Anyone else have trouble jumping scorpions in Pitfall?

[the 5th ghost]

I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong. It seems hit or miss when jumping the scorpions. Usually I clear them, but eventually I die.

 

This makes the game virtually impossible to finish since you have to use the underground passages to reach all the treasures.

[+Cafeman]

That was always challenging even in the 2600 version. You have to continually run and then jump at just the right moment. It gets easier with practice but once you are down to 1 life left, perhaps you should avoid the underground.

[the 5th ghost]

I don't know...I guess I need to keep practicing. But the 2600 version, if I had to jump 100 scorpions in a row, I'd clear every one no sweat.

 

Even timing my jumps at the same point, I'll find that usually I'll clear the scorpion, but then the next one would kill me, even though I jumped at exactly the same time as the last one. Screwy I tell you!

 

But I did abandon the underground passages and had 2 more treasures to go, but ran out of time. My score was over 100K

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Basically the completed arc of your jump is only slightly larger than the graphic of the scorpion so wait till your foot is practically in it's mouth and then jump. Works for me every time.

What I can't wrap my head around is when to go underground. I know there are maps online so I could cheat and figure out that way, but as a personal challenge to myself I refuse to do that. Of course I inevitably enter a new screen and hit a brick wall but that's life.

[Prodos8]

Basically, you just have to time the jump right and there's not much room for error with the scorpions. I like using a sega controller when I play this game as it seems more precise than a joystick and the jump button seems more reliable than the one on a CX-40.

[the 5th ghost]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I'm using the stock controller, but I also have the Comp Pro which works good.

[Atari5200]

i have problems on every version of Pitfall I've ever played, but I have even more problems jumping over the fires and snakes.

[darthkur]

I was just playing this on my 800 yesterday and was thinking the same thing. Out of all the versions I have the 5200/A8 one has the most difficulty concerning the scorpions. I was killed several times even when there was a space between Harry and the scorpion. So even if you don't actually touch it you might still lose a life.

[+Cafeman]

I never played Pitfall on 5200, since it doesn't work with my 2-port. I played it on A8 years ago but wasn't interested in more Pitfall in that time. Mostly I must admit I play the 2600 version - mostly emulated on Pitfall Mayan Adventure or Activision Classics. So I can't really recall if I noticed a difference between the 2600 and A8 versions.

 

However, this jogs a memory concerning 2600 Kaboom vs A8 Kaboom. I remember there was a contest using an Atari 400 computer player Kaboom, back in 2002 at the Cinci Classic (erm,I think thats where it was). I was convinced that the A8 gameplay was slightly slower than what I was used to on the 2600. Another AA gamer scored much higher than everyone else and he also remarked that it seemed easier that what he was used to. Could Activision ports have slightly different timing? Thus if Pitfall Harry runs 1 frame per second slower, or if the scorpion is 1 frame slower or faster, it could make jumping them much more difficult. Just a theory.

[the 5th ghost]

Could Activision ports have slightly different timing? Thus if Pitfall Harry runs 1 frame per second slower, or if the scorpion is 1 frame slower or faster, it could make jumping them much more difficult. Just a theory.

 

You may be on to something there, but I wouldn;t know either way how to determine that.

 

Darthkur...I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I clear the scorpion, but I die anyway...like it bit me in the heel or something. Very frustarting.