Season 14 ~ Week 12/13 ~ Under The Earth

[Vocelli]

Weeks 12 and 13

Under the Earth

Miner 2049er (Board 1-2 Challenge)

 

 

H.E.R.O ~ Game 1

 

 

Thunderground ~ Game 1 

 

CLARIFICATION: No use of CHEATS, emulation advantages, bugs, cart frying or other variables that gives you an unfair advantage in this HSC. Please assume you have to follow the game difficulty and mode for the playing week/s. There cannot be any game enhancements or favorite settings to play in the 2600 HSC, unless you are given authorization to do so by your humble yet strict MODERATOR! Vocelli

 

Miner 2049er (Board 1-2 Challenge)

Released By:  Tigervision

Left Difficulty: B

Right Difficulty: B

Game Mode: 1

How many points can you score just by using BOARDS 1 and 2. So, you may die as many times as you want… BUT, you may only use Boards 1 and 2… DO NOT ADVANCE TO BOARD 3.

AFTER YOU DIE THE LAST TIME… You will have approx 30 seconds to take your pic before the score goes away. You may take your FINAL PIC on Board 1 or Board 2. DO NOT ADVANCE TO BOARD 3.

That’s the Board 1-2 Challenge

 

 

H.E R.O.

Released By:  Activision

Left Difficulty: B

Right Difficulty: B

Game Mode: 1

 

 

Thunderground (300k Lowest Level Challenge)

Released By:  Sega

Left Difficulty: B

Right Difficulty: B

Game Modes: 1

ROLLAGE at 300k (STOP AT 300K and RECORD your Level)

Your Pic should contain your Score and Level.

Rankings will be based on Score and then LOWEST LEVEL to reach 300k

If you don't break 300k... You can still post your score.

 

 

 

 

 

Post your scores right here in this thread, and we will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone else.

The deadline for posting scores is Midnight (EST) the evening of July 30, 2023

 

Bonus:

NO BONUS 3 Games in 2 weeks

 

 

 

 

Miner 2049er (Board 1-2 Challenge)  Scores

See RULES ABOVE

 

2262 - Nads (+50)

2250 - FakeCortex (+49)

2237 - McCallister (+48)

2176 - ZilchSr (+47)

2176 - Atarian7 (+47)

2134 - Keir (+45)

2132 - Absalon (+44)

2080 - Evandro (+43)

2078 - JacobZu7Zu7 (+42)

2066 - AtariSphinx (+41)

2050 - MoisesTuseto (+40)

2013 - JasonAtari (+39)

1945 - Keilbaca (+38)

1925 - Vocelli (+37)

1857 - Kermit (+36)

1804 - CapitanClassic (+35)

1635 - Mikey (+34)

1621 - JasonHRB (+33)

1600 - Krytol (+32)

1534 - DrMooCowz (+31)

1482 - Mchetzel (+30)

1372 - GBAG (+29)

1296 - Rickster (+28)

1285 - LaurenTyler (+27)

1120 - AGB (+26)

1107 - JeremiahJT (+25)

1008 - TheActivisionary (+24)

  538 - SnowBound (+23)

 

H.E.R.O Scores

 

ROLLAGE - ZilchSr (+50)

ROLLAGE - Evandro (+50)

ROLLAGE - Nads (+50)

169360 - ClassicGamer (+47)

117575 - Keir (+46)

113625 - DrMooCowz (+45)

111965 - McCallister (+44)

101910 - CapitanClassic (+43)

  90035 - JasonAtari (+42)

  89295 - Absalon (+41)

  79055 - Vocelli (+40)

  74725 - JacobZu7Zu7 (+39)

  71635 - JasonHRB (+38)

  68265 - AtariSphinx (+37)

  64320 - MoisesTuseto (+36)

  56990 - GBAG (+35)

  54690 - Kermit (+34)

  54325 - FakeCortex (+33)

  46490 - Mikey (+32)

  44715 - LaurenTyler (+31)

  39790 - TheActivsionary (+30)

  38610 - SnowBound (+29)

  35125 - JeremiahJT (+28)

  34225 - Keilbaca (+27)

  32335 - Krytol (+26)

  28605 - AGB (+25)

  16635 - Mchetzel (+24)

  16505 - Rickster (+23)

  12590 - Atarian7 (+22)

  

 

Thunderground Scores (300k Challenge/Lowest Level Challenge)

See RULES ABOVE

 

ROLLAGE(22) - ZilchSr (+50)

ROLLAGE(23) - McCallister (+49)

ROLLAGE(23) - Absalon (+49)

ROLLAGE(23) - FakeCortex (+49)

ROLLAGE(24) - AtariSphinx (+46)

ROLLAGE(24) - Evandro (+46)

ROLLAGE(24) - Kermit (+46)

298820 - DrMooCowz (+43)

283080 - CapitanClassic (+42)

248940 - JasonHRB (+41)

235590 - JasonAtari (+40)

156240 - Keir (+39)

148390 - MoisesTuseto (+38)

142120 - Atarian7 (+37)

122780 - SnowBound (+36)

115760 - GBAG (+35)

107150 - Rickster (+34)

104580 - JacobZu7Zu7 (+33)

104390 - Vocelli (+32)

  91940 - LaurenTyler (+31)

  94920 - AGB (+30)

  87930 - Keilbaca (+29)

  84660 - ClassicGamer (+28)

  78530 - JeremiahJT (+27)

  60450 - Kyrtol (+26)

  58200 - Mchetzel (+25)

  42750 - Mikey (+24)

  26500 - TheActivisionary (+23)

 

 

Overall Standings

Remember the Top 26 will qualify for the Tournament at the end of the season!

 

725     ZilchSr 687     Kermit 686     McCallister 607     JacobZu7Zu7 603     JasonAtari 603     AtariSphinx 571     Dr Moocowz 562     Vocelli 545     Capitain Classic 539     Keilbaca 537     Keir 530     Absalon 530     JasonHRB 517     Evandro 504     Mikey 486     FakeCortex 481     TheActivisionary 475     GBAG 444     Atarian7 433     MoisesTuseto 399     SnowBound 397     LaurenTyler 394     Rickster 392     Mchetzel 391     ClassicGamer 375     GType 334     Krytol 303     JeremiahJT 282     EricG 224     AGB 175     Danger 153     RaymanC 133     JimBlargh 105     RGC 67     AbleMVada 60     HankRearden 47     SkippyBCoyote 32     p1Fq03 26     JGKspsx 18     Jblenkle

 

 

Season 14 will have:

~ Request

~ HomeBrew Weeks

~ Quickies

~ Company Weeks Part 2

~ Beat the Leaders

~ Beat the Leaders

Tournaments Start at the End of September!

 

The TOP 26 will qualify for the End the Season Challenge.

The End of Season Challenge is:

 

Major Leagues Survivor 3 Strikes Tourney

~ The Top 13 Players will Qualify

~ It will last 3 Rounds (No more or no less)

~ 3 Games per round and 2 weeks per round

~ Receive a STRIKE by finishing in the bottom half of scores for each game.

~ The GOAL… Just survive by not getting 3 strikes.

~ Any Player NOT receiving 3 strikes by the end of the 3 Rounds, gets to pick a game for Season 15.

~ The Top 4 Ranked players from Regular Season will have a hand in picking the 3 games each round.

(The Major Leagues will last 6 Weeks)

 

Minor Leagues Survivor Tourney

~ The Players who are ranked 14-26 in Regular Season will Qualify.

~ It will last 4 Rounds (No more or no less)

~ ONE game per round and ONE week per round.

~ Finish in the bottom half in scoring for that game and you are automatically eliminated.

~ ONLY the last remaining Player will get to pick a Game for Season 15!

~ The TOP 2 ranked players will get to pick the game each week.

(The Minor Leagues will last 4 Weeks)

Edited August 3, 2023 by Vocelli

[Vocelli]

Time to head into the Earth!!!

Enjoy the games... Read the Special Rules!

[ZilchSr]

Thunderground - 300K @ Lvl 23

 

[ZilchSr]

HERO - rollage (1,000,000)

 

[ZilchSr]

Thunderground 300K - Level 22

[classicgamer_27330]

Level 20 is a bitch

 

 

[Keir]

I’m almost ready to go underground…. Just as soon as I reach the top of that building!

[Lauren Tyler]

Miner 2049er: 1,285 (that game's controls are a real pain)

H.E.R.O.: 27,840 (just warming up)

Thunderground: TBA (I have yet to even break 100k)

[Vocelli]

8 hours ago, Lauren Tyler said:

Thunderground: TBA (I have yet to even break 100k)

You can still post a score on Thundergound even though you don't break 300k.

[Evandro_ECM]

HERO - 1.000.000 ( rollage) 

[ZilchSr]

The key to HERO is familiarity. Levels 1 through 20 are static. Memorize the layout. After level 20, each subsequent level is randomly selected layouts from levels 11 through 20 (or 9 through 20?), so once you have these levels mastered, you can easily get to 1,000,000, which takes a little over an hour. I found this just recently, which may provide useful:

 

https://atariage.com/2600/archives/HEROMaps/index.html

Edited July 16, 2023 by ZilchSr

[nads]

56 minutes ago, ZilchSr said:

The key to HERO is familiarity. Levels 1 through 20 are static. Memorize the layout. After level 20, each subsequent level is randomly selected layouts from levels 11 through 20 (or 9 through 20?), so once you have these levels mastered, you can easily get to 1,000,000, which takes a little over an hour. I found this just recently, which may provide useful:

 

https://atariage.com/2600/archives/HEROMaps/index.html

Actually this not entirely correct 😊

Yes, memorising the level layouts is essential, but Once you have cleared Level 20, Levels 13 to 20 just repeat in the order ie 13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20. Although on the screen, for the level it will just say “PRO”.

So to really improve on the game, assuming you get past Level 12 regularly, You want to practice by Selecting Game Number 4. This starts at Level 13. When can consistently clear all the levels, then it’s time to play Game 1

Edited July 16, 2023 by nads

[Lauren Tyler]

Thunderground: 91,940

[ZilchSr]

9 hours ago, nads said:

Actually this not entirely correct 😊

Yes, memorising the level layouts is essential, but Once you have cleared Level 20, Levels 13 to 20 just repeat in the order ie 13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20. Although on the screen, for the level it will just say “PRO”.

So to really improve on the game, assuming you get past Level 12 regularly, You want to practice by Selecting Game Number 4. This starts at Level 13. When can consistently clear all the levels, then it’s time to play Game 1

I never noticed they remained in sequential order after 20 ... I'll be damned. LOL! 

[Snowbound1996]

@ZilchSr Do you have any tips/strategies for getting 300,000 points in Thunderground, and doing it at such a low level? Most I can get is around 100,000 points and that's by round 11 abouts, so I'm waaaay behind you I think. 

Do you always go for the power ups, or do you aim to beat the stage really fast?

[ZilchSr]

1 hour ago, Snowbound1996 said:

@ZilchSr Do you have any tips/strategies for getting 300,000 points in Thunderground, and doing it at such a low level? Most I can get is around 100,000 points and that's by round 11 abouts, so I'm waaaay behind you I think. 

Do you always go for the power ups, or do you aim to beat the stage really fast?

Absolutely!

 

1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS retrieve the tokens (they're not really "power ups", per se, but they do allow you to earn more points) BEFORE shooting any of the bases (the diamond shaped thingies at the top). Doing this will increase the point value of each of the bases that you shoot on that level by up to 400%.

2. The tokens are ALWAYS in one of 7 distinct locations.

3. When I first start a level, I travel to the right and then head up to the top to begin taking out the annoying strip of dirt in front of the bases. 

4. On most levels (when the token is something other than the KEY), I will take out the dirt strip, and then travel a path that hits all of the 6 potential token locations (not the KEY), until I hit the token, and then travel up to start taking out the bases.

5. When the level you are on has the KEY as its token, it will always be in the right-most position you see in the grid above, so you will retrieve it on your way up to take out the dirt strip, and therefore, there is no need to search for the token ... you can start taking out the bases immediately.

6. Watch the first 12 minutes or so of this video: 

 

 

Hope this helps!

[Snowbound1996]

1 hour ago, ZilchSr said:

Absolutely!

 

1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS retrieve the tokens (they're not really "power ups", per se, but they do allow you to earn more points) BEFORE shooting any of the bases (the diamond shaped thingies at the top). Doing this will increase the point value of each of the bases that you shoot on that level by up to 400%.

2. The tokens are ALWAYS in one of 7 distinct locations.

3. When I first start a level, I travel to the right and then head up to the top to begin taking out the annoying strip of dirt in front of the bases. 

4. On most levels (when the token is something other than the KEY), I will take out the dirt strip, and then travel a path that hits all of the 6 potential token locations (not the KEY), until I hit the token, and then travel up to start taking out the bases.

5. When the level you are on has the KEY as its token, it will always be in the right-most position you see in the grid above, so you will retrieve it on your way up to take out the dirt strip, and therefore, there is no need to search for the token ... you can start taking out the bases immediately.

6. Watch the first 12 minutes or so of this video: 

 

 

Hope this helps!

Yeah that honestly helps a lot! I'd noticed that I kept bumping into the tokens in certain spots, but seeing it laid out on a grid like that really helps. I also didn't notice right away that it bumps up your score when destroying the bases, that's great to know!

Going to practice more at Thunderground tomorrow now. 

[Jasonhrb]

I Don't know how much time I'll get to play over the next couple of weeks, so  am posting scores early. There are some interesting choices this round.Miner 2049er is the weakest of the group imho. Perhaps one of those games that was something different at the time, but hasn't aged well.

 

Thunderground I really liked.  A very simple game, but one that is surprisingly absorbing and has no right being as fun as it is. The difficulty ramps up nicely and teh different types of tank and the need to hunt for equipment do a great job of keeping a very simple formula interesting.

 

As for HERO. No, I don't believe it. Yes, I have just spent 40 minutes playing it, and yes I've seen cartridges etc. , but this game has to be a hoax. It is simply not possible to produce something that good armed with nothing more than an Atari 2600 and 8k  .

 

Being more serious, this is a remarkable game. Everything about it just "works",and it's utterly engrossing. The graphics represent the action perfectly, the sound provides atmosphere and the gameplay is utterly absorbing. The pace of the action and the difficulty curve are both just right, and it's really enjoyable getting into the more advanced levels  . . . . .just a shame I'm rubbish at it really 😂.

 

Anyway, that's enough of me talking about digging myself into a hole, here are some scores :

 

 

[Jasonhrb]

As an aside, can @Vocelli please clarify something. When you say "do not advance to board 3" on miner 2049er, does that mean we need to take the score picture before completing level 2 (meaning that bonus for completing that can't be counted), or that we provide the score immediately after completing level 2 (in which case board 3 will be on the screen). If you can confirm, I can make sure I post the right thing

 

[Vocelli]

4 hours ago, Jasonhrb said:

As an aside, can @Vocelli please clarify something. When you say "do not advance to board 3" on miner 2049er, does that mean we need to take the score picture before completing level 2 (meaning that bonus for completing that can't be counted), or that we provide the score immediately after completing level 2 (in which case board 3 will be on the screen). If you can confirm, I can make sure I post the right thing

 

NO SCREEN 3 PICS... You will be taking that PIC before completing Screen 2.

So, kill yourself off (which gives you 30 seconds to take a pic) or take the pic while the counter is counting down.

[Absalon]

I start with Miner 2049er: 1785

 

I guess I did not use the optimal pattern but that's it for me, using all lives on level 1 and 2. It took me a while to get the timing right to take out all the monsters in lvl 2.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Absalon

[Absalon]

Thanks to the tips I could easily pass the 100k. Too bad the score digits in the pal version seem to be broken. So what is my Score 😅 a perfect rollage?

Edited July 17, 2023 by Absalon

[Absalon]

And a 50120 for hero. Have to do my Training on these levels.

 

[+jeremiahjt]

My first scores to make sure I am on the board.  For Miner 2049er, I got 1,107.  I cannot even beat the second board yet, so I do not have to worry about not making it to board three.  On Thunderground I scored 78,530, and finally 35,125 for H.E.R.O..

[Keir]

Getting on the board.

 

Probably the worst version of Miner 2049er, partly because it’s so damn slow. I definitely recommend trying the Atari 8-bit or C64 versions instead.

I’ve gotten quite rusty, as I used to make it to level 20 no problem. Unless the C64 version is a lot easier, though they seem the same except for graphics. Either way I need to practice this more.