HighScore.com Contest: $50 AtariAge gift certs to winners

[GimmeClassics]

I am working on implementing an advanced search as we speak, that will allow searching just for specific consoles/systems.

 

Perfect ! This will definitely improve browsing high scores and looking for a specific console / game combination

 

I definitely want to support Amiga. I just haven't added any Amiga games to the database yet. Whatever Amiga games you want to submit scores for, just let me know, and I will add the games to the database.

 

I'm very glad to hear this ! I'll come up with some Amiga games for you to add to your website I'll leave a reply hear this weekend !

 

Note that the site does have categories for emulated consoles, so you can submit scores for emulated Atari games. It is just that for the 3 specific games in this contest, the eligible category is for real hardware. You can still earn prizes in the contest for other things (like total points, number of "worldwide trophies", etc.)

I'll definitely look into this. I am more of an Arcade / Mame kind of guy but Atari has a very large community so I'll definitely give it a shot

...and I can still earn prizes....cool !

 

[Serious]

Will there be a problem if I play with my PAL games or do I have to use NTSC games for the contest?

 

PAL games aren't a problem at all.

 

I'm aware that there are some subtle differences in the speed of the game, but unless the users start demanding a distinction, I'll keep PAL and NTSC in the same category.

[GimmeClassics]

Hello Serious,

 

I have a suggestion about browsing for highscores on your new website. You're doing a great job btw

 

I knew a friend of mine posted a highscore for Cyvern (Mame). So I went to your website and the most logical thing to do was search for that game using the website's search function. I however didn't find the highscore my friend had submitted.

I know scores where voting is in progress (less than 10 votes / not yet 70% legit) are not shown. Not finding my friends submission is however kind of odd I think and I would very much like to see it otherwise. It would be amazing if your website would show his submission as a not-yet-validated highscore when I search for Cyvern.

 

When I would submit a highscore it's first shown at the "Latest Scores" section at your homepage and it has a great chance of receiving some votes. After a while however my submission would disappear from this page because others have submitted their highscores. If the voting of my highscore would still be in progress (less than 10 votes / not yet 70% legit) nobody would be able to find my submission. They would have to go to "Vote" to eventually find my submission. The Vote section is however showing just one game per time and they would then have to go through all these games to eventually find my submission.

 

Again, I think it would be amazing if your website would show every submission when you search for a particular game. If the voting of a submission is still in progress it should be marked as "not-yet-validated" or something like "awaiting votes". People can then choose to immediately vote for that game. I think it would be better this way. Not being able to find a submission (or at least very hard to find) because the voting is still in progress is not perfect I think.

 

I hope it will be possible to incorporate this Again, you're doing a great job with your new website and I am just throwing in my 2 cents to possibly help you make it even better

 

GC

Edited September 7, 2013 by GimmeClassics

[Serious]

I knew a friend of mine posted a highscore for Cyvern (Mame). So I went to your website and the most logical thing to do was search for that game using the website's search function. I however didn't find the highscore my friend had submitted.

I know scores where voting is in progress (less than 10 votes / not yet 70% legit) are not shown. Not finding my friends submission is however kind of odd I think and I would very much like to see it otherwise. It would be amazing if your website would show his submission as a not-yet-validated highscore when I search for Cyvern.

 

When I would submit a highscore it's first shown at the "Latest Scores" section at your homepage and it has a great chance of receiving some votes. After a while however my submission would disappear from this page because others have submitted their highscores. If the voting of my highscore would still be in progress (less than 10 votes / not yet 70% legit) nobody would be able to find my submission. They would have to go to "Vote" to eventually find my submission. The Vote section is however showing just one game per time and they would then have to go through all these games to eventually find my submission.

 

Again, I think it would be amazing if your website would show every submission when you search for a particular game. If the voting of a submission is still in progress it should be marked as "not-yet-validated" or something like "awaiting votes". People can then choose to immediately vote for that game. I think it would be better this way. Not being able to find a submission (or at least very hard to find) because the voting is still in progress is not perfect I think.

 

 

 

 

This is good feedback.

 

I will look at adding the scores waiting on votes in the search results.

 

I'll also look at the possibility of creating a separate page that shows all score submissions that are still being voted on.

 

Something that may help with the voting, in general, is I have revised the logic on the voting page. This will hopefully solve an issue that existed where sometimes it would tell you that it couldn't find anymore scores to vote on when there were in fact scores waiting. This should no longer happen (unless the user has in fact already voted on everything that is waiting for votes).

 

Thanks very much!

[kamakazi]

Hi Serious,

 

High Score (dot) com is easily becoming a favorite site for me. One of the things I have noticed is with the Trophies. The Trophies appear as they should but after a while it becomes difficult to see what "First" trophies have been earned. I have 33 trophies so far and it has now become hard to try and see the trophies. Also, there needs to be a limitation on the game title used on the trophies to help keep them all aligned nice and neat. Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom takes up so much space that my trophies are not all nice and neat as those before and after Buck Rogers. I know I've mentioned this before, and maybe it's just a pet-peeve with me, but if the title could be just the name of the game without any subtitles the trophies might line up better. As well, the trophies might need to be categorized by class first (First, City, State, Nation, Worldwide) or give an option for the user to display their trophies how they want them shown to the world.

[Serious]

Hi Serious,

 

High Score (dot) com is easily becoming a favorite site for me. One of the things I have noticed is with the Trophies. The Trophies appear as they should but after a while it becomes difficult to see what "First" trophies have been earned. I have 33 trophies so far and it has now become hard to try and see the trophies. Also, there needs to be a limitation on the game title used on the trophies to help keep them all aligned nice and neat. Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom takes up so much space that my trophies are not all nice and neat as those before and after Buck Rogers. I know I've mentioned this before, and maybe it's just a pet-peeve with me, but if the title could be just the name of the game without any subtitles the trophies might line up better. As well, the trophies might need to be categorized by class first (First, City, State, Nation, Worldwide) or give an option for the user to display their trophies how they want them shown to the world.

 

You're absolutely right about the alignment issue. It is something that I didn't anticipate being an issue, but there's several games in the database now with long titles, and now that I'm seeing it in use in the real world, it is definitely something I want to improve. I'm going to be experimenting with a few different potential solutions, including what you have suggested, as well as reducing the font size. (It's too bad that tablets don't support hover, or I could just make the title of each trophy show up as a tool-tip.)

 

I'm already working on a way for users to arrange the trophies in their trophy case. I'm currently trying to implement a drag-and-drop method of arrangement. I hope to have this online within the next week.

[yarjr]

In fourth place and loving it. I can only go up!

[Serious]

I made a few major changes/additions this weekend..

 

There is now a league page, and those of you who used the "AtariAge" code at sign-up are in the "AtariAge" league. Look for the link on the top section of your user home page. I will add leader boards to this page for most of the contest-related tallies in the next few days, so you can see how you stand in relation to the other participants. If you do not see the AtariAge league link on your user home page, PM me, as it may mean you didn't enter the code at registration.. I can add you to the league/contest if you PM me. (All of your activity on the site up until now will still count.)

 

The site now supports time-based scores, though I consider this code to be experimental at this stage. I added two time-based games: Dragster and Barnstorming.. I will add more time-based games after I make sure all of the bugs are ironed out.

 

You can now arrange the trophies in your trophy case via drag/drop. Look for the "organize trophy case" link in the lower right. This currently does not work on tablets or other touch-based interfaces.

[kamakazi]

OOoooo....I'm in a league!! WoooHOOO!! Awesome job with High Score, Serious. Very awesome job!

[yarjr]

Agreed. Its great to see where I am in the competition.

[Serious]

Perhaps I scored Enduro wrong. If so thats fine though It goes from 1 on up and has a rolling number.

 

Someone else had the same problem tonight.. I'm not sure what the best way to resolve this is. I don't know enough about this game to understand the best way the scores should be entered.

[Serious]

 

 

Again, I think it would be amazing if your website would show every submission when you search for a particular game. If the voting of a submission is still in progress it should be marked as "not-yet-validated" or something like "awaiting votes". People can then choose to immediately vote for that game. I think it would be better this way. Not being able to find a submission (or at least very hard to find) because the voting is still in progress is not perfect I think.

 

I hope it will be possible to incorporate this Again, you're doing a great job with your new website and I am just throwing in my 2 cents to possibly help you make it even better

 

GC

 

I added this featured tonight. Scores that are submitted but waiting on votes will appear in the search results, now.

 

Here's an example (search result for Towering Inferno 2600/B):

 

http://www.highscore.com/game/?g=828&enterscore=1

 

The only scores that won't show up are scores that the user has removed/replaced, or scores for which the user submitted no evidence (which seems to usually be the result of a mistake by the user). Also, you will need to be logged in to see the scores waiting on votes.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, and keep the ideas coming!

[roadrunner]

The last time Enduro was played in the 2600 HSC this is how it was scored -

• 2338.0 day 13 (oyamafamily) [+11] [+2]
• 1894.9 day 11 (zylon) [+10] [+2]
• 1376.8 day 8 (toymailman) [+9] [+2]
• 1203.9 day 7 (Cebus Capucinis) [+8] [+2]
• 1107.3 day 7 (Zoyx) [+7 [+2]
• 1049.3 day 6 (Mister VCS) [+6] [+2]
• 792.9 day 5 (Impaler_26) [+5][+2]
• 735.1 day 5 (JacobZu7zu7) [+4] [+2]
• 719.9 day 4 (LarcenTyler) [+3]
• 597.7 day 4 (SpaceInvaders) [+2]
• 588.5 day 4 (darthkur) [+1]
• 581.0 day 4 (Pioneer4x4) [+1]
• 565.8 day 4 (4Ks) [+1]
• 534.3 day 4 (roadrunner) [+1]
• 234.6 day 2 (chuckwalla) [+1]

[Serious]

 

The last time Enduro was played in the 2600 HSC this is how it was scored -

• 2338.0 day 13 (oyamafamily) [+11] [+2]
• 1894.9 day 11 (zylon) [+10] [+2]
• 1376.8 day 8 (toymailman) [+9] [+2]
• 1203.9 day 7 (Cebus Capucinis) [+8] [+2]
• 1107.3 day 7 (Zoyx) [+7 [+2]
• 1049.3 day 6 (Mister VCS) [+6] [+2]
• 792.9 day 5 (Impaler_26) [+5][+2]
• 735.1 day 5 (JacobZu7zu7) [+4] [+2]
• 719.9 day 4 (LarcenTyler) [+3]
• 597.7 day 4 (SpaceInvaders) [+2]
• 588.5 day 4 (darthkur) [+1]
• 581.0 day 4 (Pioneer4x4) [+1]
• 565.8 day 4 (4Ks) [+1]
• 534.3 day 4 (roadrunner) [+1]
• 234.6 day 2 (chuckwalla) [+1]

 

 

Is the day number an essential part of the score? In other words, would it be fair to score just based on the mileage?

[GimmeClassics]

 

Scores that are submitted but waiting on votes will appear in the search results, now.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, and keep the ideas coming!

 

@ Serious: thank you very much for implementing my request !! This is so much better

 

I have a few other ideas / suggestions :

 

1. M.A.M.E. default game settings

The default rules on your website for a M.A.M.E. high score submission are: "Play with default settings. No continues. 1 player only. No use of hacked ROMs or emulator advantages"

 

I have a question about these "default settings". Have you intentionally choosen for this rule ? I have always played my games using the Twin Galaxies settings. I like the possibility to compare my score with the official TG world records. I have - for example - played Jumping Jack quite a few times using the TG settings which require you to use medium difficulty. The default game settings are however on easy difficulty.

 

Again, maybe you have intentionally choosen to follow these default settings. I find it fun to be able to compare my hi-score with the official TG high scores. What do you think about this ? Would it be possible to copy / paste the dip switch settings from the Twin Galaxies website when you add a game to your database ? It's a little more work but it would definitely contribute to the fun factor I think

 

Example: when you want to know the TG settings for Jumping Jack (Mame) > go to twingalaxies.com > scores > search for jumping jack > platform (mame) > points > select "Official settings".

 

I'll respect whatever you choose to do but I'd love to hear what you think about this

 

2. Voting

Did you have any luck with creating a separate page that shows all score submissions that are still being voted on ? I think this would definitely improve the voting process instead of 1 game per screen to vote on.

 

I love what you're doing with highscore.com !! It's becoming one of my favorite sites

 

GC

Edited September 12, 2013 by GimmeClassics

[roadrunner]

 

Is the day number an essential part of the score? In other words, would it be fair to score just based on the mileage?

 

I think so, back in the day you had to get to day 5 to get a patch.

[Serious]

I have a question about these "default settings". Have you intentionally choosen for this rule ?

 

Basically, default settings is the "default" for all games on the site, MAME or otherwise.

 

There's two reasons for this:

 

1. The amount of time needed to research all of the available settings for all games for all systems would have greatly increased the time needed to add games to the database.

2. I believe, in most cases, most players play with the default settings.

 

However, I can add any variation of any game that you want to submit a score for.

 

I'm not very familiar with Twin Galaxies rules or MAME settings in general. It sounds like something I should research.

 

Did you have any luck with creating a separate page that shows all score submissions that are still being voted on ? I think this would definitely improve the voting process instead of 1 game per screen to vote on.

It is on my to-do list for this week. With luck, I may be able to get it done tonight.

 

I love what you're doing with highscore.com !! It's becoming one of my favorite sites

Awesome. Very glad to hear that, and I'm committed to continuing to make it better. User feedback is what is driving the changes I am making, so keep it coming!

[Serious]

I think so, back in the day you had to get to day 5 to get a patch.

Hmm, this is an interesting problem. The database doesn't currently support multiple values making up one score. I'll have to think on how to solve this.

 

Which would be a better score? 1000 miles Day 5 or 1000 miles Day 6? This would be relevant for rankings.

[roadrunner]

Day 6 would be better, I think someone posted a Day 7 score.

[yarjr]

I'm #1 on highscore.com, sorry serious!!!

[Serious]

I'm #1 on highscore.com, sorry serious!!!

Congrats!!

[Serious]

 

 

Did you have any luck with creating a separate page that shows all score submissions that are still being voted on ? I think this would definitely improve the voting process instead of 1 game per screen to vote on.

 

 

This is now added.

 

http://highscore.com/scoreboard/waiting.php

 

You will see the link to this page in the left navigation link titled "Waiting On Votes".

 

The top section are your own scores that are waiting on votes.

 

The sections below that are all of the other user's scores, grouped by category (system). For the scores in this list that you have not voted on, yet, there will be a "Vote" button next to them.

[yarjr]

Whoever is voting no on everything needs to get a life.

[GimmeClassics]

Basically, default settings is the "default" for all games on the site, MAME or otherwise.

 

There's two reasons for this:

 

1. The amount of time needed to research all of the available settings for all games for all systems would have greatly increased the time needed to add games to the database.

2. I believe, in most cases, most players play with the default settings.

 

However, I can add any variation of any game that you want to submit a score for.

 

I'm not very familiar with Twin Galaxies rules or MAME settings in general. It sounds like something I should research.

 

I completely understand. Specifying settings per game (other than default) would indeed be time consuming.

 

Twin galaxies is an organization that tracks video game world records since 1981 and Guiness World Records considers them to be the official supplier of verified world records.

However, they are now asking money for each submission and you have to wait quite some time to get your score accepted (and be visible). So it has become less interesting to me. I will only submit a high score when it would be a TG world record. So, your website is a great alternative

 

It's nice you're accepting any variation of any game. Personally I think you shouldn't have too much variations of one game. I think it would be best (in most cases) to have one variation of each game. This way you can compare your score with all users having submitted a score for that game I think having one high score table per game is the best option.

 

Using default settings for each game doesn't sound that bad after all ...but it's nice you're accepting any variation

 

 

 

This is now added.

 

http://highscore.com/scoreboard/waiting.php

 

You will see the link to this page in the left navigation link titled "Waiting On Votes".

 

The top section are your own scores that are waiting on votes.

 

The sections below that are all of the other user's scores, grouped by category (system). For the scores in this list that you have not voted on, yet, there will be a "Vote" button next to them.

 

Very nice improvement Serious !!!! I love it !

 

One small thing > I was wondering why there are two menu options for voting: "Vote (and earn points)" and "Waiting on Votes". Waiting on votes seems to cover everything

 

Thank you for all your effort so far

 

GC

[VectorGamer]

 

Twin galaxies is an organization that tracks video game world records since 1981 and Guiness World Records considers them to be the official supplier of verified world records.

 

 

Not any more. Twin Galaxies was dropped by Guinness since they began charging $ to verify scores.