deadly discman Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 So I was playing Moon Patrol the other day, and after I got to, like, the third or fourth Championship Course, I wondered, does this thing just go on forever? Is there a definitive end? My knowledge of game programming is limited. Can anyone tell me if any games have a real end, or do they just go on forever? I'm really interested in any stories where someone took a game as far as it could possibly go -- games made up of just one level after another, with progressive difficulty, like Centimpede, Millipede, Robotron, Tempest, Food Fight, Tron, Missile Command, Burgertime, Peter Pack Rat, Time Pilot, and so on . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchfynde Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 Can anyone tell me if any games have a real end, or do they just go on forever? I'm really interested in any stories where someone took a game as far as it could possibly go -- games made up of just one level after another, with progressive difficulty, like Centimpede, That's several interesting parts to it: for a while there, and I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of points you have to have, but the flea stops coming out, so you can clear out the entire bottom portion of the screen without having that little puke drop down. Also at x00,000 you can have the centipede come straight down the middle down a corridor and you can pick it off by shooting straight up. Robotron, Wave 40 is known as "Armageddon", where it's got every possible type of Robotron in the same wave, and then it starts over...plus by then you've got a million points. Tron I've gotten a million on that. It just repeats a lot of the tank patterns and all over and over, plus grid bugs, etc. Missile Command Another interesting one; funny how Atari gave breaks to long-playing experts: somewhere for a couple of hundred thousand points, even if you lose all of your cities, the game will not end. Time for a good break there. Can't say about the others in your list though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 I've played Galaga to the point where I flipped both the score and the stages. The maximum points before the score resets to 0 is 999,999. The last level is 99. After that, the game reverts back to the first level. BTW: if you ever want to waste a quarter, you can actually get a 200% hit ratio by firing only a single shot as two ships cross and then keep dying until the game is over without firing another shot Other games I've amassed high scores or high levels in are Dig Dug where I got to level 96 and had a score of 987,675 and Gauntlet where I've gotten past level 113. I own Gauntlet and Dig Dug, so I get to play them often. Pac-Man apparently whigs out after a certain amount of key levels and the game stops, but I've never come close to accomplishing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 If you have Mame, many of the games are documented on if they crash out and where. Using level-up cheats allow you to see them firsthand without spending hours at the screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchfynde Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Pac-Man apparently whigs out after a certain amount of key levels and the game stops, but I've never come close to accomplishing this. It's like level 256 or something. Half of the screen are dots, the other half is a bunch of gibberish and symbols. I've seen a photo of it before, it's pretty impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 ...more like level 133 I think. It's the level counter rollover that does this (it starts with a value halfway to the 256 point). This supposedly does not happen if the score digits are arranged a certian way, but this rumor has been debunked by anyone who has officially reached the split-screen. Mame has a cheat patch that allows you to skip this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 eh? The Pacman split screen is well known and documented even since the 80's and it is definitely the level after the 255th screen.. i.e. the 256th. But you're absolutely right about all the bunk myths that have gone around saying you could pass it with a "certain score"...*cough* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Yep...there are ways to debunk claims. Here's an excerpt of cheat.dat: pacman:0:4E0A:7E:000:Start at Strawberry pacman:0:4E13:01:500:Start at Strawberry (2/2) pacman:0:4E0A:7F:000:Start at 1st Orange pacman:0:4E13:02:500:Start at 1st Orange (2/2) Note the value being changed in $4E0A...the value begins with $7D (decimal 125). This value would roll over by itself following the 132nd board...much sooner than the value at $4E13 would. The odd thing is that they make no attempt to hide this simple fact in the Ms.PacMan file...go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Someone told me that the maximum score one could get in Pac-Man is 3,330,000. I was wondering if this is true, or is yet another myth surrounding Pac-Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 What I can't get is how they manage to eat all 4 ghosts in the split-second of blue time you get on a lot of rounds. This supposedly needs to be done in order to get that score. And if you mess up once, the entire game is shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 What I can't get is how they manage to eat all 4 ghosts in the split-second of blue time you get on a lot of rounds. This supposedly needs to be done in order to get that score. And if you mess up once, the entire game is shot! If that's the case, it's impossible because the ghosts stop changing after a certain number of boards. The most you can get with a dot on the later boards is one ghost if you time it perfectly. I don't have any current Guiness Recordbooks, so I wasn't sure if anyone's ever actually managed a perfect game or if the 3,330,000 meant eating all for ghosts on every power pellet on every board or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Noooo....every board on ones that DO change. But I don't know how they manage it every time. Even if all 4 ghosts are in the exact same position, the time doesn't seem to last long enough to get all of them (at least for me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 It's amazing how good some people are at that game. I thought topping 400,000 was impressive until I heard about the 3 million thing. Those who DO manage must have incredible Pac-Man skills. I cant get them anymore after the forth or fifth screen. I was wondering what a Mame was. I'm not very technically inclined when it comes to upright coin-ops. Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Mame is an acronym for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. * waits for shock to settle Yes, you can play arcade machines right on your home computer. The emulator is updated here: http://www.mame.net And the game "roms" are available here (after you sign up) : http://www.mame.dk Note: these are THE ACTUAL games that you remember...copied directly from the arcade machines. Have Fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 And the game "roms" are available here (after you sign up) :http://www.mame.dk They haven't been available there for some time after the lawyers got to them. Could try the wayback machine though. I think you can still find them there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witchfynde Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 It's amazing how good some people are at that game. I thought topping 400,000 was impressive until I heard about the 3 million thing. 400,000 IS still impressive. I can't even get 100,000 on Pac-Man, but then again I don't know any patterns, since Super Pac-Man is a different story: I know some patterns and can get over 100,000 on that one. It's still fun too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Oh...ok. *snicker They still go up occasionally when they've got the money to host them. So be sure to send in those donations! As a matter of fact, they are being hosted right now...but you need to log in first. If you don't log in, you won't get the download links to appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 If that's the case, it's impossible because the ghosts stop changing after a certain number of boards. The most you can get with a dot on the later boards is one ghost if you time it perfectly. I don't have any current Guiness Recordbooks, so I wasn't sure if anyone's ever actually managed a perfect game or if the 3,330,000 meant eating all for ghosts on every power pellet on every board or not. It's not impossible. The ghosts stop turning blue on the 9th key. But prior to that yeah you only have a second or so to eat them. The trick is you really do have to know how to "group" them so they're RIGHT THERE when you eat a power pill. Now of course personally I've never done it. But here's the story on Billie Mitchel and his perfect game of Pacman.. http://www.twingalaxies.com/PR-Pac-Man_Wor...rld_Record.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Yep...there are ways to debunk claims. Here's an excerpt of cheat.dat: pacman:0:4E0A:7E:000:Start at Strawberry pacman:0:4E13:01:500:Start at Strawberry (2/2) pacman:0:4E0A:7F:000:Start at 1st Orange pacman:0:4E13:02:500:Start at 1st Orange (2/2) Note the value being changed in $4E0A...the value begins with $7D (decimal 125). This value would roll over by itself following the 132nd board...much sooner than the value at $4E13 would. The odd thing is that they make no attempt to hide this simple fact in the Ms.PacMan file...go figure. hrm.. I always thought as far as the cheat.dat info is concerned, the stage value was simply stored at a single address, $4E13.. I don't recall $4E0A having anything to do with selecting a stage value? I may be mistaken... But I dunno... alls I remember was in the past (i.e. a year or two ago) I'd simply pop in a value in that one location (which oddly enough I remember $4E13 ) and whammo that's the stage it'll take me. (0= cherry 1=Strawberry, and on up counting in Hex) for stage 256, of course I'd pop in $FF, and that's how I'd get the split screen to show to friends. But cheats aside, I'm not sure what you're saying though. Are you saying that Pacman splits PRIOR to screen 255? Because it's for sure it does NOT. Or are you not saying that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 No, I was trying to illustrate where the rollover occurs (that excerpt comes directly from the Mame data file). If you begin a new game (without cheating)...the value $00 is placed in $4E13 and the value of $7D is placed in $4E0A. Both of these values go up by one each time you complete a board. It follows that the value at $4E0A will roll over much sooner than the value at $4E13. It could be that the $4E0A rollover has no effect on the game...but it's interesting that it does have the effect in Ms.PacMan (which is coded very similar to PacMan). Since people have been quoted as saying that they've played through 255 boards in a single game, I imagine that $4E0A has no effect on the game. But then what is it used for? Have they actually been through 255 screens, or just through up to the 256th screen. The way that those two questions are worded, they could mean seperate things. I dunno...I'm probably thinking too much into this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 aah you did read this post eventually (This thing spreading over 2 threads got confusing.. sorry) ok.. I get what you're saying (based on the other post) that it does occur earlier in MsPac. Veerry interesting. However a lot of people have gotten the split screen in pacman and to do that they play through 255 screens. I mean come on dude it's so well known and there are a lot of pattern pacman players who could do it if they really wanted to, and have so. But yeah talking strictly decimal, if you count the cherry as "1", the 255th board ($FE) is the last playable level in pacman. The 256th "splits". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Right. I just always thought that it was interesting how people say that they've been to the 256th board. But starting from where? From board zero? Or from the board that they presume to be the first? As a side note, people who can pull this off in Ms.PacMan usually say the same thing...that they've been to the 256th board. In a way, that is right (since the value that begins at $7D rolls after an additional 132 boards are passed). But like I said earlier...I'm probably reading too much into this The truth is hturt eht. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 imho getting that high in MsPac is amazing. In Pacman it's easy. At least in the original boards, once you learn the patterns you can go forever with only your stamina being key. Heck I can reach 255+ if I really really tried. (msg me if you want a pattern) In Mspacman it's hard.. No patterns make for a much harder time reaching 255+. Even on the arcade games using the speedup cheat, my high score is only 300k and only reaching the 12th banana stage or so.. So if anyone can reach level 255+ on MsPacman using the original game (i.e. no speedup), then my friggin HAT IS OFF TO THEM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 While I'm on the subject and feeling tired and a bit spacey...try this addition: 256 boards of 240 dots is worth 614,400 The first 12 boards' fruit is worth 29,600 The remaining 244 boards keys are worth 2,440,000 The 18 boards where monsters turn blue is worth 216,000 OK...if you add those figures together, you will get 3,300,000. No problem right? The split-screen will make up the difference of a couple thousand points. Right? But hold on...there are two flaws in the above figures. There are only 255 ungarbled screens, so you would need to subtract 2400 for the dots and 10000 for the keys...which makes the total 3,287,600 plus whatever dots can be had on the split-screen. So how did they get that total? *X files music Relax...I still think that I'm wrong. But it's a neat little conspiracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 While I'm on the subject and feeling tired and a bit spacey...try this addition: 256 boards of 240 dots is worth 614,400 The first 12 boards' fruit is worth 29,600 The remaining 244 boards keys are worth 2,440,000 The 18 boards where monsters turn blue is worth 216,000 OK...if you add those figures together, you will get 3,300,000. No problem right? The split-screen will make up the difference of a couple thousand points. Right? But hold on...there are two flaws in the above figures. There are only 255 ungarbled screens, so you would need to subtract 2400 for the dots and 10000 for the keys...which makes the total 3,287,600 plus whatever dots can be had on the split-screen. So how did they get that total? Heheh well first of all it's only 255 boards of 240 dots (the 256th is split remember , and thus only has half a screen of dots.. the garbled side has about 6 "hidden" dots that you can eventually eat if you meander around in that side for a bit. Second, the keys are worth 5000 pts., not 10,000 And we'll just leave it at that.. I can't do the "corrective" math right now either.. I just wanna go home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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