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Atari 7800 HSC reloaded Round 2 *Dig-Dug*


Atari5200

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Geez guys, way to set the bar out of reach. I get distracted by that-game-I-got-in-the-mail-that-shall-remain-nameless for a little while, and I come back here and suddenly I need to be Billy freaking Mitchell to enter a score. Well, I got Saturday free and a case of Pepsi, so I might not be out yet.

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Well, anyhoo...I think there are three keys to maximizing your score:

 

1) The bonus. As everybody may know by now, the bonus pops up after the second rock is dropped on each level. Even if you're having a hard time luring an enemy under a rock, it could be worth dropping a rock just to get the bonus.

 

2) Killing enemies under the rock...if possible, dig a small "pit" for the rock to drop through because chances are, when the enemies run away, they'll go into the pit and get smashed.

 

3) Digging as much dirt as possible. You get ten points for every square of dirt you dig, so it's worth, say, when you have the last enemy on the screen, pumping the enemy to near-capacity, digging some more dirt, pumping again, digging more dirt, etc,. until you don't have dirt nearby...yeah, it might mean making the level lost longer than you'd like, but that means adding to your score.

 

Actually, in the spirit of fair play, if other top guys are revealing tips, so should I. I made use of #1 (I didn't know it), here are some notes.

 

1) Fygar is always worth 1,000 points if you attack him horizontally in the bottom layer. Pooka, by contrast is worth 500.

 

2) To expand on Dauber's #2, digging a pit works best if you create it very vertically, and the beasties have no place to go.

 

3) When attacking groups, don't button smash unless you are pushing in the creatures' direction. I've found up to four at a time can be killed this way.

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My word.... that Ron Corcoran guy (he's on a lot of 7800 records) scored 616,000 on Dig Dug. I am in shock, but it was referreed. It appears we are fighting for a distant second. Unless one of us tries to take him down.

 

Darthkur, take him down. (Unless, you *are* Ron Corcoran....)

 

I smell a conspiracy.

 

NOTE sorry, I should be proud of my score and leave it at that. There is no way I can beat 616K. It's nuts. I'd have to sit here all day just to break 250K! (Which I haven't done.) I just obsess about being first place sometimes.

Edited by suaiden
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I either love this game completely or I absolutely hate it. I'm not sure. I'm getting better, but I can't seem to get better enough. It's fighting me every step of the way. I always lose my last life with a Galaxian ship or Watermelon two inches away and a free man hanging in the balance.

 

Here's a hint: Take a deep breath. Everytime Dig Dug goes down when you press right, or left when you press up, pause, take a deep breath, and play on. Sure you want to smash the cart into itty, bitty pieces, but that won't help your score.

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I either love this game completely or I absolutely hate it. I'm not sure. I'm getting better, but I can't seem to get better enough. It's fighting me every step of the way. I always lose my last life with a Galaxian ship or Watermelon two inches away and a free man hanging in the balance.

 

Here's a hint: Take a deep breath. Everytime Dig Dug goes down when you press right, or left when you press up, pause, take a deep breath, and play on. Sure you want to smash the cart into itty, bitty pieces, but that won't help your score.

 

I love it, but the way it locks you to a grid is indeed aggravating. I wish it had completely free movement.

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I either love this game completely or I absolutely hate it. I'm not sure. I'm getting better, but I can't seem to get better enough. It's fighting me every step of the way. I always lose my last life with a Galaxian ship or Watermelon two inches away and a free man hanging in the balance.

 

Here's a hint: Take a deep breath. Everytime Dig Dug goes down when you press right, or left when you press up, pause, take a deep breath, and play on. Sure you want to smash the cart into itty, bitty pieces, but that won't help your score.

 

I love it, but the way it locks you to a grid is indeed aggravating. I wish it had completely free movement.

 

To really kick it in this game, try to imagine Dig-dug as a kind of a car that has no power steering. You are only aiming for verticals (later levels) or horizontals (whenever humanly possible).

 

I use a method I call the "Thermopylae" method (in honor of the movie "300") to suck the beasties in and then destroy them.

 

To give a screenshot.

 

thermopylae933.png

 

As you can see, I've created a straight line, no escape, upside down "T" in the center. Why? So that I can control the shifts of the beasties to head them towards the center. Then I can kill them for maximum points. You want to avoid ANYTHING that forces you out of straight lines, since they give more opportunities for attacks.

 

Tip for today.

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Since I guess the competition is unofficially over, I guess I can throw in a few more tips which I am sure many already knew about.

 

The boards repeat in sequence patterns which you begin to notice; use that to your advantage. Always try to get rid of Fygar first. I realize that sounds counterproductive if you can catch him in a really big crush. However, that fire will always catch you within range at the wrong time.

 

Don't waste time getting the bonus items till you have only two enemies chasing you (preferably Pookas). Then knock out the rocks and get your bonus. While that seems limited, it isn't.

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Sorry for the delay, death in the family really put a damper on things.

 

Congrats to Suaiden on winning this round. Don't look for the total points to be updated until maybe this weekend.

 

Man. I am SO SORRY!!!! I was just having fun with the board is all....

 

For what it's worth, I didn't have any problem with it. Glad the HSC is getting this much interest; I was ready to vote for DK. :)

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Sorry for the delay, death in the family really put a damper on things.

 

Congrats to Suaiden on winning this round. Don't look for the total points to be updated until maybe this weekend.

Sorry to hear about this.

 

By the way, thanks for running this. It's been a really tightly put together HSC so far.

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