NES High Score Club Week #7 - Excite Bike (Game B)

[vdub_bobby]

Stash your turtle shells for now and put on your helmets and let's head down to the track: It's time for Excite Bike!

 

Post a score and let's get this thing rolling!

 

Special note on scoring: We are playing game B, starting with track 1. Please post times for each track - excluding the challenge track - and I will sum them up for a total score your total score will be the sum of how much better than 3rd place you get on each track. Note that you do not have to start at track 1, but be aware that you need a time for every track and challenge track times will not count. EDIT: Post the times you have for the tracks you can get to. For example, if you can't beat track 4, just post the times for tracks 1 through 4.

 

Special note on taking screenshots: To get a screenshot for your final time, pause the game immediately after passing the finish line, preferably with the finish line still on the screen. See this example shot:

This way we can see the time and what track it is, plus since you can pause the game here you have time to take a picture.

 

Please post any tips you may have - best tip gets 1 bonus point!

 

Also, if anyone has a link to the manual, please post it. mojofltr, again: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1154612

 

This week's competition ends next Monday (Oct 23) morning at approximately 9:00 am PST.

 

This week's standings:

 

Score Name

79.83 vdub_bobby (+10 pts)

50.81 LarcenTyler (+8 pts +1 for best tip)

49.18 gdement (+6 pts)

45.19 mojofltr (+4 pts)

33.16 figgler (+2 pts)

25.43 8th lutz (+1 pt)

 

 

Overall standings:

 

1. rjchamp3 (43 pts)

2. figgler (38 pts)

3. mojofltr (24 pts)

4. nester (18 pts)

5. 8th lutz (18 pts)

6. vdub_bobby (17 pts)

7. Malc74 (13 pts)

8. MetalSlime23 (12 pts)

9. LarcenTyler (9 pts)

10. Cybergoth (6 pts)

11. keilbaca (4 pts)

12. MCHufnagel (2 pts)

13. remowilliams (2 pts)

14. BrianC (1 pts)

 

Tips

 

LarcenTyler:

-While it's fun to take out the drones, your primary goal is to focus on the clock, so don't get too carried away.

 

-On the topic of drones, the green racers sometimes will be seen running across the track to get to their crashed bike. Keep an eye out for them and if you see one, dodge it.

 

-It's important to keep your bike as parallel as possible to the surface you'll be landing on from a jump. If you miscalculate a landing, you either run the risk of losing speed or crashing, both of which can cost you valuable time.

 

-Make sure you play with the sound on, so you can hear the high pitched warning noise that indicates your bike is about to overheat. If you hear it, quickly let off the turbo and switch to the accelerator, since over heating costs you precious time while your bike cools off. Make sure to run over any chevrons you see on the ground, especially if you're blasting the turbo, since these will cool your bike off quite a bit.

 

-Remember to mash (well not mash, but you get the idea! ) the A and B buttons when you crash so you can recover faster.

 

-Use a wheelie to get over the small bump hurdles instead of dodging them, since this saves more time.

 

gdement:

- The most important thing in this game is to have plenty of speed when jumping, so use the Turbo in judicious bursts, giving yourself a burst of speed at the appropriate moments. You don't want to land on the uphill side of the next hill. When in straightaways, hold the Turbo as much as you can get away with, but keep enough reserve for whatever jumps are coming up. You should almost never hit a jump without Turbo.

- Don't push any buttons before the race starts. This will raise your temperature. When the race starts, use Turbo at least until your temperature reaches normal levels.

 

Before reading it in this thread, I never realized that the little arrows reduce your temperature. That's a very useful tip. If you hit the arrows it helps a great deal with your times.

Edited October 23, 2006 by vdub_bobby

[Lauren Tyler]

I'm presuming the challenge track is the first one you do before taking on the same track again?

[vdub_bobby]

I'm presuming the challenge track is the first one you do before taking on the same track again?

Yup. It's a little bit easier; fewer ramps and obstacles.

Edited October 16, 2006 by vdub_bobby

[uosipa llamxew]

Here is a scan of the manual: Excitebike.zip

 

I'd forgotten how much fun Excitebike is! Fun or not, I suck at this game! I'll start it off then:

 

 

1: 1:11:04

2: 1:05:87

3: 1:17:90

4: 1:34:28

[figgler]

Note that you do not have to start at track 1, but be aware that you need a time for every track and challenge track times will not count.

 

Can anyone do this?

I can get myself past the challenge track, then finish 1,2 and then 3. But I always get stuck at 4, then there is track 5 after that. Do you need to be able to finish every track to post times? I fear there will be few people that qualify as this is really tough.

[vdub_bobby]

Can anyone do this?

I can get myself past the challenge track, then finish 1,2 and then 3. But I always get stuck at 4, then there is track 5 after that. Do you need to be able to finish every track to post times? I fear there will be few people that qualify as this is really tough.

I'm open to suggestions.

 

We could score each track separately - tracks 4 and 5 are much tougher than I remembered.

[Lauren Tyler]

When my dad bought me an NES for his apartment when I went to visit him, it came with Gyromite (yes I owned ROB the Robot at one time,) and Duck Hunt, but he also purchased Mario Bros. and Excitebike for me as well, making it an old favorite of mine.

 

Here are my scores, sorry about the numbered file names, easier to just take the snapshots and upload them rather than renaming them.

 

BTW, it seems the pictures were uploaded in reverse order. Those are tracks 3, 2, and 1 respectively.

Edited October 19, 2006 by LarcenTyler

[gdement]

Is there an emulator that runs on a P3 that can run Excitebike? I've tried FCE and Nester and neither of them work.

[figgler]

Here's my best run so far.

Track 3 is the best I've been able to do tonight

 

 

1:15:04

1:13:80

1:19:48

 

 

 

[vdub_bobby]

So I'm really at a loss for how to score this week. Anyone have any ideas?

 

The best I've come up with is to take the sum of how much you beat 3rd place by for each track and make that your score. Only problem with that is that you don't get any score for a track unless you beat the 3rd place score.

 

Anybody have any better ideas?

 

Oh, and I plan to post scores soon...I have scores for tracks 1-3 (couldn't pass track 4) but I haven't been able to transfer the pics from my camera yet.

[figgler]

Maybe you could just sum up the times from tracks 1-3 since those are the ones most of us can get to.

Lowest combined time for all 3 tracks wins.

[vdub_bobby]

Maybe you could just sum up the times from tracks 1-3 since those are the ones most of us can get to.

Lowest combined time for all 3 tracks wins.

Oh, I will pass Track 4...or die trying.

 

Maybe I'll wait until the end to see how the scores shake out; see if anyone completes all the tracks.

[vdub_bobby]

Here are some quick emulator scores...

Track 1:

Track 2:

[Lauren Tyler]

For once I finally beat that darned 3rd course (just barely, albeit.) Here are my personal tips from years of playing this game:

 

-While it's fun to take out the drones, your primary goal is to focus on the clock, so don't get too carried away.

 

-On the topic of drones, the green racers sometimes will be seen running across the track to get to their crashed bike. Keep an eye out for them and if you see one, dodge it.

 

-It's important to keep your bike as parallel as possible to the surface you'll be landing on from a jump. If you miscalculate a landing, you either run the risk of losing speed or crashing, both of which can cost you valuable time.

 

-Make sure you play with the sound on, so you can hear the high pitched warning noise that indicates your bike is about to overheat. If you hear it, quickly let off the turbo and switch to the accelerator, since over heating costs you precious time while your bike cools off. Make sure to run over any chevrons you see on the ground, especially if you're blasting the turbo, since these will cool your bike off quite a bit.

 

-Remember to mash (well not mash, but you get the idea! ) the A and B buttons when you crash so you can recover faster.

 

-Use a wheelie to get over the small bump hurdles instead of dodging them, since this saves more time.

[gdement]

So I'm really at a loss for how to score this week. Anyone have any ideas?

 

The best I've come up with is to take the sum of how much you beat 3rd place by for each track and make that your score. Only problem with that is that you don't get any score for a track unless you beat the 3rd place score.

 

Anybody have any better ideas?

 

My suggestion is to add the times for each track. DNS earns a max time of say 3 minutes. Maybe post an honorable mention for best times on individual tracks.

[8th lutz]

Track 1: 1:18:49

Track 2: 1:18:08

Track 3: 1:39:28

[gdement]

I found that JNES works with this game, so I have a new emulator to play with.

 

I wish I had gotten to this earlier. If anybody is still playing, here's my suggestions:

- The most important thing in this game is to have plenty of speed when jumping, so use the Turbo in judicious bursts, giving yourself a burst of speed at the appropriate moments. You don't want to land on the uphill side of the next hill. When in straightaways, hold the Turbo as much as you can get away with, but keep enough reserve for whatever jumps are coming up. You should almost never hit a jump without Turbo.

- Don't push any buttons before the race starts. This will raise your temperature. When the race starts, use Turbo at least until your temperature reaches normal levels.

 

Before reading it in this thread, I never realized that the little arrows reduce your temperature. That's a very useful tip. If you hit the arrows it helps a great deal with your times.

 

[Edit - I improved these scores below, so don't bother computing from these.]

Track 1- 1:09:12

Track 2- 1:12:03

Track 3- 1:17:82

Track 4- 1:37:21 (the other racers are REALLY annoying on this track)

 

Edited October 23, 2006 by gdement

[gdement]

Track 4 is still annoying me to death.

 

Track 1 - 1:07:82

Track 2 - 1:06:00

Track 3 - 1:17:00

Track 4 - 1:40:11

 

[vdub_bobby]

Put in some time on Friday and beat track 4, finally, but couldn't beat track 5.

 

Oh well.

 

Track 1- 1:00:84

Track 2- 1:01:58

Track 3- 1:06:19

Track 4- 1:19:56

[vdub_bobby]

Aaaaaaaand...

 

we're done!

 

Good playing a game that was much harder than I thought it would be!

 

Next game: Castlevania!