My Vote, Change it.
Printable View
My Vote, Change it.
I am surprised this wasn't addressed sooner. Change.
I think the vote result should not be considering the issues and complications involved with separating current scores. that is a secondary effect that will be a result if change is the result of the vote.
if you consider the scoring potential using box pattern is far beyond what likely will be achieved not using the box pattern then separate tracking is what we want. if you think the scoring potential and competition factor is about the same, then no change is needed and tracks can stay as is with the scoring techniques mixed.
using box pattern that does make the game easier...as you could find a box where even though enemies vary a bit...there still are specific spots each can spawn or not spawn....some rooms far more dangerous than others and some where you 99% will die just due to the room configuration.
running a box pattern... you can have the 4 rooms where you rarely or never get that insta-death scenario on starting the room.
the game still is tough this way also...but definitely easier knowing when the enemies first appear...you actually have time to assess it and react in a skillful manner to survive the room versus being killed 0.3 seconds later after they or you start to move in any direction.
because of that aspect...I vote for CHANGE and have the separate tracking for berzerk. most of the scores you would know...only the top few matter. the lower scores don't matter really which method was used as they aren't pressing beyond the potential scoring threshold using either playing technique.
the left-to-right forced track won't work...you do have rooms while not desired by any means where you have no choice but to exit at top or bottom. normally when you do though that next room is more dangerous if not using box pattern. berserkers definitely will tell you it's best to try and continue to move left to right and exit on right edge to reduce risk of quick death at start of the board...but it still will happen sometimes even using that.
plus using box pattern..I can see a gamer finding a specific box that reduces the initial start of the board risk by such an extreme that they potentially can marathon it. no one yet has found this perfect box...as no need to do so to set current WR. it becomes a track like fastest pac-man track...while an interesting track..whether you get perfect pac-man in 3 hours 36 minutes or 3 hours 55 minutes or 6+ hours running it totally perfectly just difference of speed of patterns does not demonstrate any difference in skill at all.
do you want the berzerk track ultimately becoming who can find a better (and safer) box? :P
some interesting analogies above..pac-man...even those using grouping techniques on the early boards to eat all the ghosts....those techniques are setting up and running PATTERNED set of moves. It's just a pattern with stops/starts versus a continuously moving pattern. the only real difference there for a masterful player is the time involved as grouping takes more time. you never will see a grouping gamer go for the time record for pac-man. all gamers that have played pac-man to the kill have used a pattern for 9th key though...I know of no one that has played it differently all the way to the kill. that would take 3-10 minutes/board so potentially a 20+ hour game to do that!!!
centipede...definitely difference on spider hunting or not...that has been separated in rules....but no separation for blob technique for mushrooms to control the fleas at least until 500-600k versus playing it 100% straight up. difference here is Don and a couple others have shown you reliably can play and roll it over several times playing it straight up so there really is not a difference in scoring potential there...and playing it straight up for centipede actually results in a faster scoring rate as time is what ultimately will limit what score you can achieve for this specific game.
Put me in the CHANGE pile.
Random Play without a doubt!
i Vote For Change!!!
Competition is where it’s! At and if some clown fool want to come along and find away to manipulate the game so that it repetitive and boring (leaching) I say lock him in a closet and let him play hiself and his silly game… be a real man show us what you got you box pattern wheals……… lol I need another drink but I hope you all get my point.....
PSP Thank you for Your Support on the Completive sprit of a game that needs a rebirth to hard core skill it ones was
After reading through all this, it seems to me, too, a split of the existing tracks is the way to go. The alternatives – leave it the way it is, or declare the box-pattern-technique to be leeching (and thus erase those scores) – are far worse. It’ll be worth going through the trouble of separating the existing scores to restore these 30-year old tracks on this classic title. And it will fuel competition as well (not unimportant!). And since Joel West has a clear idea of how to go about with the separation, and could help out with this, I guess it won’t be too much work for TG/the refs (?).
I vote CHANGE.
Generally, I think it's a good idea for TG to be sensitive to player requests regarding new tracks. After all they're the experts, and know best what is missing/what would be a good "infusion" to competitive play on "their" titles. Of course no one is interested in "diluting" competition on a title by adding too many, and/or not-called-for tracks, so a new track would have to be agreed upon to add something essential, that will spur interest for, and competition on, that title.
It goes without saying a new track thus discussed will often be “title-specific”, i.e. the opposite of the - by some – embraced opinion that a new track (if at all necessary) would have to be the same for all games. But “special tracks” are called for, since specialization on many titles has been taken so far since bitd: player skills are now often at levels unconcieved of 25-30 years ago. The same-track-for-all-games thought is inflexible - this second era of CAGing needs to be open to title-specific tracks/variations to keep interest up, and competition going. (This has of course already been done on several titles).
Some games will benefit from a new variation, some won’t – it has to be discussed. This thread is a good example of how this process should work.
I vote CHANGE as well.
i vote CHANGE because Obama promised us a health care plan and he said that change is good. thats what this thread is about right???