Mario Bros. These are the levels you quickly get 2 red fireballs. My highs (in MAME, I haven't played a real machine in 20 years amd don't remember by arcade high or the settings), are 587K (Phase 67) on Difficulty Easy, 3 Men, 1 Extra. On TGTS (Difficulty Medium, 3 Men, 1 Extra), my high is 448K (Phase 51). Both of these were from the last 2 weeks. Using save states in MAME I've played to much higher phases (300+ although the are all called "phase 98"). I've also gotten to 1.3 million on the Japanese ROMs the one time I played them (you keep getting extras every 30K until about 830K). I've got recordings on MARP for most of the Mario clones.

-George

Mike Chandronnait
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 06:11 pm
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This past weekend at funspot (unofficially) I scored a 913,530 on Arkanoid, a 56,000 on Spectar, and a 2,810 on guided missle.
~Mike~

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Burgertime!

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Charlie Weatherbee
Friday, July 30, 2004 - 08:40 pm
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Hey everyone I just wanted to update that Funspot got a Burgertime board in today and installed it and it is now working.

mspaeth
Monday, August 02, 2004 - 08:44 pm
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And to think I've had 2 of them sitting on the shelf all this time

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Your thoughts regarding ROMS and emulation

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Adrian M
Tuesday, August 03, 2004 - 04:43 pm
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Most of you diehard classic gamers now have the luxury of practicing at home via emulation. It's a no-brainer to see world records being set regularly for the oldest games, simply due to the fact that players in the 1980's didn't have the luxury of firing up their PC and playing a near-exact replica of their game via emulation.

So then...some of you have the actual machines in your homes, but others do not. Those of you who don't, what are your thoughts on the ROM/emulation scene? Has it helped or hindered things as far as classic gaming tournaments are concerned?

Scootie
Tuesday, August 03, 2004 - 09:28 pm
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Hey Adrian...

I'm all for emulation. I have on one PC.....

MAME - 1000+Games - the Ultimate arcade emulator!!
SNES9x - Super Nintendo Emulator
Nesticle - NES Emulator
Virtual Coleco - Colecovision emulator
Z-26 - Atari 2600n emulator
Genecyst - Genesis Emulator
Intellivision Lives - Inellivision emulator
VICE - Commodore 64/Vic-20/16/+4/PET emulator
V-Boy - Gameboy/GBA emulator

Now if I were to have all the above platforms - each hooked up to it's own TV/Monitor - it would take the space of a large room.

Also - most of the emulators above (with the exception of the Coleco emulator), have PC joystick/gamepad support.

As far as the retrogaming scene - I feel that emulation has given it a big boost - especially with the easy availability of emulators like MAME.

Scootie

Zotmeister
Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 11:14 am
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I believe video games are works of art. Original game cabinets are to emulated versions as paintings are to photographs of paintings: no collector's value and not precisely textured, but still able to be fully appreciated and studied.

As far as tournaments are concerned, I'd say it's a benefit - indirectly. A proper classics tournament should be held on proper original equipment, but the commonality of the emulations of games leads to a greater base of players. Like Walter says, those that set records on such games today are beating some 20 years or so worth of players to do it, but that's not as impressive as it sounds when the Age of Information is taken into account - players can now much more realistically claim they have a world record when compared to just those that had access to the cabinets. Being able to play these games without needing the now-often-rare original cabinets means far more competitors and therefore a stronger competition and a more noteworthy list of records. - ZM

Phil Younger
Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 04:28 pm
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I think emulation is great. I played coin-ops
in the early 80's but after 1989 classic arcades
were almost all gone. They had the newer big
screen driving, kung-fu type games. I didn't
play much arcade games till the middle of 2000
when I found out about mame. Someone on e-bay
had a disk for sale that played old classic
games. I thought it was a joke but paid 10.oo
for a disk that had 200 games on it. It worked!
After this I found out about Marp, Snipercade,
Funspot forum. Games likd Berzerk, Loderunner,
Pac-man, Q'bert played just like the orignals.
Some like Star wars, Defender were difficult
because of controlers and too many buttons.
So this is very good for me as usless you
live near Funspot or a few other classic arcades
you would be out of luck.

Phil Y.

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A Very Interesting Thread !!

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Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 01:01 am
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Hello fellow gamers:

Though I cannot post a direct thread link on this site due to internal server error results, I ask that you take the time to check out the arcade/coin-op forum of the TG site.

A certain post was made that will raise a few eyebrows, and settle a certain matter once and for all, with professionalism and honour.

Robert

Anonymous
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 03:48 am
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http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2894

This anonymous poster never doubted your personal integrity.

I'm glad everything went so well with David.

Hope he can find a machine in Oregon to get back in practice with.

Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 11:30 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Anonymous:

Thanks for keeping the faith in me. Sometimes it seems as if TG is intentionally keeping things under wraps for ulterior motives, but the real reason is to keep the resolution process out of the public forums in order to afford privacy to the gamer and the issues in question.

As for David, I've forwarded his personal contact info to Dwayne Richard. Hopefully Dwayne can not only hook him up with an SW machine, but fix his Battlezone maybe maybe even come across a Star Rider.

Robert

mspaeth
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 12:22 pm
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Since when does Dwayne fix games?

Battlezone is a bit of a bitch, but missile commands have really been annoying me lately... been working through a stack of 25 deads...

Either battlezone or omega race or asteroids will be my next projects.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Go to www.groundkontrol.com

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Anonymous
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 10:47 am
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this just came out

Richard M.
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 09:50 pm
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So Brandon Erickson is at best in 2nd place with David Palmer's 31M score from 1986 now officially recognized. But it is a terrific effort! I suspect that Brandon could become a serious challenge to the David Palmer's world record at the rate he is going.

-- Richard

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 11:07 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Richard:

Brandon and I spoke just yesterday...he's already pushing 6M (I think be passed his own score again) and he's improving at a frightening pace. He definitely is on path to 10M before year-end, and maybe even more !!

Robert

Scootie
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 01:35 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Rob/Mark

All you Star Wars people seem a little "intimidated" by Brandon's progress!!

Way to go Brandon!!! Keep it up!!

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 02:28 pm
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Hi Scootie:

"Intimidated" isn't the word I would use...for me it's more like "pleasantly surprised", because as chief referee for TG, this shows promise for even greater achievements to come, all of which I should be able to authenticate.

Robert

Scootie
Saturday, August 07, 2004 - 10:04 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Rob

Didn't mean anything by that. I just figured that, as a former WR holder of SW, and knowing that SW is one of your favorite games, that you would be a little "intimidated" by Brandon's rapid progress. I know I would be.

Scootie

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 06:21 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Scootie:

Actually I never really gave it much thought years back, but each of my friends have a different learning curve at the title.

My one high school friend who introduced me to it picked it up the fastest. He was at 3-4M when I was barely able to clear stage 8. Marathon settings, mind you.

It wasn't until another friend showed me a NYC hole-in-the-wall arcade that had one with 8 shields (1 short of max, though I didn't know it back then) and THREE (3) shields back per wave. Talk about a great way to practice !!

On that very day, after some practice of course, about 3 hours into that setting, we returned the next day and that was where I got my groove with the game, and hit 20M. Yep, 20M. But keep in mind...3 shields back per wave meant a LOT compared to what I was used to. After that I was able to get 5, then 10, and then sky's the limit on marathon settings, not these "training" settings.

So, I'm not really intimidated so much as amazed at how quickly he is picking up the title on such hard settings. I really don't have a barometer for how fast I picked up the game because I learned via "training settings". Brandon is picking things up cold which is extremely impressive in comparison.

Robert

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Message to Azrikal RE "Space Harrier"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert T Mruczek
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 09:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Azrikal:

Sorry for taking so long, but here are the official TG settings for the title...

Difficulty = Normal
Starting lives = 3
Add Score = 5000000
Trial time = OFF
Alow continue = NO

Robert

Mike Chandronnait
Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 10:24 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awesome, and I believe you also mentioned something about a tape that you had received on the title? Out of curiosity, what was the score if it is indeed true, and was it on the stand up, or sit down version. Thanx robert.
~Mike~

Robert TMruczek
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 11:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mike:

The score was taken from the results of a prior Funspot competition as achieved by (I think) Jason Williams. Thus it was at the Funspot machine.

RObert

Mike Chandronnait
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 07:01 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, thanx, do you know what the score happened to be? A while ago I thought you said a number around 30,000,000 but im not sure. Thanx Robert.
~Mike~

Robert T Mruczek
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 08:03 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, approx 33M

Robert

Mike Chandronnait
Friday, August 06, 2004 - 09:50 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Robert.
Thanx now i know what to shoot for, and maybe shawn can varify a run tomorrow night because steve can witness. Thanx.
p.s. I sent you a new INP.
~Mike~

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Scootie's WR Quest!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie
Saturday, August 07, 2004 - 10:35 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone

As some of you know - there are a few titles that I am actively going for a world record. They are....

1. Crazy Climber - This is a game that I got hooked on back in 1981 at the "Sophistokids" arcade - a block from my home back then in Flushing, Queens(NYC). After playing it a few months I was able to make it to the eighth building on an average game and the ninth or tenth on a good game. I remember Gameland having 2 Crazy Climbers at the time and they gave you 4 guys to start - not 3 like Sophistokids - so I was able to make it to the eleventh building on a good game. Unfortunately I did not take Scores seriously at the time. I played the game because it was fun, and provided great entertainment for a mere quarter!

I must have scored over 500,000 back in the day and possibly over 600,000 at Gameland. My current official high is 179,xxx from this year's tournament. Unofficially - I scored 256,950 a few week ago at FS(making it to the middle of the 6th building) - but neither Shawn nor David were there to verify it.

2. Dig Dug - another game I loved back in the day. Unlike Crazy Climber - I am MUCH BETTER at Dig Dug now than I ever was back in the 80's. I played it often enough but could never make it past the 10th or 11th board.

My current high is 679,450 - achieved at this year's tournament. I have since beaten that - last time at Funspot by getting 708,920 - making it to round 62.

3. Guided Missle - A tournament game from this year - I got hooked on it instantly. Scored a decent 1920 at the tournament - but have broken that since - 2450 at Funspot and 2650 on MAME.

4. Leprechaun - Scored a decent 420,000+ at the tournament. Have broken that by scoring 503,000 a few weeks ago - finally breaking the .5 million mark. Should not be too much longer for this one.

Other titles that I have recently added to my quest are Donkey Kong, Mario Bros, and Berzerk.

I have thought about adding Super Mario Bros - since that was a game I could make it to the end on one quarter - but the score was "limitless" due to the "turtle trick" on worlds 3-2 and 6-1. That was the same trick that gave you lots of extra men.

WHat is the "official" WR on SMB? and What are TGTS for SMB?

Scootie

Mike Chandronnait
Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 11:06 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sounds like a good quest scootie, and I personally wish you luck on all title, especially leprechaun. The screen needs to be tweeked, because its to small and the score is off, so its not in condition to be racked for points. My personal quest is as follows.
Lsa, Leprechaun (again), arkanoid, space harrier, spectar. That will keep my busy for a bit. I got 60,000 on spectar last night. Scootie, if your going for your records at funspot i'd love to watch the scores rack up.
~Mike~

Robert T Mruczek
Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 06:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Scootie:

There currently is no WR or even settings for VS Super Mario Brothers on the Playchoice 10.

The turtle trick you refer to is why TG no longer even tracks point-based scores on this title...it's too easy. As for fastest completion from the start, the number of coins you enter are not relevant, it's the precise time from start to end that count, thus the entire performance needs to be videotaped.

As for Leprechaun, shoot for the 700K range...my best is in the low-700K range thus far. When I hit closer to 1M I'll make it official.

Robert

Scootie
Monday, August 09, 2004 - 12:55 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Rob

I'm not suprised to hear that about SMB. Back in 86 - I was able to go all the way to the end (World 8-8) on two guys!!(had to use 1 life on 3-2 to get the bonus lives/score).

I remember seeing(a few years later) a SMB machine in Gameland that had the "turtle trick" removed from it. The only "extra" guys you could get were the 1-up mushrooms or getting 100 coins.

Do you know anything about this "alternate" SMB? And if so, what is the WR for it?

Thanks
Scootie

Mike Chandronnait
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 08:28 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert, Is that 700k run for Leprechaun still your mame score or did you get that in the arcade?
~Mike~

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Is ZooKeeper ever coming back to Funspot??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 04:00 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone

{sobs and cries}
I really miss this one. ZK has not been seen at Funspot - since before the tournament. Any chance that it will "reappear" soon?

Scootie

Charlie Weatherbee
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 07:07 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie,

To tell you the truth ZK is still at Funspot but its hidden in the Cast Lounge so is another game that was sposed to appear at the tournament and such. Were just awaiting a new board for it from what I was told. It may take awhile to locate a new board. If anyone has one to donate you could try talking to Gary and Im sure hed be apreciative.

Anonymous
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 06:45 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why bother?

I've been offering to fix a few funspot boards for a long time, and never get any replies from Gary. Guess FS will never have a working cosmic alien, robot bowl, etc...

Gary
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 09:48 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mark,
The Cosmic Alien is buried and I have no time to dig it out. Also, as I mentioned before, someone has been hacking with the wiring in the cabinet so there's no use at this time to fix a board and then have it blow up due to mismatched wires. When you delivered the Robot Bowl, you mentioned that you kept the board and when it was repaired, you would get it to me.

Gary

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What Are The Most Prestigious Classic Arcade Games To Have A Record On?

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Anonymous
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 12:16 pm
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What classic arcade games are considered the most prestigious to have a record on?

Scootie
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 02:42 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Anonymous

I would say

1. Pac-Man
2. Ms. Pac-Man
3. Asteroids
4. Donkey Kong
5. Dig-Dug
6. Centipede
7. Missle Command
8. Space Invaders
9. Defender
10. Galaxians
11. Galaga
12. Robotron 2084
13. Berzerk
14. Moon Patrol
15. Crazy Climber

These games are what I (and probably most people) consider to be the most "prestigious" games to have a WR on.

Scootie

Anonymous
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:11 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie,
What about stuff like Tempest, or Mario Bros., or Tron, or Spy Hunter?

mspaeth
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:28 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pickin'
Funky Fish
Radical Radial...

I don't think Pacman is all that prestigious, since several top players have tied for a perfect game...

Space invaders just involves a trick to get a high score. Playing it without the trick is much more challenging.

sandinista
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:29 pm
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I think opinion would vary quite a bit , though some games are obvious classics . For what it`s worth , here`s a top ten from me .

01 Space Invaders
02 Galaxian
03 Asteroids
04 Donkey Kong
05 Pac Man
06 Defender
07 Mario Bros
08 Moon Cresta
09 Tempest
10 centipede

Sandinista

John Zabel
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:29 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it depends on the meaning of prestigious. For gamers I think records on hard or complex games would be more prestigious. But for the general public I think a record on well known machine like PAC-MAN or Asteroids would be more prestigious.

JRZ

Scootie
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:38 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Anonymous

I had thought about Mario Bros. and Tron. If I would expand that list from 15 to 20 - Mario Bros, Tron, and Tempest would be on it.

other 2 would be

Joust
Jungle Hunt/King

Scootie

Scootie
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 03:41 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Mark

I remember Jason showing me the SI trick a few months ago. It involves getting the bottom row of invaders "just above" you so they don't fire. This trick takes a while to "perfect". You certainly will NOT perfect it on one quarter.

Do you know if this trick works for Space Invaders Deluxe too?

Scootie

mspaeth
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 06:24 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've never actually seen a demo of the trick, so I can't really comment, but I know how it's supposed to work...

The strange thing is that when I was a kid, I always thought you died when the invaders got to the planet -- maybe I should reprogram the game, so that's the case, and eliminate this 'cheat'.

Eric Ahlers
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 07:42 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scootie :

I agree with your list of 15...except i would substitute your last 3 choices (Berzerk,Moon Patrol,Crazy Climber).....with...Q-bert, Joust, and Star Wars.

John Z., You said it very well...i believe a little bit of both (views) would be fair.

Eric

Bixente
Thursday, August 12, 2004 - 08:07 pm
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I would go with a different line-up. In my opinion, the most coveted titles are as follows:

01 Q bert
02 Dr. Mario
03 Pit Fighter
04 Bad Dudes
05 NBA Jam
06 World Heros
07 Ikari Warriors
08 Paper Boy
09 Virtua Fighter 2
10 Sega Hologram Game

Scootie
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 05:46 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Bixente

NBA Jam, Virtua Fighter, and Hologram are too "new" to be considered classics yet.

Scootie

John Zabel
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 08:04 pm
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Is there an accepted definition of what a classic arcade game is? To me it's any game that's pre-1985 that was reasonably popular. What do the rest of you think?

TJT
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 03:10 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty much agree with John.
pre -85 +some good games from 85-89, Outrun + about all Atari games from that era...Gauntlet, gauntlet2, , 720, Xybots, Klax(which I think last classic game), maybe stun runner and roadblasters.

90's games as worthwile I'll only mention Raiden and Cameltry.

So this is official TJT definition for classic games: pre -85 +outrun +atari 85-89

Nice one would be: games that are listed at TG first book.

Richard M.
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 05:32 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given the passage of enough time, Dance Dance Revolution, with all its mutations, will be regarded as "classic" some day. I prefer a definition based on the age of the game (how long ago was the game released?)

So my definition would be that anything released 15 or more years ago is a classic.

-- Richard

Scootie
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 11:13 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Richard/TJT

I would say that any good pre-1990 game would be a "classic"

TJT - you forgot Buster Bros. That was released around the same time as Klax.

Scootie

TJT
Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 01:00 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No, I didn't ;)

sandinista
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 05:00 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mspaeth Wrote :
I've never actually seen a demo of the trick, so I can't really comment, but I know how it's supposed to work...

Not even when you scored your 9,360 J

sandinista

mspaeth
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 11:54 am
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I actually rolled 10k, but didn't have a witness.

When I play, I just hide behind the bunkers and shave columns off one at a time as they come.

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First Arcade Experience

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Gary
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 09:00 am
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What was the name of the first arcade you ever visited. I was thinking about this last night and I believe the Penny Arcade arcade on Weirs Beach in the Half Moon building was the first one I visited. This was back when the current Half Moon arcade was a candlepin bowling alley. This was probably the summer of 1969.

Gary

artz
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 09:30 am
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I think the first one I can remember when arcade gaming became popular was in Oklahoma City in Crossroads Mall either in 1978 or 79. They had a Hercules pinball and a Space Invaders. They had quit a few other games, but I can't remember them. Our family used to spend summers in OK city back in the last 70's because of my dad's work. There was a convenient store across the street from where we were living that had a Galaxian. I'm sure I had been in arcades before then, but this is my first vivid memory.

Bixente
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 11:30 am
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The first Arcade I ever visited was a 'Tilt' in a mall in virginia. I started playing G-lock. I never won at that arcade because the game cost 75 cents. HOWEVER, I did eventually win at a chucky cheese where the game only cost a quarter, allowing me to continue a few times.

Eric Ahlers
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 01:32 pm
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My first arcade experience would probably be Gameland in Queens, NY. My first video game experience would probably be back in 79' at an Optimo cigar shoppe that was across the street from my apartment building in Queens. They had a brand new, just released Asteroids machine. We would line up to play after school, using our milk/lunch money to play. At times there were crowds 5-6 people deep waiting to play. It was a great time. After about a year the Asteroids machine was replaced by another great classic....Defender, and boy were we intimidated by that control panel. I'll never forget that place, nor will i forget my first game of Asteroids and Defender.

Both Asteroids and Defender were brand new when they arrived, and i still remember to this day that "new arcade cabinet smell that they had"

Eric

mikeenphoppers
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 04:10 pm
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my first arcade experience was at revere beach.revere massachusetts back in 1968.the park was the first amusement park in the usa.they had penny arcades,pinball,roller coasters,boat rides.you name it.they had it. i went every day until they tore it down in 1969.i lived i mile away from the park.my favorite game was the coney island pinball game. great !i was in heaven for a five year old kid ! awesome in deed.i think the boat on the first floor of funspot is from revere beach. it looks like the one i used to ride on.mikeenphoppers.

Scootie
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 05:26 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Gary

You BEAT me to it!!!

I was thinking of posting that very same question?

ERIC - HOW COULD YOU FORGET WOODBRIDGE MALL - WE PLAYED GAMES THERE BEFORE MOVING TO SKYLINE!

My first arcade experience was at the Woolworth's in Woodbridge mall in Woodbridge, NJ. The first game I remember plunking a quarter into was Lunar Rescue.

I also remember playing Space Invaders, Lunar Lander, Tank II, Clowns, and Breakout there.

My second experience was the one Eric wrote about above. Shortly after moving to Flushing, Queens we discovered the Optimo Cigar Shoppe. I remember lines going out the door at one point in order to play Asteroids.

I also remember first playing Defender there, and being very "intimidated" by the "complex" controls.

Soon thereafter a new arcade opened up about a block away. They had about a dozen games and this is where I first got hooked on Crazy Climber. The arcade was called "Sophistokids" and they made some REALLY GOOD PIZZA TOO!!

And there was Barone's Pizza - a few blocks away on Main street. They never had more than 4 or 5 games in the back room - but they were always good titles. It was at Barone's where I got my first intoduction to Popeye, Tutankham, Arabian, Elevator Action, Firetrap, Frogger, Jungle Hunt, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mr Do's Castle.

And of course there were the "Big 3"; Gameland, Super Amusements, and Entertainment World.

Unlike Eric - I never really cared too much for Entertainment world. EW was the kind of arcade that had multiple machines of the most popular titles - but little "variety". At one point I remember seeing 4 Defenders, 6 Ms Pac-Mans, 3 Super Pacs, Several Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe - but not too much else.

I always went to Gameland - since they had the best "variety" of games..

Thanks Gary, for bringing up some very pleasant childhood memories..

Scootie

PS. Gary - What games are you into/proficient at?

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Star Wars Second Place

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dunga
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 03:36 pm
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When will Brandon Erickson's second place score on Star Wars be posted on Twin Galaxies? Was the tape rejected?

Anonymous
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 04:14 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wouldn't it make more sense to email someone at Twin Galaxies with this question?

Brandon Erickson
Friday, August 13, 2004 - 04:57 pm
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I don't know if Rob received the tape yet. But I'm sure that he will post the score once he has it and has had due time to view the tape. But it would be best to direct a question like that directly to Rob if anybody; he doesn't frequent this forum anymore, so it doesn't do any good to direct any questions to him here. I haven't spoken to him recently so I'm not sure what the status is myself.

Brandon

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10 wishes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gary
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 07:17 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let's say a Genie pops up in front of you and says, "You may have 10 of the most desirable coin operated games ever made, pick them now." Which 10 would you consider to be the most desirable to own?

Gary

Richard M.
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 07:35 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty much the same list that I already answered in the Antarctica thread.

-- Richard

Scootie
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 10:23 pm
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Hey Gary

Here's mine...

1. Gauntlet Legends
2. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
3. Crazy Climber
4. Dig-Dug
5. Crazy Climber 2
6. Donkey Kong
7. Ms Pac-Man/Galaga - Class of 81
8. Mario Bros.
9. Buster Bros.
10. Robotron 2084 - for when Eric visits!!

Scootie

Scootie
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 10:24 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary

Don't you have to rub the lamp first??

Scootie

Gary
Saturday, August 14, 2004 - 11:48 pm
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I should have been more specific. These do not have to be your personal favorites although they can be. I was looking for 10 games that would make you the envy of all collectors.

Gary

TJT
Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 01:19 am
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Marble Man(marble madness 2)
720
Firefox
Star Wars
Paperboy
Outrun
Stargate
Tron
Dragon's Lair
Mame cabinet with spinner enough buttons and dual joysticks.

Would have to rely on my trackball at trackball games.

Are you really a genie, Gary?
...Or hopefully Santa...Polar Circle, korvatunturi, Funspot...sounds right

 

Richard M.
Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 02:55 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary,

Okay, but would I rather own ten games that would make me the envy of all collectors that I personally coulnd't care less about? Or would I rather own ten of my personal favorites that arcade collectors couldn't care less about? :-) I personally would prefer the latter choice.

Given that Galaga made my Antarctica list, and Ms. Pac-Man just missed that list, the "Class of 1981" would be a fine machine for my Genie-in-the-Lamp list, and similarly the Centipede/Millipede/Missile Command machine would be desirable as it would be a great way of practicing on Centipede and Millipede.

Most of my other choices would be quite predicable to anyone who knows my personal tastes in arcade games: Tempest, Crystal Castles, STUN Runner, Gauntlet, Star Wars, Gyruss. I could finish with Robotron and something else, or I could finsh with a couple of favorite pinball machines; I think I'll go with the pins: Addams Family and Twilight Zone.

-- Richard

Gregory Erway
Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 09:02 am
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Marble Madness 2 (trackball)
Marble Madness 2 (joystick)
Battlezone (Bradley Trainer)
Turbo Sub (cockpit)
Turbo Sub (upright)
Bouncer
Missile Command (cockpit)
Death Race
Robotron (red duramold)
Dragon's Lair (serial #1 Don Bluths sold on eBay about 1 year ago)

Mike Chandronnait
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 08:23 pm
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1.)Arkanoid tournament edition
2.)Zookeeper
3.)Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 7th Mix
4.)Freddy Pinball
5.)White Water Pinball
6.)Dr. Mario
7.)UMK3
8.)Robotron 2084
9.)Leprechaun
10.)Skee-ball (Becuase in the process of fixing them I rolled a perfect game on the fullsize and the minis.)

Gary, To end our wondering what are the top 10 games you would have?

Derek
Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 01:37 pm
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I've separated this in two categories, my top 10 games I love and top 10 games I don't have and want. If a Genie popped up obviously I would not pick games I already had...

My Favorite Top 10 (This week):

1) Missile Command Cockpit
2) Mario Bros
3) Tempest
4) Rescue
5) Space Dungeon
6) Robotron
7) Environmental Discs of Tron
8) Q*Bert
9) Mappy
10) Lady Bug

Top 10 Game I do not have and want:

1) Discs of Tron Environmental
2) Reactor
3) Quantum
4) Juno First
5) Missile Command prototype with Flashing light overhead display
6) Major Havoc
7) Hard Hat
8) Black Widow (Taito America prototype)
9) Cosmic Chasm
10) Star Wars Cockpit

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Best "Post-Classic" games 1986-1995

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootie
Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 06:39 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Everyone

Here they are....

1. Buster Bros.
2. Klax
3. Super Sprint
4. Altered Beast
5. Rampage
6. Magic Sword
7. 88 Games (an updated Track & Field)
8. Super Buster Bros.
9. Tetris
10. Super Space Invaders
11. Galaga 88
12. Double Dragon - I'll take this title over Street Fighter anytime!

So there you have it. Many great games came out in the late 80's/early 90's; games that don't get the recognition that they deserve - simply because they have not hit the magic "age of 20" yet.

I have always felt that what really killed off the "traditional" video arcade was not the so called "crash of 84"; but the 1992 release of a game called "Street Fighter 2". It was this game - more than anything else - that I feel, contributed to the "death" of the arcade, and the subsequent lack of originality in the world of coin operated games.

Scootie

Richard M.
Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 11:23 pm
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Of the games you listed above, my favorites were Galaga 88, Tetris, and Klax. Another game that I would put up there would be STUN Runner, which I think came out in 1989.

I don't really care for the term "post-classic" in terms of the name of this list, as the definition of "classic", "post-classic" and "modern" depends on what the current year is; these certainly are among the best games from the late 80's and early 90's though.

-- Richard M.

TJT
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 02:51 am
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Rampage?...OMG!
88 games, ok. I dominate this genre at marp
88 games would be great, only one but: one round has 2 times 400m...What were game designers thinking, not good for your fingers.

Yeah, Stunrun is great.
Camel Try, puzzledepon, raiden...in 90's
Gauntlet 2 -86 ...Can this be called post classic?
And other Atari's...Well they were not bad before 86 either!
Star Wars arcade, Decathlete...good remakes, originals are better. Only Racing games are better in 90's/00's, but too many to choose from.
PC games: Dooms etc very good for grouponline stuff, but wouldn't it be time to try come up with something new for a while, there must be 100 similar games already.

Street fighter series...crap!
Dancedancerevolution...fairy stuff, you'd have to pay me, to show my dance moves at arcade.
A nice game to watch her dance though ;)
Gauntlet legends...Now you see, some games just are better 2D...

Richard M.
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 03:54 am
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DDR and Gauntlet Legends are post 1995 I think.

I'm pretty sure Gauntlet 2 was in the 1986-95 range (obviously closer to the early end of that range); it was a good game but IMO added too much new stuff when I hadn't (and still haven't) mastered the original yet.

As for Gauntlet Legends, I just don't like arcade games that lack a real scoring system; gaining "levels" just doesn't cut it. It's too bad; the graphics on that game are great!

-- Richard

Eric Ahlers
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 05:52 pm
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Scootie :

Paperboy and Toobin' would most definitely make this list, IMO.

They also happen to be 2 of my favorite "post classic" games.

Eric

Dunga
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 07:57 pm
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You know what--all you guys who hate Street Fighter II only hate it because A) you were bad at it and B) you couldn't take losing to other people, so you had to indulge in games where you only competed with the program, like Galaga 88

BBH
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 08:33 pm
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heh, nice one, Dunga.

To expound upon that a bit more - I do not think it's right to blame Street Fighter II (minor nitpick, it was released in 1991, not 1992) for the "arcade crash". If anything, SF2 actually REVITALIZED arcades for a while, from both the operator and players' standpoints. The operators had a surefire hit on their hands, with machines that were often kept in full operation from opening to closing. How many arcade games did you see at that time where there would constantly be a line to play? There were none. Yes, the market would ultimately become glutted with more and more fighting games, but to blame the arcade crash on this alone is silly. I personally think it has more to do with home systems catching up with arcade hardware, technology-wise. Why go to an arcade when you can play the exact same games at home?

Even if you have some hatred for Street Fighter II, you have to at least respect the fact that it brought on a whole new level of head-to-head competition. The sheer depth of the game, number of available moves, and different character matchups made for a game that would take many, many hours to "master"... and there was always someone better out there, to push you harder and motivate you to improve any more. Putting your skills on the line head-to-head is a totally different experience than playing for a high score. Fighting game tournaments are still held to this day, the big yearly "EVO" tournaments in California draw hundreds of people from around the nation, and even some Japanese players.

In fact, I actually miss the days when SF2 first hit the arcades and competition was constant. These days, getting regular competition on a fighting game at an arcade is much rarer.

Scootie
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 01:03 pm
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Hey BBH & Dunga

What about Mortal Kombat. MK hit the arcades about the same time as SF 2 and was a better game due to the gore and the fatalities - something that SF 2 lacks.

Scootie

Scootie
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 01:15 pm
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Hey BBH

You wrote:I personally think it has more to do with home systems catching up with arcade hardware, technology-wise. Why go to an arcade when you can play the exact same games at home?

You do have a point there that I missed on my above thread. Home consoles have caught up to their arcade counterparts.

Also - a point we both missed is that coin-op games are more expensive to play - and it is next to impossible to "marathon" any modern game.

Would you rather spend $1.50 for 5 minutes of Crazy Taxi in the arcade - or play it on your X-Box/PS 2 - on your large screen TV - while sitting in a comfortable recliner.

I think the choice is pretty obvious.

When you take all the above into consideration it looks like VR & classic game revival are really the only directions left for arcades to go in.

Scootie

mspaeth
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 02:54 pm
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It all come down to greed, and a problem with the arcade business model. A mfg makes a game, and sells it to an op for say $3500. Whether it's a good game or a bad game, the mfg gets $3500. Good/bad just determines the # of units sold (within limits). The R&D has to get pro-rated across the number of games on a platform, so mfgs use the same basic platform for many different similarly themed games.

The difference between good and bad games affects the operator more. They spend $3500 regardless, but can make huge money on top performing games, so they only want to buy games that are 'proven' like last year's top performing games.

Both of these market forces lead to 'new' games that are the same as old games -- so mfgs can recycle hardware systems, and ops get 'proven' moneymakers.

Now add on top of that the fact that arcade hardware has become rather anemic, as compared to PC hadware / console hardware, and it's even cheaper to develop arcade games based on console hardware (naomi, etc), then release the software for the home consoles, where the mfg gets $50 a copy and gets to keep the money from successful games.

Now instead of the ops getting all the money, console games are released soon after arcade releases, so players will plunk down $50 to play at home instead of $50 in quarters in the arcade, and the op isn't making money and is more hesitant to buy game... fewer game sales, less R&D... less R&D, more of the same crappy games.

Case closed.

Eric Ahlers
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 05:47 pm
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BBH :

Very well said. I, too, miss the early SF2 days when "competition was constant". It was a real thrill back in the day.

I still play a game of SF2 every now and then on the Ultracade machine they have at the Jillians by me, always hoping for some good competition.

There are always people challenging, but the competition is weak to say the least.

BBH
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 07:27 pm
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Okay... first of all, Mortal Kombat was NOT a better game than SF2 just because it had Fatalities. Yes the Fatalities were a new thing that drew a lot of attention to the game, but they were just something extra that had no bearing on gameplay whatsoever. It's true that the game probably would not have been as famous as it became if it didn't have all the blood and gore, but those were just extra things. When compared to SF2 Champion Edition (which was the newest version at the time, Mortal Kombat came out around August of 1992 I think), MK was ultimately much more shallow. Fewer characters, fewer available moves, and a lot less depth overall. In fact, the normal moves that each character had were all remarkably similar... everyone had similar punches, kicks, uppercuts, sweeps, etc. with only minimal differences. Each character in SF2 had vastly different moves for each button (except Ken and Ryu, of course) which made it take a longer time to learn the ins and outs of each character.

I won't deny that I did enjoy MK and played it a LOT in the arcades though. Mainly because... well, I enjoyed all the versus competition on it.

$1.50 for a game of Crazy Taxi? I've never seen it that expensive anywhere... maybe at a Gameworks, but Gameworks is crap and overcharges for everything anyways. It's possible to play for MUCH longer than 5 minutes in Crazy Taxi too, games of over an hour aren't uncommon when you master the Crazy Dash technique...

You're right in that marathoning in newer arcade games is pretty much dead, but I've never been a big fan of marathons anyway. Marathons aren't a true test of skill, it's a test of how willing someone is to keep playing the game in the face of boredom. Ironically enough, amassing a winning streak against other players on fighting games is the closest thing to marathoning.... and I always enjoyed that much more. A few years back, I had a 74-win streak on Marvel vs. Capcom 2... I think I played for nearly 3 and a half hours. And it was more thrilling than it was marathoning something like Robotron 2084 (one of the only "classic" games that I seem to be "decent" at). Instead of just fighting against a CPU AI that never changes, you're proving your skill against unpredictable human opponents that are capable of anything.

Scootie
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 04:28 pm
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BBH

True - but AI has improved greatly since the 80's. Just compare the AI of Robotron to that of SF-2.

Scootie

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Star Wars TGTS - New Personal Best

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Brandon Erickson
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 11:10 am
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Hello Everyone,
I played a game on Saturday that lasted around 2hrs 15min, and ended with a score of 11,690,371 points. I don't remember which wave I ended on. I want to say it was 68 or 69. I didn't take my first hit until wave 27 when I was over 5M. I ended up taking 2 (maybe 3) hits on the Tie stages, which was inexcusable, and the rest were in the trench, but there were some distractions; for example, a very very foul smelling homeless guy who was standing over my shoulder muttering things; it sounding like he was counting towers or something as I was shooting them. At any rate, I took a hit during the few minutes he was watching, probably because of the stench. I also slacked a little after 10M. I had two shields left after 10M, but I didn't concentrate as hard after hitting that mark because that was my goal for the weekend and I didn't anticipate going much further than that, plus I wasn't being taped.
So there it is. My next goal is to break 15M.

Brandon

ET_Agrats
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 12:06 pm
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Nice work! How often do you practice?

It sounds like the stench stage was the toughest. You may have to resort to a clothes pin to get through that stage.

sandinista
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 01:35 pm
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Et Arats Wrote : SOunds like the stench stage was the toughest :

LOL !

Great scoring there Brandon !

sandinista

sandinista
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 01:36 pm
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Apoloigies to Et Agrats... not * Arats * ..

Sandinista

Brandon Erickson
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 03:55 pm
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ET Agrats,
I try to practice a little each day if I can. I work a lot of hours at my day job (50hrs/wk), so that's not always easy, plus I work in the evenings sometimes. But I try to get an average of at least an hour a day. With my most recent personal best at over 2hrs, it's not going to be a possibility to play as many games out during a weeknight, and I'll have to save playing out full games for the weekends. What I will probably start doing on the weeknights is seeing how far I can go on 1 or 2 shields.

Brandon

Eric Ahlers
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 05:21 pm
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Congrats Brandon, amazing progress !! now if you can just learn to deal/play with the stench in the trench..:-)...
Eric

Brandon Erickson
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 06:00 pm
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Eric,
If I were to achieve a record under those circumstances then I think the score would deserve some kind of footnote or asterix in the recordbook to explain that the score was attained under significant duress.

Brandon

Walter Day
Monday, August 16, 2004 - 11:10 pm
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Very impressive. Keep on going. You have to break Palmer's 31 million because that has been reinstated.

Walter Day

Brandon Erickson
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 07:13 pm
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Walter,
Thank you. And I will keep on going until I beat that score.

Brandon

TJT
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 02:34 am
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Brandon, I have couple questions about SW for you

What's your email address? ...Or email me at thetjt-removethis-@kolumbus.fi

Thanks,
Tommi

Brandon Erickson
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 10:35 am
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TJT,

I just sent you an e-mail.

Brandon

Brandon Erickson
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 02:52 pm
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Hey TJT,
Your e-mail doesn't work.
You can e-mail me at graveyardduck@yahoo.com.

Brandon

Anonymous
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 10:28 pm
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Did you take out the -removethis- part of the e-mail? Many people do that to avoid getting spammed from a message board.

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New Pictures Up

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Mike Chandronnait
Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 11:44 pm
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Yup, just thought I'd tell everyone that yesterday Dave Nelsons picutre was put up on the wall for player of 2004.
~Mike~

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Star Wars TGTS - New Personal Best On Videotape

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Brandon Erickson
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 10:57 am
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Hello,
I videotaped on Sunday, and I achieved a new personal best on Star Wars TGTS of 13,691,031pts. The game ended on Wave 77. I actually died while shooting the porthole. I was a little incredulous, because the game actually registered the shot to the porthole by making that characteristic sound effect indicating that the porthole has been successfully hit. But I guess I got hit exactly simultaneous with that. So in a sense I martyred myself on the last trench run in that I destroyed the Death Star and died in the process.
Since the game was caught on videotape I won't try to remember any more details about it; I'll save that task for Rob once he reviews the tape.

Brandon

Scootie
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 04:02 pm
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Hey Brandon

Did you still get credit (as far as score) for destroying the Death Star?

Scootie

TJT
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 04:30 pm
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WOW! Congrats for TG 2nd position.
Wave 77 makes 11 waves per shield, huh...Star Wars is NOT easy game...Towers and tiefighters are not so hard, but trench...

Brandon Erickson
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 06:40 pm
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Scootie,
As far as points go, I did not get credit for destroying the Death Star. According to the game's programming, you cannot accrue any more points once you are "dead" (i.e., game over). To reap the points awarded for destroying the Death Star, the player must not only deliver a torpedo to the porthole but also survive the ensuing explosion.

Brandon

jjt_defender
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 10:09 pm
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Congradulations Brandon on your Star Wars arcade TGST score.
Getting closer to 15/20/25 & finally David Palmers 31-million Star Wars World TGST record.

Good luck Brandon on your quest in breaking Star Wars TGST WR.

God Bless
your fellow gammer JJT

Dunga
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 02:53 pm
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This discussion must end now!!!! It is better suited for the twin galaxies forum.

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Star Wars TGTS records

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Dunga
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 06:39 pm
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I have heard that a Sui Ming Louie had a TGTS star wars score of something like 61,000,000. is that a real score, or is that a marathon score?

Gary
Monday, August 30, 2004 - 10:30 pm
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Since this is a Twin Galaxies scoring question, it belongs on their forum.

Dunga
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 02:51 pm
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You know, I was just asking about the score. I don't care whether or not it is posted on twin galaxies. It was just a general inquiry to see what people knew about the score.

Jeez. Everytime I ask about a score somebody jumps down my throat about twin galaxies. We are still allowed to discuss video games on funspot, right?

Anonymous
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 08:16 pm
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It's sad that scores can't be talked about anymore. Since Twin Galaxies appears to be the repository for official high scores, how can scores be talked about without referencing Twin Galaxies?

Gary
Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - 10:18 pm
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I really don't have a problem with people talking about scores but, it never seems to stay on that subject. Somehow it always turns into name calling and accusations being launched at players and TG. I don't like other's dirty laundry aired out on my forum.

"He cheated, you cheated, he's a liar, the score's a fake, he can't be trusted, someone's out to get me and on and on and on and on..." I've grown tired of reading and editing them. Past experience has shown that these questions are usually loaded and intended to provoke people into lashing out at TG and each other. If this question is legit and doesn't provoke the above, I have no problem with it.

Richard M.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004 - 12:53 am
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The only mention that I know of about Sui Ming Louie is from a thread on the Funspot forum; the thread is entitled "Who will break David Palmers Star Wars tgst WR of 31,660,614pts."

In that thread, Juan Torres (jjt_defender) mentions that Sui Ming Louie scored 64,071,484 points. Whether he did this on tournament settings or on marathon settings cannot be known based on the scant information from that thread. If it were done on tournament (6-shield) settings, it would certainly be an incredible accomplishment.

I agree with Gary on this point about not airing dirty laundry on this forum. The thread that I mentioned on this post is all I know about the subject.

-- Richard

jjt_defender
Wednesday, September 01, 2004 - 10:31 pm
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The threads below are what led up to Sui Ming Louie being the possible Star Wars player that might have scored 60 million plus pts on TGST tournament settings. Look in the 3rd paragraph in Robert's thread he mention's it there.
God Bless You
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Robert T Mruczek
Monday, July 05, 2004 - 04:53 pm
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Hello everyone:

Never said I got 24M+ on TGTS. ALl I've ever stated was that within the higher levels of my marathon game, a point came where I lasted on a single shield for 40-45 minutes, which equates to 4.0-4.5M points.

I theorized that with 7 shields (6 plus zero status), that a 31M score was conceivably possible...I just never saw David play before, so wouldn't know his skillset one way or another.

Mark B is the better player as far as precision goes of the two of us. However, after speaking with David himself, a player may exist who is better than everyone mentioned here. A possibility exists of a player getting 50-60M. David did not know who. Mark Alpiger thinks he might know who, but this is a name I've never even heard of before. Still, being a well known player has never been a pre-requisite to be good at a title.

David is attempting to gather some information for Twin Galaxies on his achievement. He also has the capability of a new world record on "Battlezone" as well as destorying his "Red Baron" record, so our hope is that he can come out to Funspot which has all three titles. Right now nothing is committed, as he runs his own business, so we'll see where things go from here.

Robert

Mark Boolman
Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 01:36 am
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That name would be: Sui Ming Louie. MDA is here with me now, and he has been led to believe(personally, I don't) that that marathon score from 86 was actually on TGTS and not marathon settings. His score is actually listed under marathon on page 148 in Walter's book. When DP's score was dropped, why weren't the previous record holder(s) scores printed vs the ones that were? Also, anonymous suggests that DP's score was pulled way back in the late 80's. Is this true? If not, when?

Richard M.
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 03:30 am
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Personally, I'm inclined to be very skeptical of the claim of a 60M-point Star Wars TGTS score. But then again, with enough practice and dedication, (practically) anything is possible.

I see that Mark Boolman is similarly skeptical of this claim based on his 7/06 post, but I'm curious why Mark Alpiger seems to believe the score was actually accomplished on TGTS settings.

-- Richard

Bixente
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 11:28 am
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It is my understanding that the 60 million + Sui Ming Louie score (also referred to as the "SML" score) is generally accepted as an actual tournament setting score. HOWEVER, the score was not done in any sort of official setting or under any official supervision. It was simply a recreational game by Louie where some reliable sources (and I forget who they are) were present and attest to SML getting over 60 million.

It is important to note that neither Sui Ming Louie nor the others who were present during the game feel that this score should be counted amongst the official records. Louie stated that "Doing so would undermine the legitimacy of the record gathering process." since he himself admits that the game was purely recreational, meaning that the proper steps were not taken for the score to be recorded.

Most believe that the fact that Louie has not pushed for the game to be counted as a record lends further legitimacy to the score. Most people who lie about their score don't then turn around and say "But don't count my score because it wasn't done under official supervision"

Anonymous
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 01:38 pm
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Who cares.

Brandon Erickson
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 08:22 pm
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Bixente,
So with regards to the SML score, where and how did you first hear about this? And do you have any information on where and when this score was set? The way I see it, the only way to get any further on this issue is to seek out Sui Ming Louie and ask. Anything short of that is just rumor and hearsay at best.

Brandon

Gary
Friday, September 03, 2004 - 12:40 am
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Dunga doesn't appear to know much about the score yet Bixente does. What is really strange about this is Dunga and Bixente have the same IP address.

I'll take a guess and say my original assumption about this thread is true. I'm sure there will be some explanation thrown up that Dunga and Bixente share a computer but one didn't know the other was asking the question.

Anonymous
Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 12:44 pm
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Is that the same IP address that Roy Shildt uses?

Gary
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 07:02 pm
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No, it's not the same.

Anonymous
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 10:36 pm
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So that means that there are 2 different people with issues!

MDARULZ
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 01:39 pm
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OK, the time has come for the FACTS on the Sui Ming Louie (SML) score. Other than the listing in Walter's book (1st edition, page 148), there was nothing else known about this score... until now ! I have just recently made contact with Mr. Louie, and, unlike the demented fantasy written by the sorry soccer dual-personality poster above (Bixente / Dunga), I have presented the accurate story on my web-site, along with some educated conclusions (see the link below).

Mr. Louie made his score during the 1987 Video Game Masters Tournament. Because of Steve Harris' poor record-keeping, until now, the complete results of the tourney have gone unpublished, other than 'in-house', for Bally's. Well, no more - check here for the page listing both the SML story, plus all the tourney results (which include some previously unknown world records, including one on Karate Champ).

So, the Star Wars crown (TGTS !) still belongs to David Palmer (31,660,614 points), with second place going to Brandon Erickson (15,420,724 points). Note that this just barely beat the second highest score previously ever recorded at TGTS, which was the 15,250,793 effort made by Dave at the 1986 VGMT. Very nice, and very impressive. Well, that's it for now... - Mark Alpiger / MDA

TJT
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 07:37 pm
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What else proof is there about Karate Champ record than a webpage with scores and jumping Bart Simpson?

Mark you said you got scores from arcade manager. Did he keep the scores with referee signatures in hes wallet all this time...
What other scores you got? Do you have a pic of that paper? Is it only hearsay?
Not that I wouldn't believe somebody did over 250k score. I did also in 80's.

TJT
kchampvs 247k
kchamp 999k

P.S. If you are going to discuss this at TG forums...just let you know that I've not been able to access there over 1 week time now.

MDARULZ
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 10:44 pm
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Hi Tommi; sorry for not writing you directly in a while - I owe you a private e-mail (mostly for thanks !). Now, on to your post, above. I thot I was clear on the page at my site - the list of scores I printed were the tabulated results from all Bally's Aladdin's Castle locations (probably over 1000 in total at that time). The results were mailed out to each location, so that if any participant asked what the results were, the attendant could let them know. I was friends with my local manager (and no, I didn't play at that location in the contest, as I stated in my write-up !), so I got a Xerox of the results, and have kept it all of these years.

As far as Jack Gale's web site, only he can speak to the content, or any proof of his score. I tried to write him numerous times, but my mail gets bounced back. Does anyone have any reliable contact information on him ?

In spite of a few scoring errors, and machines on the wrong settings, I consider the overall results to be quite reliable. Plus, why would a gamer devote a web site to a score almost 20 years after he made it if it weren't true ? I consider the possibility of a purposely false score very unlikely...

The only other scores I have are from magazines, and will be posted in the coming months. I wanted to get the more official scores posted before resorting to the lesser accuracy of most magazines (tho results from Top Score and EGM are direct from Steve Harris and the APA, and should be quite reliable).

I *can* scan in the original paperwork, and I actually planned to do this (eventually) for all of these type of posts, so that you, the gamer, can check the original paperwork for yourself. But, trust me - I got this from a Bally's Aladdin's Castle, and it *is* the correct and official result sheet. As far as how the results got onto the sheet, scores were written down into a book at each location, and then submitted to either Steve Harris, or Bally's (even I don't remember which, but, it may be somewhere in all of my paperwork). Note that I do have a very special treat coming soon - I'll be posting the complete 'blue books' (as they were nicknamed, because of the covers) from both the '86, and '87, tourneys, and you'll get to see what was inside of them. Namely, all of the official machine settings, cheats the attendants had to watch for, and sample submission sheets, with scores. Hang on to your shorts, as it'll be worth the wait !!

Yes, I was going to post on the TG forum too, but the whole site has been down all day (Thursday). I hope I've answered your questions, Tommi... - Mark Alpiger / MDA

Richard M.
Friday, September 24, 2004 - 05:43 pm
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Mark (MDA),

THank you for your post and to the site link. This provides some clarification to the "SML" issue. I now strongly doubt that the score was achieved on tournament settings.

-- Richard

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For real, everyone...

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Devin McDonald
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 03:35 pm
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Does anybody know where I can get a copy of Mr. Awesome's book? I saw a fascinating piece on him on a DVD called "Disinformation"... Roy Shildt... Anyone know how I can contact him...?

Anonymous
Thursday, September 02, 2004 - 07:49 pm
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Try going to www.royawesome.com

Scootie
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 12:27 am
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Hey Devin

Why bother???

Scootie

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Classic Game Over songs!

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Gobias
Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 03:41 pm
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I found this on the net.
They have a article on old game over songs.
VERY KEWL!!!
And very good game magazine!

See for your self, its free.

Http://www.probe-mag.com

Keith K Smith
Monday, September 06, 2004 - 10:14 pm
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Can't load it from MSN TV.

Hmm...game-over songs. Depends on how well you finish on many of them.

I liked the end music on:

Mappy
Assault
Buster Bros. (SNES BGM ending with the "paintings")
Super Pac-Man
Road Kings (pinball)

Jog my memory. I'm bound to think of more.

Keith K Smith '87 ©™
Ultimate Pac-Champion™
"Mr. Namco"
Lansing, MI
In the Good Old US of A!

PacChampion@webtv.net

TJT
Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 08:52 am
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Marble Madness finishing music...

Scootie
Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 03:46 pm
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Hey Everyone

Favorite game endings are......

Mappy
Mario Bros.
Buster Bros.
Buster Bros. 3
Dig Dug
Ghosts-N-Goblins (especially if you place between 2-10 on the high scores)
Track & Field
Street Fighter II Alpha
Star Wars (only if you place a high score)
Gauntlet

Scootie

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"Video Game Revolution" TV special on PBS this week!

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Keith K Smith
Monday, September 06, 2004 - 10:03 pm
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Watch for this two-hour special programme. (And if you're smart you'll have your VCR, or DVD-R if you're rich, at the ready to save it.)

Here in Michigan it was scheduled on [23] WKAR East Lansing (I live in Lansing proper) and [28] WFUM Flint for 9-11PM this Wednesday. (WKAR now lists it as being 10PM-Midnight this Wednesday.) [35] WGVU Grand Rapids and repeater [52] WGVK Kalamazoo plan to air it 11PM-1AM this Friday night.

Check your local listings to see which PBS station will air it in your area. No doubt it will have more information on classic video games than VH1's "I Love the 80s (Strikes Back)" even cared to put in its smorgasbord of a cheap retrospective. (No wonder people went to Sturgis instead!)

Keith K Smith '87 ©™
The Ultimate Pac-Champion™
"Mr. Namco"
Lansing, MI

PacChampion@webtv.net

John Zabel
Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 08:33 pm
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Here's a link to the show info

http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/

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Weekend Scores From Funspot

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Brian Kuh
Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 09:08 pm
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For the past 37 weekends a bunch of us have been getting together at Funspot and getting some tournament-level scores on a lot of the classic (pre-1986) games set to Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings. For example, here are some scores that we got from this past weekend:

Pleiades 141,410
Wizard of Wor (doubles) 109,700

Also, here are some of the other scores that we have gotten from the past 37 weekends, all scores from Funspot:

Wonderboy 533,240
Timber 278,120
Bosconian 246,490
Super Cobra 132,970
Gorf 100,000
Turbo 12,000

We also had some excellent friendly competition on Super Sprint with all 3 wheels being played at once.

Is there anyone else out there who can get scores like those? We'd all be really interested in meeting you at Funspot and recording your scores at Funspot. We'd also be really interested in getting the scores even higher, exchanging ideas and learning more about the games from other players. We won't be there this week because of New York events, but all other weeks we're definitely in the arcade on Saturdays all day and all night, we’re in the arcade on Sundays up until 2:15 at least and sometimes we’re in the arcade on Friday night.

Mike Chandronnait
Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 10:00 pm
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Hey Brian, I saw everybody up there and I was mad I was working because it looked like a lot of fun. Who won the track and field tournament anyways? I'd love to play with you guys sometime, especially when robert is up in november. I still need to find a way to convice Gary to get a DDR machine, It would more than pay for itself in a few weeks, but its his decision.
~Mike~

John Zabel
Tuesday, September 07, 2004 - 11:24 pm
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Hi Brian,

So what's the best you guys have done on Rally-X this year? I know that records have not been broken, but I was just curious.

JRZ

Scootie
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 12:43 am
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Hey JRZ/Everyone

Scored 47,300 on Rally X a few weeks ago

also won the "Bronze" medal in the Track & Field competition this past weekend.

Some other achievements this weekend.....

Track & Field - 81,060 & numerous records (check other post)

Donkey Kong - 129,400 - unfortunately, I was playing a two player game wih Eric.

Dig-Dug - 719,920 - my best score yet. Made it to round 66. Thanks to Donald Hayes for h pointers for boards 31,35, and 39. Pizza's on me next time!

Black Knight - 265,300 - my 2nd favorite pin.

Pin-Bot - 1,364,850 - my FAVORITE pin of all time!!

It was great seeing & playing with so many great players from the tournament. This was my favorite (non-tournament) weekend at Funspot to date.

Scootie

PS. Try Rickey's hot sauce on Rice-a-Roni.....GOES GREAT!!!!!

Donald Hayes
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 03:18 pm
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On Rally-X, Brian Kuh had a high game of 130K+ and I think 2 or 3 other games over 100K. I think he did those before the tournament.

Brian Kuh
Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 07:44 pm
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Hi John,

My highest score on Rally-X was 134,850 points and the game was played on April 17.

Brian

John Zabel
Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 09:18 pm
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Brian,

Did you get to the blue or the purple screen?

JRZ

gstrain
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 05:03 pm
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I noticed that MARP has a Rally X score of 195K, which is great. Does anybody know if that score is legit and if it was on TGTS?

George

John Zabel
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 10:43 pm
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Where was this score of 195K recorded? The current TG record is 167,870.

JRZ

Brian Kuh
Monday, September 13, 2004 - 09:48 am
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Hi John,

My game finished at Round 14 which was the second of the fourth type of maze which is blue/purple in color; we began calling that maze the "Blue Maze." After 25 years of playing Rally-X, I finally got to see what that maze looks like. We would all really like to hear from anyone who has played Rally-X up to the fourth type of maze, which would be Round 13. Also, is there anyone reading this who was at the 1982 Rally-X National Championship which was conducted at Funspot?

Brian

gstrain
Monday, September 13, 2004 - 11:47 pm
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John, MARP is essentially a repository of high scores recorded using MAME, which is an arcade emulator for your PC. So this score wasn't from an actual arcade machine, but from an emulator running the exact same ROMs as a real Rally X. The player in question reaches round 18, dying once each on Rounds 12, 13, 16, and 18. I'm not familiar enough with the game to say what difficulty setting is used though. The player who recorded the game is among the top players at the MARP site, so his credentials are quite good. However, since the game is played in an emulator, there are ways to cheat.

An advantage of MARP (at marp.retrogames.com) is that you can download "INP" files which are recordings of the high score games and you can watch them for yourself. This particular INP file is available for download at: http://marp.retrogames.com/inp/5/a/6/sby_rallyx_195430_win60.zip

You will need the version of MAME that it was recorded from which you can find at http://www.mame.net/zips/mame060b.zip. You'll need to read the instructions to learn how to playback INP files.

There are some other very good recordings at MARP, including Neil Chapman's perfect Pac-Man game, and a 1 Million+ game of Donkey Kong Jr.

-George

gstrain
Monday, September 13, 2004 - 11:52 pm
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Oops, the link to the INP file doesn't work. I didn't realize that MARP doesn't let you link directly to files on the site. Well if go to marp.retrogames.com, and click on the "R", then search for "Rally X" you'll find the recording.

-George

TJT
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 10:23 pm
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I don't doubt that SBY from Japan did rally-x score fair, these team2ch players are very dedicated and good players...But notice that he didn't use really TG mame versions, so it might be possible that he uses a slow computer which would help.
TG mame(currently called Wolfmame)shows if recording was played at 100% speed. It is recommended to use that at MARP. Sometimes, if foul play suspected by individual, even recuired to use it.

Only reason that I have this doubt in my mind is because of hes Rootin' Tootin' recording, which LOOKS like he is using a slow computer (Jumping too accurate in tight places etc)

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Track & Field Competition & The Mysterious Player

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Scootie
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 01:10 am
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Hey Everyone....

Thanks to Dave Nelson for supplying the "medals" for this past weekend's Track & Field competition.

I'm actually glad that I won the "bronze", since it was a small box of Truffles. I LOVE TRUFFLES!!!

Records are as follows...

100 meter Dash....
8.25 sec - JKC
8.52 sec - JKC
8.59 sec - JKC

Long Jump....
9m67 - DAV
9m63 - SRO*
9m63 - DAV

Javelin....
96m96 - SCT
96m85 - SCT
96m56 - SRO*

110 meter Hurdles....
10.54sec - SCT
10.75sec - E
10.75sec - SRO*

Hammer Throw
99.xxm - DBH
98.92m - DAV
98.50m - DBH

High Jump
2m47 - DAV
2m47 - JKC
2m47 - DAV

I (and all of the Funspot regulars who were there this past weekend) was wondering if anybody knows who the mysterious SRO is. He was playing Track & Field on Sunday Morning and is a very good player. No one actually saw him play the game...

Thanks to Brian Kuh, The Crams, Dave, Donald, Greg, and Eric for the intense competition on Track & Field.

Scootie

PS. Now lets try to acquire a Hypersports(or 88 Games) machine for Funspot.

mspaeth
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 01:53 pm
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Hypersports will swap right into a track & field with no modifications... no real reason to get another machine for casual competition.

Unfortunately, i don't have a spare board for sale, since I already sold it when I kitted out a friend's TnF as a multigame.

Scootie
Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 05:03 pm
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I meant SLO

Alex Weir
Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 11:27 pm
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98.92m on the Hammer is pretty weird. What happened there? Was 'DAV' running in the air? Did he have full speed?

Don't think I've ever seen that distance before.

Cheers,

AL

TJT
Sunday, September 26, 2004 - 02:48 am
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First throw 92m...second 99,42 or if unlucky 98,92. Rarish.
What roms does the game have? Some romset hammer gives strange results.

I envy you having weekend competitions at TF.
A time machine.

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Where's KLAX???

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Yusuf El-Taha
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 - 07:12 pm
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Hi everyone. I went to Funspot a couple of weeks ago and the KLAX machine was gone. Does anyone know where it went??

I'm told that there is one guy who has dominated the machine in Funspot and I'd like to get my name in there. I used to be really good at that game.

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Star Wars TGTS - New Personal Best

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Brandon Erickson
Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 10:34 am
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Hello everyone,

Last night I scored 15,420,724pts on Star Wars TGTS. By all rights the game should have easily gone past 20M points if not for a couple of unbelievably careless mistakes I made towards the end of the game. In fact, pretty much all of my mistakes were careless errors; but at least it's a new personal best, so I can't really complain.

Later,
Brandon

Bixente
Thursday, September 09, 2004 - 11:41 am
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Careless mistakes are still mistakes

Brandon Erickson
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 03:52 pm
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Bixente,
That's true. I will just have to try harder.

Brandon

MDARULZ
Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 12:27 am
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Wow - Brandon continues to amaze. I am quite surprised at his progress, and myself, and Mark Boolman, plus at least one other SW expert, predicted a much slower progression, as far as score is concerned. However, Brandon, and even David Palmer, think that the scores will continue to ramp up nicely, and that some great things will happen by year's end. Only time will tell, but, the proof's in the results, and so far, Brandon rocks ! Congrats, and good continued luck... - Mark Alpiger / MDA

See more about Star Wars scores at my site's news page: www.classicarcadegaming.com/news/

TJT
Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 12:46 am
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Nice SW environmental, looks allmost as confy as a car ;)

Usually these type of limited number ships/men games can be played around 6 hours max. For me it gets hard after 2 hours to keep focus, Tron I played 4 hours same game. Not sure which one is more difficult Tron or SW...For me definitely SW.
So it's not easy task. I believe you can do it though.
So keep up the good work Brandon!

Tommi

jjt_defender
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 05:52 pm
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Congradulations Brandon on your score of 15,420,724pts on Star Wars TGTS. Next,
20 million pts. on Star Wars I see in my crystal ball.

Good luck Brandon on your quest on breaking David Palmers TGST Star Wars score of 31 million + pts.

Let the Star Wars competition begin. These Jedi Knights below are vying for the elusive crown of imortality of being the Star Wars Jedi Master.
They are:
1.David Palmer
2.Brandon Erickson
3.Mark Boolman
4.Robert Mruczek
5.Donald Hayes
6.Shawn Cram
7.Sui Ming Louie
8.Mystery Jedi Knight from unknown origin?????

God Bless You All
Football season is here
your fellow gamemaster JJT

Richard M.
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 12:17 am
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Brian, congratulations to you. You're halfway there; keep up the good work!

-- Richard

Richard M.
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 12:20 am
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Oops, I said "Brian" when I meant to say "Brandon". Sorry about that.

-- Richard

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Women and games

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Rick
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 06:39 am
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http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_hi_te/women_and_games

TJT
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 10:15 pm
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I WANT MORE SHOOTERS!

Cameron Feltner
Friday, September 10, 2004 - 11:19 pm
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"And experts say older women are big gamers online, though they tend to gravitate to casual time-passers like checkers, chess and Scrabble."

Experts of what exactly?

Calling chess a "casual time-passer"?? That's just insane.

"Many agree there needs to be more thought-provoking, story-driven games with more female lead characters and less carnage."

I'm all for that, but...

"The first game I played I pretty much took over someone else's computer playing it," she said. "I liked building houses. I liked decorating the house and using cheat codes to get tons of money so I could build bigger houses."

Sounds like she wanted to avoid any thought-provoking gameplay that may have been in the game.

It also sounds like the "experts" avoid thinking whenever they play chess, or they may find it to be more than a casual time-passer.

By "thought-provoking" I think they mean "make me feel as though I've thought without having me expend any effort". Kind of like watching a workout video from a recliner.

TJT
Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 12:50 am
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"And experts say older women are big gamers online, though they tend to gravitate to casual time-passers like checkers, chess and Scrabble."

Experts of what exactly?"

Experts of older women...

Scootie
Saturday, September 11, 2004 - 03:33 pm
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Hey Cameron/Everyone

What about many of the fine RPG's that are out there. With the exception of Torment - you can create a female lead character with all of the other D&D based RPG's.

I remember many girls/women back in the day, playing titles like Centipede, Ms. Pac Man, and Tetris. If I remember correctly - the WR holder of Q-Bert(for a time) was a "young" senior citizen in her early 60's. I do believe that her score has been broken by someone else.

And what about all the wonderful SIM games!! They are pretty popular with women!

And I know of at least two women who enjoy Half-Life and Quake III. There are plenty of women out there who like games other than "changing Barbie's clothes".

Scootie

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Pinball Weekend For Book Of World Records September 25-26

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Brian Kuh
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - 11:11 pm
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There are 15 pinball games at Funspot where Twin Galaxies does not have any scores listed for those games in the upcoming 2nd edition of The Book Of Video Game And Pinball World Records. Over the weekend of September 25-26 we will have Twin Galaxies referees on-premises specifically to write down scores on those pinball games. We would like as many pinball players as possible to attend, we would like to establish the 10 highest scores on each title by having at least 10 different players play each pinball game. You do not need to be a pinball expert but we would especially like it if all of the great pinball players did come to Funspot on this particular weekend to get their scores written down. Please come to Funspot on September 25-26 and get your name, hometown and score published in the next edition of the book of records. You don't need to get a world record score to get in the book. The 15 games which do not have scores yet are: Kiss, Big Guns, Flash, Mr. and Mrs. Pac Man, Playboy, Time Machine, Funhouse, Jokerz, Fireball II, Laser War, Cyclone, Wet Willy, Base Hit, Line Drive, Upper Deck.

Anonymous
Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - 09:48 am
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I see that there's no listed record in twin galaxies for Fireball Classic either. Maybe