Dispute: John McAllister - Arcade - Alpine Ski - Points [Tournament Settings] - Player: Eric Olofson - Score: 500,774

Arcade - Alpine Ski - Points [Tournament Settings]
Score Track	https://www.twingalaxies.com/scores.php?scores=634
Rules	Dip-Switch Bank A: 1 = ON 2 = OFF 3 = NOT USED 4 = ON 5 = OFF 6-8 = OFF Dip-Switch Bank B: 1-8 = ON Dip-Switch Bank C: 1-2 = ON 3 = OFF 4 = ON 5-6 = OFF 7 = ON 8 = OFF Note: The above Dip Switches, when properly designated, will give the following Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings, used for this title; 800-2000 Point Bonus For A Successful Downhill Jump 2 Minute Starting Timer 1st Game Extension @ 10,000 Points 2nd Game Extension @ 10,000 Points
Player Name	Eric Olofson
Original Adjudication	N/A
Verification Method	Referee
Verification Date	1982-11-23
Disputed Score	500,774 (Rank 1)
Disputed By	redelf
Dispute Evidence / Rationale	I'm just getting this dispute started for later when the other guys with more info chime in, since they don't have enough ranking to start a dispute. Suffice it to say thought that this score was not done on these settings. I don't have the proof or support but if the others want to chime in they will provide their knowledge and proof.

Is this a case of newer rules and dips that came into play well after this score was accepted?

I know this score to be impossible using the dips in the rules so I'll vote Yes. Have you talked to Sam or anyone else who can give the run down on this? The dispute is almost a year old but no evidence has been presented.

ok so I believe this score to be impossible not only on Twin Galaxies setting but probably even impossible on the easiest settings.

so the tests i have done are as follows:
1. TG settings except I had "no hit" dip switch 7 set ON. Meaning I was invincible and could not crash into trees, rocks, skiers, ect...
I played and recorded game on twitch channel theClassicArcadeLife. I got 278,306 points. Could I have gotten more points, yes but not much more, and absolutely not 222,000+ more.

2. I put settings all on the easiest including invincible. (not Twin galaxy settings) just to see What I could get. My best score was 411, 369. So even on the easiest settings I couldn't come close to 500,774.

Some things about Alpine ski to consider .
A. there are 2 rom sets. 1 set has an extra setting that can give you an extra 10 or 20 seconds per screen you complete. the other rom set doesn't give you an option and default to 10 seconds

B. once you get to level 11 no matter what settings you are on the time starts to speed up. (at least on rom set 2 the one I have). on TG settings you will not be able to get past Level 11. on easiest settings you can't get past level 15.

in conclusion: I can't see with this evidence how anyone could get 500,774 on TG settings let along over 300k. This is why I refute the score.

I still want to test the other Rom set.
Also I want to do one more test. To add up the largest possible score you can get per level for 15 levels and see if it even adds up to 500,774. I have to video tape each level and calculate possible scores. Not an easy task but I will if needed.

Eric Olofson also holds the MAME record but it's only 147,426. The MAME record was made on the easier ROM set which gives you 20 seconds after every screen. I find it suspicious that he could not do better than that on an easier rom setting. Yes he may have lost his skills since MAME record was made in 2010 (28 years later than the arcade). I need to get my hands on a MAME cab to see the difficulty differences.

Does anyone know what the previous settings were for this game? If any existed, that is.

Even with the dip switch settings on the easiest settings I still think it impossible to get over 500,000.

more tests I did:
test 3. the flag trick cheat: with this cheat it is impossible to get the score down to 500,000. I was only able to get the score down as low as 971,984. the reason is that when the game sees the large score the time goes down a minute every second or faster.

test 4. I also tried to go backward under a million then forward to see if all the bonus time would go with me, it doesn't. these tests are also documented on my twitch account "TheClassicArcadelife"

test 5. pond/tree point press. Is it possible to die on the 1500 pond over and over again. answer no.

Will cont. next test is how many points are possible per screen. Take that total times 15 levels and see what the score is. if it isn't over 500,000 then score is impossible.

current rule says dips A you have 1 on 2 off which is actually 1000 -2500. but rules also says you should bonus jumps at 800- 2000.
also when you have dip C switch 7 ON that make you invincible.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freeko

Does anyone know what the previous settings were for this game? If any existed, that is.

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RTM REPLY - while I no longer have the original "TG Bible", the grey binder of manually typed pages with the original rules, there are four possibilities below...

https://web.archive.org/web/20140123...6_VGM_TOGM.pdf - 1986 rules


http://www.videoparadise-sanjose.com/1984vgmt-rules.htm - 1984 rules


http://www.videoparadise-sanjose.com/tg-rules.htm - other rules (1983)

http://www.cubeman.org/ - go to "Video Game Links" and then "Twin Galaxies Tournament Settings" - these are the rules as maintained by TG's original "Keeper of the Rules", Mark Longridge, and Alpine Ski is present among them

Since it wasn't already part of the record, I wanted to add Eric's account about how his score and the circumstances surrounding it. I'm always very appreciative when 80s gamers are still active on the scene and are able to share their recollections.

36 years ago today Eric Olofson made Earth Station 1 the center of the video game universe for a brief time.


From Eric: "Today marks 36 years since I achieved my highest score on Tiato's Alpine Ski (Arcade). Most of you have not heard my story and today I am going to to tell it. My score is being disputed for dip switch settings as you can see by the link below.


The year was 1982 and I was 19 and estranged from my Family. The arcade was my home during the day. I had two things going for me at the time. I was homeless and unemployed. Being homeless meant I had no responsibilities. I did what I wanted when I wanted and where I wanted. Being unemployed meant I had to make the most of whatever money I had.


There was a small arcade at the corner of 18th and A st. in Antioch, CA. Everyone knew me there as OLY. The arcade had about 20 to 25 games if I remember correctly.


I can remember talking to the tech that worked there about finding out what the high scores on each game were. He said he could find out. I don't know if he talked with Walter Day directly or got the scores out of magazines at the time. I do remember hearing the name Twin Galaxies at the time but that is all I knew.


So, they got all the high scores for each game in the arcade and posted them above each machine. I can remember looking at each score and realizing that most of them you couldn't even beat during opening hours of the arcade. I looked at all the games and Alpine Ski stood out with a score of 389,000 points and I thought that was the best bet to try and achieve a high score on.


I now had a goal to achieve. I knew that each machine had settings that could be changed to make it easier or more difficult. The arcade and the techs there are the ones that made those settings. The also had a contest that if anyone beat a score they would get 10 tokens a day for as long as the score stood. That was enough incentive for me to work hard at it.


I played that game everyday until I got better and better at it. I played until I beat the score of 389,000 points. I don't remember what the first score was that I broke the record with or what any of the other scores were until I stopped at 500,774 points. In those days you went in and played and if I broke the score I would tell the tech and he would verify it. He would make a new board for it and post it above the game. They would contact Twin Galaxies and give them the score.


I believe I beat the score around 10 times before I stopped on the 500,774 score. My score was also beaten on that machine in that arcade by someone else. I do not know why the score was never turned in or remember the persons name. I surmise that the owner realized that it was taking long distance calls to Iowa to turn in scores and put a stop to it but that is my opinion.


I also had the high score for Star Trek for a while and my highest score on that game was never submitted and neither was my highest score on Stargate ever turned in. Sadly the arcade closed down sometime in 1983 and that was the end of it until the internet came along.


So, back to the dispute. I cannot say for sure what the settings in the Alpine Ski game were set to. I believe all the games in the arcade at that time were set to Twin Galaxies standards.


So a little bit about the game. There are no difficulty settings to change. The only thing that can be changed is how much time you get to play and how many points you get for the ski jump. You have three different courses to play on each level. The down hill ski course, the slalom course and the ski jump. The more points you score the more time you get. Most games the higher the levels the harder it gets. This game does not do that. Each level is comprised of the same screens and they just get mixed up during the coarse. The longer you play the faster your time counts down until you run out. Basically on this game it is a speed run while getting the most points you can. You have a left/right joystick and one button. My goal was to keep that button pressed down as much as possible and get as many points as I can hit and not crash.


Moving forward, I am going to practice again to get myself up to speed on the game to see If I can prove either way if the settings were correct or not. I do have some disadvantages today. 1. I don't have all the free time I had back then and 2. I am a bit older than 19 now.


I hope to get set up to stream some of my playing live and possibly play live at the Arcade Expo 5.0 Day 1 and play a perfect game. That gives me till next march to get back in shape.


Wish me luck!"


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