5200 HSC Season 16 Round 3 - Ms. Pac-Man

[+DamonicFury]

Welcome to the third round of the 16th 5200 HSC season.  Ms. Pac-Man tied with Star Trek and Joust in the poll, bur won the resulting dice roll.  Play using the default settings.  Emulation is fine, as are custom controls. Pics preferred, but not required except for HSC wins and records.

 

The high score was set by Cafeman with a score of 115,080 points.  Beat this if you can for a bonus point! 

 

The ROM and manual can be found here:

 

https://atariage.com/software_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=644

 

Round ends Sunday, August 7th, 2022 @11pm EST

 

Standings:

 

Cafeman - 74,940

rubeon - 25,350 

jeremiahjt - 7,630

[+Cafeman]

45,880. 

[+jeremiahjt]

7,630.  Ms. Pac-Man seems really slow on the 5200.  Is it the default setting or is the game always that speed?

[+DamonicFury]

22 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

7,630.  Ms. Pac-Man seems really slow on the 5200.  Is it the default setting or is the game always that speed?

If I recall correctly, it does feel sluggish early on compared to the arcade game, but that changes as you advance through the levels.  In any case, there's no way to change the speed other than by selecting a different starting level.

[+DamonicFury]

.

[+Cafeman]

22 hours ago, jeremiahjt said:

7,630.  Ms. Pac-Man seems really slow on the 5200.  Is it the default setting or is the game always that speed?

It is like a crippled sloth in old molasses on level 1. But by the 2nd maze layout, stage 3 or 4, it gets lightning fast. You have to stay on your toes to avoid the monsters. My tip is to use the side tunnels to your advantage, chipping away at the dots. 

[+Cafeman]

68,620.  Yeah it gets fast.   

[+DamonicFury]

New poll is up:

 

 

[+Cafeman]

74,940 

 

I still haven't gotten to the 4th Maze yet for this session.  If you can get to the 3rd Maze and eat 2 Pears and 2 Bananas, your score will jump pretty fast. But after that the fruit are randomized.  I'm not chasing a cherry or strawberry for only 100/200 points on that stage. 

 

This is a well-programmed version.  I assume that because GCC made the coin-op Ms Pac-Man, they had some skills and thus their 2600 and 5200 Ms Pac games turned out really well.  However, this game is perhaps too fast. I'm playing on an emulator using a Saturn pad via USB connector and I have a tough time cornering fast enough.  A lot of it is just instinct, and often my thumb doesn't do what my brain tries to tell it at these fast speeds. 

[rubeon]

25,350

 

will take a few stabs at this one, but it's pretty clear to me that I suck just as bad at Pac-Man today as 40 years ago.

 

1

[+DamonicFury]

Congratulations to Cafeman on devouring the most dots.

 

Final standings:

 

Cafeman - 74,940 +11

rubeon - 25,350 +10

jeremiahjt - 7,630 +9

 

Zone Ranger is up next.