Activison Skiing 3B - 27.51????

[+johnnywc]

Hello everybody,

 

I've been following this Barnstorming thread regarding Todd Rogers for the last few days and, except for a few lame comments, actually enjoyed the entire discussion and found myself following the story like a soap opera ("I wonder what happened today?!")...

 

Anyway - like many people I'm sure - I tried my hand at Barnstorming and was able to get 32.97 - not too bad! I'm anxiously waiting to see Todd at CGE and get some tips/tricks on getting 32.50...

 

This whole debate led me to twingalaxies.com to check on the record for the game I played alot as a kid (and was pretty good at too!) - Activision's Skiing, game 3. My best is 28.01 on what I thought was pretty close to a "perfect run" (I only have a couple digitial photos as verification). According to tg, that would rank me 3rd - again - not too bad!!

 

Of course, the top score is from - you guessed it - Todd Rogers - with an incredible score of 27.51!!! Now, I don't want to open up another can of worms here - but does anybody have any idea (tips, tricks) on how this can be accomplished? I've spent numerous hours on this game and I can't for the life of me see where I could shave off a half a second from my time...

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Goochman]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh boy, here we go again!

 

[RCorcoran]

I'll ask Todd to drop by and post his comments to this thread. I actually talked to him about Skiing last night as it is a game in the 2600 Time Based Deca. Let's just say I have some room for improvement.

[ROBERT]

Hello fellow gamers:

 

Breaking 28 seconds was an accomplishment I made years back when I sent photos to Activision for the patches...I simply haven't gotten around to duplicating that feat in the here and now.

 

However, I do recall coming in within the range of 27.80-27.99 for sure. and I was never razor-sharp perfect in my own personal efforts.

 

A 27.51 is definitely do-able, in my opinion as a gamer and Skiing 2600 enthisiast. Doesn't mean that I will personally ever be able to do it, but it definitely appears do-able.

 

This falls into the category of practice, practice, practice. I recently shaved a few tenths off my Skiing 1B personal best due to said practice, and now I am extremely close to Todd's personal best on that one. I imagine that better gamers than I can bring their own times down even further...same for game 3B...with practice.

 

Regards,

 

Robert T Mruczek

Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee

Star Wars classic arcade champion

(212) 366-3036 (work-day)

rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)

 

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[StanJr]

yeah, while INCREDIBLE, 27.51 is NOT impossible. I am pretty close to that right now and I'm working on getting a little less sloppy with my turns. Its so easy to over compensate in Skiing.

[Lemmi]

yeah 27.51 isnt impossible

 

especially if i could get a 27.97 after just an hour of playing this game (after 10+ years of not playing it)

[D.Yancey]

I am the 2nd place scorer on TG. I think 27.51 is attainable. However, this game is not as simple to analyze as Barnstorming. It involves certain angles going around the flags that allow one to appear to "go through" the flagpole. It also involves reflexes and timing patterns of when exactly to change directions that allow the skier to achieve the proper screen positioning to acomplish this feat. Also one must absolutely maximize his total time traveling in a straight line and minimize his time spent in turns. I believe crisp joystick movements when reversing direction allow a player to "slingshot" through a turn quicker. This is evident by listening to the sound made when the stick is pushed. The longer the duration of the tone, the more time that is being lost while executing the turn. One must have a perfectly functioning joystick for this game as well as Barnstorming. One little mechanical joystick glitch; and precious time WILL be lost!!! Try and achieve a score below 28 seconds. At this skill level in the game, a player will be albe to use his own intuition in strategic delelopment; perhaps crushing my score in the process! Good luck to all! :wink:

[ROBERT]

Hi:

 

Keep at it...this is a short and sweet challenge (half minute or less) and it would be awesome to have another gamer in the 27.5x range or better. In the world of video gaming, remember that there is always room for two or more players to be at the top of any gaming challenge.

 

On an unrelated note, I'd like to cast my vote for the most BORING game in the Skiing cart as game 6. You move your joystick like 3-4 times and that's it....the rest of the time is a non-stop dive.

 

Robert T Mruczek

Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee

Star Wars classic arcade champion

(212) 366-3036 (work-day)

rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)

 

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[Fretwobbler]

Id forgotten how much fun this game is

 

Guess what cartridge has just begun making love to my woody right now :D

 

Adam

[Paul Slocum]

I remember back in the day I used to get the Activision newsletter and they would sometimes publish world records. I can't remember the numbers, but I did beat what they had published as the world record for Skiing at the time. I just know it was in the 27's.

 

-Paul

[Atarian7]

HIs 2b time is more remarkable.

[Atarian7]

Hi:

 

    Keep at it...this is a short and sweet challenge (half minute or less) and it would be awesome to have another gamer in the 27.5x range or better. In the world of video gaming, remember that there is always room for two or more players to be at the top of any gaming challenge.

 

    On an unrelated note, I'd like to cast my vote for the most BORING game in the Skiing cart as game 6. You move your joystick like 3-4 times and that's it....the rest of the time is a non-stop dive.

 

Robert T Mruczek

Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee

Star Wars classic arcade champion

(212) 366-3036 (work-day)

rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL)

 

 

But have you been able to match the top time on 6b?       I don't think it's boring if you are trying tweak that small amount of time off.  

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[RCorcoran]

I remember back in the day I used to get the Activision newsletter and they would sometimes publish world records.  I can't remember the numbers, but I did beat what they had published as the world record for Skiing at the time.  I just know it was in the 27's.

 

-Paul

 

I have hard copies of all 7 "Activisions" newsletters if your interested. I can get them scanned and either post them here (with Al's consent) or on my own site.