dpisacane

How low do you keep your lives, though? I thought I was okay at five or below until this morning. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Hey all, In the ongoing saga of the "black screen crash", I wanted to tell you about my latest experience. I was playing this morning, and at around 4,000-5,000 points I lost two lives one right after the other. I refocused and managed to get back on track. As I was up at around 8,000-9,000 I had not died and had gotten my lives back up to five. Then the game crashed to the black screen. I think that while the crash has something to do with having a lot of extra lives, I think it also has to do with how long you have gone without dying. In my previous attempt I was consistently gaining extra lives and then killing myself to bring them down. This time I went for a long time without dying, because I needed to get my extra life count back up. It's just an observation, but I do think there might be something to it. Any thoughts? (One last thing... are there any plans to extend the competition that will run through Christmas? I imagine a lot of us will not be able to devote much time over that week. Personally I will be out of state for the entire second week of the competition, if it only runs for two weeks.) Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

That would be really appreciated. (Selling them here, I mean.) I have been trying to get my hands on some of the Mattel-era Bump 'n' Jump stuff on eBay to no avail. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Got it. Well, regardless, thanks for the compliments! Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I think there was a laughing face. Perhaps I am just a bit too earnest at times. [emoji16] Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I'm quite humbled. Thanks! [emoji16] Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

That's what I thought, too. It's why the furthest I felt comfortable pushing it was using the Flashback controllers. That said, whatever rules are decided upon, I will absolutely follow. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I think he means the Flashback. I have been using my Flashback controllers on my Super Video Arcade and Intellivision II. I figured that was okay. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

So, does that mean that playing the game in emulation using a controller other than an Intellivision controller is against the rules? Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Wow... I have tried pausing a few times, and it never worked. It must just be because the pace of the game is so frenetic... I don't quite hit both buttons at the same time. I will give it another try. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

The bug they are talking about is different from the one I am experiencing. I am curious, though, so I might fire up Nostalgia and see if I can replicate it. The thing is that something feels a little wrong about doing this competition in emulation rather than real hardware. I can pause, use any controller I want... I mean, just the fact that I can't pause Demon Attack feels like it is part of the experience. I need to actually display some stamina, you know. Maybe it is just me, though. I also didn't want to break any rules on here, and I really didn't know what they were regarding emulation. Thanks for the suggestion, though! I will check it out. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Phew... I managed to get 11,324. If any of you start experiencing the black screen crash and want to know how I worked around it, here's what I did. Every time my extra lives went up to six, I intentionally killed myself and knocked it back down to five. In that way I was able to keep playing. Hopefully that is of some use to you guys. Oh, and I do want to say that despite my frustrations, I am still having a lot of fun with this. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I know. I have no good strategy for those. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Quick update, I was also able to replicate the black screen crash on my fourth, and final, copy of Demon Attack on my INTV System III. Again, thanks in advance for any advice on how to work around this. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Just as an update on the black screen crash thing. I tested out my third copy of Demon Attack today on a Super Video Arcade and my second Intellivision II, and it got the same result. If I play deep into the game without losing a life it crashes to the black screen. So, then I decided to try it on my LTO Flash, and interestingly, on there it crashes back to the LTO flash menu instead of a black screen. This seems to confirm to me that this is a bug, though, as my Intellivision isn't overheating, suffering from a poor cartridge connection or anything. I'm not sure what you guys would recommend at this point. I'm starting to get a little discouraged like poor Mr. Pujals. Any advice is definitely welcome. Thanks. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I think, as you pointed out, that is a different issue than the one I am experiencing (and you have as well), meaning the "crash to a black screen" issue. I have had other weird things happen. One time my ship stopped moving and all of the enemy ships started randomly floating across the screen and wrapping around to the other side. It looked like a screen saver. Another time, when I started the game, my beginning score was 10,000. So when I finished it was somewhere around 16,000. Those I chalk up to overheating or bad cartridge contacts. They sure were weird, though. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

That's exactly right, and like I said, I saw it happen on three different consoles using two different cartridges under the same circumstances. I appears to happen when you are about to gain your seventh or eighth extra life. (I can't go back and check what Bamse said. I think he said that he had seven when it happened, so it probably crashes to black when you get extra life number eight.) Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I have seen that slowdown as well. It also seems to affect the movement of your ship, which can be a little scary at times. Quite interesting to see, as I never spent any time playing on this level before. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

So, I have been playing the game a bit today, and I have to ask this question. Is there a bug in the game when you are doing, perhaps, a little too well? Let me explain what I mean. Every single game that I have played where I am doing really well, racking up the extra lives, I get to a point where the game crashes to a black screen. This has happened on an original Master Component, a Super Video Arcade and an Intellivision II. I have tried two different cartridges and it happened on both. It seems to happen when I am up around 7 or 8 extra lives and haven't died a single time yet. Has anyone else seen anything like this? It is making my attack on the current high score very challenging, as every time I am in the zone and on my way to a really great score, it freezes up. Just curious. Thanks for the feedback. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Sorry for my ignorance, but what are "PBs"? Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

To be honest, the only way I am even able to do this is by working myself into a kind of trance. I don't even look directly at the screen when I'm playing. I look past it, kind of like when you are trying to see those Magic Eye pictures. If I can get into a zone, it all sort of starts to fit together. I can't quite explain it. The way I got my latest score was by turning off the TV's sound and playing music in the background. It seemed to help a bit. Anyway, I am a little sad to see you feel so disheartened, as I was genuinely excited to be participating in this with you. Christmas Carol is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen a fan pull off. It is so perfect it almost doesn't seem real. Maybe the next game will play to your strengths a little more. (I'm assuming that everyone can participate in every round.) :-)

Pulled off a slightly better score with my trusty Tandyvision. (9,436) Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I managed to nudge mine up a little bit. (7,343). Incidentally, I always preferred playing this game on the Atari because of the controller, but I am beginning to see the merits of the disc in Demon Attack, at least. Using two hands to control the game gives you a decided advantage, I think. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

My latest score. That game gets crazy after beating Pandemonium the second time.... Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Frog bog. My wife beat me every single game we played together. That's her thumbs up, by the way. This was so much fun. Thanks for organizing it! Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk