Atari Asteroids marathon complete
FirebrandX - 01:18am Aug 17, 2002 (#721 of 951)
Atari Asteroids marathon complete:
In a game lasting 33 hours and 7 minutes, Mike Morrow ended the game at 10,004,100 points. Ron and Robert, Mike will need a day to rest and then he will email you more detailed stats.
This was his first marathon game. Give him a big hand!
gooch - 02:16pm Aug 17, 2002 (#206.1 of 951)
He prob needs one
He prob needs an extra hand after pressing that firebutton for 33 hours!
Good job Mike - Whats next Todd's Donkey Kong record :)
MKM - 03:52pm Aug 17, 2002 (#206.1.1 of 951)
Thanks.
I don't think I'll be going for any more marathons any time soon. My neck is stiff, my hands hurt, and my eyes got strained to the point where colors were wrong for a few hours.
I also had to take three attempts at this. My first failed when the avi file didn't work (lost 7 hours). The second attempt was cut short by a bolt of lightning that killed power (lost 9 hours).
FirebrandX - 08:55pm Aug 17, 2002 (#206.1.2 of 951)
button presses
We calculated Mike pressed the fire button over 300,000 times during the 33 hour period.
As for the Donkey Kong record, I may go after that one myself. I've never really played the Atari version, so I'll have to practice up to it.
gooch - 09:16am Aug 19, 2002 (#206.1.2.1 of 951)
300,000!
Wow, no need to go to the gym this week!
The best thing about 2600 DK is it cheats! Marathoning this game could be one of the most frustrating due to the sounds and cheating ;)
RMRUCZEK - 03:34pm Aug 19, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1 of 951)
DK Cheating
Mike:
Congratulations on an exemplary effort of tenacity, perseverance and skill. You are now in an elite club of probably two dozen gamers or so who have played the same title non-stop for such a lengthy period of time. And I am sure your mark will stand the test of time.
As for DK, yes, that is one cheating title. I still cannot believe how much Todd did on that one. I was the first 2600 player to pass the 800K mark two or three years back in a 2600 deca, obliterating the previous mark by nearly double. One man I lost due to sleepiness and got hit by a barrel (how humiliating !!) The other two were due to the fireballs engaging in cheating tactics hovering over rivets like they owned them.
I did receive your play by play and Ron & I will draft something for Walter to post over the next day or so. Congrats again !!
Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion [email protected] (work E-MAIL)
*****************************
FirebrandX - 02:27am Aug 20, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1 of 951)
DK:
Since I've been practicing DK the past couple of days, Mike and I have been laughing over the sound effects. Do - do - do - do - Boo - do - do - do. My favorite is the stage completion music. Truely lame! Actually this is one sad arcade conversion. I know fans of the Atari like to claim it has great arcade conversions, but come on, this is weak!
Anyway, I practiced up to 300,000 and made some observations about the flames. The ones that shake can be forced away by pushing up or down on the d-pad/stick. It seems they are directly linked to detecting your direction input, so I've been using that to my advantage. My problem is that there are no free men, so a marathon on this game seems rather frustrating. I may switch to Missle Command instead.
RCorcoran - 09:57am Aug 20, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1 of 951)
re: DKong
Wolff:
While I am an Atari zelot, I much prefer the Coleco version of DKong over the VCS. Far superior play, graphics, etc. :)
Ron
FirebrandX - 10:32am Aug 20, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1 of 951)
Coleco
Well the version for the Atari I have is the Coleco one. Is there any difference in the AI between the other versions? I havn't checked them out myself.
I thought about a new speed catagory that would breath some competition life back into Atari DK. That is, the fastest time to break 100,000 points. Stopwatch would start as soon as the stage begins and then would be stopped as soon as the score shows up past 100k. What do you think?
RMRUCZEK - 03:23pm Aug 20, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1 of 951)
Fastest 100K DK 2600
Hello Wolff:
Two things...
1st - I'm not sure that one would be worth doing, and here's why...I can tell you for a fact that I have zoomed straight to the 100K level without so much as a bump in the way. The barrel stages are never a problem...in fact, I never bother with the hammer (too risky). The fireball stages to between 70-80K are a breeze, so it's maybe 2 stages of "jittery fireballs" to the 100K mark. I'd do it, of course, if several players wanted to, but I imagine we'd all end up less than 30 seconds apart.
2nd - I know the "jittery fireballs" all too well. You can't reach the 800K+ point without that. Eventually, they subside, then become "jittery" again for awhile, and the cycle repeats. I used to know the number of stages inbetween but have since forgotten.
Yes, they react to where you are. But what really irks me to no end on this title, without exception, is when they cross over the gaps to get you. Nothing annoys me more than this. A close 2nd would be jumping into the direct center of a gap and then moving, and the death is registered.
Robert
gooch - 08:49pm Aug 20, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 of 951)
Colecovision version
Fire,
I think Ron was talking about preferring the Colecovision version of DK vs the Coleco Atari version - clear as mud :)
I don think Atari ever got to release Donkey Kong under their label but regardless there is only 1 Donkey Kong for the Atari and it is a cheating sob!
FirebrandX - 10:01pm Aug 20, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2 of 951)
Robert
Rob, if you are skipping the hammer on the barrel stages, then I'd smoke you to 100k. I've found a rapid point-gathering technique that gives me 2000 to 5000 more points per barrel stage and I never get hit.
FirebrandX - 02:15am Aug 21, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1 of 951)
Ron,
I just taped a run of 503,200 points. Using my hammer technique, the run only took 1 hour. I'm going to submit the tape to you since it would put me in 4th place on the scoreboard.
FirebrandX - 10:52am Aug 21, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1 of 951)
Improvement:
Just got to 543,000. There's one particular flame setup I have trouble with and it seems to sap a man every time I get to it. Once I crack the rest of the AI, I should be able to break a million points soon.
RMRUCZEK - 08:40pm Aug 21, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1 of 951)
Barrel Stage & Score
Hello Wolff:
Nice score !! My personal best to date is 543K on 1st man and then back-to-back disaster. Todd Rogers' record crushes both of us, however. You would be surprised what he did on 1 man.
Anyway...your barrel tactic...make sure Ron approves it, first and foremost. 543K in an hour is indeed quite high.
The flame setups are quite nasty when one of them decides to make his permanent residence over a rivet...cheatin little &*#@)!*@@!
Robert
FirebrandX - 01:16am Aug 22, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1 of 951)
Hammer stuff:
Don't worry about the hammer stuff I use. It's perfectly clean. I don't get hit because I've memorized the barrel AI. It's very similar to techniques used on the arcade version.
The flame level that seems to give me the most trouble shows up a little past the quater-million mark. I'd sure like to review some of Todd's tapes to see how he manages to keep the law of averages at bay. There are times when no amount of skill will avoid a ripoff (like a flame gliding over a hole in a smooth motion), so for Todd to make 15 million seems astronimically lucky!
Nevertheless, I'm going to keep trying until I can get a complete method worked out. If I can avoid disaster, I want to try for 20 million. That would take 40 hours if I went non-stop.
RCorcoran - 11:02am Aug 23, 2002 (#206.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.2 of 951)
Sorry, I meant playing DKong on the CV as opposed to the VCS. :)
Ron
