High Scores for Classics?
James Hoebel
>address for the video game scoreboard?
This brings up an interesting question. Back in the 80's, I remember
hearing rumors about a National High Score registry. From what I
remember, it was at an arcade in Chicago called "Twin Galaxies".
I never went to this arcade -- is it still there? Was (is) this "one of
the biggest arcades in the World"? Why would it be "chosen" as the
official high score list (whatever "official" means)?
Just curious....
(I'll contribute to our list: Bubble Bobble, normal settings, no cheats,
4.7 mil)
Thanks,
Jim Hoebel
Reston, Virginia
Home: WBN...@prodigy.com
Work: JHO...@fdic.gov
MK DUD
I know we deal with restoring, collecting, and repairing here.
However, older games are never discussed on the "playing" newsgroups, and
I wondered if anyone would be interested in a post for some scores of
classics. How do you know what is a "good" or "great" score? Is there an
address for the video game scoreboard? I am not really looking for a
strategy discussion, but just a listing of what some good scores are.
Berzerk (extra at 5,000 and 10,000) 15,720
Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Michael Kelley
Paul
scores from when i used to live at the arcade. I can also
post the list that appears in joystik magazine(which
is outdated but still shows what the high scores were).
There is the problem of difficulty settings on each of the machines
to keep in mind. Robotron is easy until the owner sees you
playing it all day and then sets it on the hardest setting.
MK DUD (mk...@aol.com) wrote:
: Hello,
Dave Hallock
>I wondered if anyone would be interested in a post for some scores of
>classics. How do you know what is a "good" or "great" score?
I think this is a good idea. James Hoebel wrote:
> This brings up an interesting question. Back in the 80's, I remember
> hearing rumors about a National High Score registry. From what I
> remember, it was an arcade in Chicago called "Twin Galaxies".
The 1985 Guiness Book of World records states: (Please don't sue me
Guiness people.):
To ascertain what scores in video games are actually world records, a
nationwide competition was held under the auspices of Twin Galaxies with
Walter Day as coordinator, on June 29, June 30 and July 1, 1984 in 9
locations across the continent, namely New York NY, Anchorage AK, San
Jose CA, Miami FL, Wilmington NC, Victoria BC, Villa Park IL, Seattle WA,
Oklahoma City OK. The results of the competition are in the accompanying
chart. The winners and their scores have been verified by qualified
judges. This was the first competition of this kind and plans are to
continue this under the same auspices anually.
Game Score Player
---------------------------------------------------
Alpine Ski 133,263 Cary Sinnett
Baby Pac-Man 1,196,560 Jose Pelegio
Berzerk (Fast) 104,680 Ron K. Bailey
Bosconian 615,490 Frank Rion
Bubbles 1,365,970 Joe Malasarte
Bump N Jump 186,380 Gary Hatt
Burgertime 4,978,550 Bill Mitchell
Centipede 1,244,825 Darren Olsen
Congo Bongo 379,500* Steve Harris
Crossbow 2,888,000 Kenneth Murphy
Crystal Castles 845,832 Eric Ginner
Defender 230,125 Gino Yoo
Dig Dug 1,238,710 Douglas Smith
Donkey Kong 196,900 Randy Davis
Donkey Kong Jr. 957,300 Bill Mitchell
Donkey Kong 3 1,898,100 George Daniels
Firefox (9000) 500,045 David Palmer
Food Fight 1,512,900 Cameron Koehncke
Frogger 68,880 Jeff Scism
Frontline 134,200 Donald Freer
Galaga 1,867,080 Rick Dixon
Galaxian 186,770 Lloyd Dahling
Gyruss 7,035,300 Shelton Drumgolo
Joust 1,002,500 Don Morlan
Jr. Pac-Man 148,630 Fred Alderov
Jungle King 39,240 Chris Emery
M.A.C.H. 3 Fight 455,600 Randy Albright
M.A.C.H. 3 Bomb 315,200 Greg Jones
Mappy 513,350 Mike Reynolds
Mario Bros. 1,758,800 Perry Rodgers
Millipede 1,679,868 Kyle Cholly Long
Missile Command 1,426,115 Roy Shildt
Moon Patrol 181,900 Jeff Scism
Mr. Do! 1,390,350 Desiree McCrorey
Ms. Pac-Man 679,260 Bill Mitchell
Pac-Man 2,478,610 Bill Mitchell
Pengo 285,210 Debbie May Jensen
Pole Position 67,260 Les Lagier
Popeye 351,150 Steve Harris
Punchout!! 8,585,130 Chris Emery
Q*Bert 1,112,300 Doris Self
Robotron 838,475 John Martinez
Satan's Hollow 6,543,820 Chris Emery
Sinistar 188,170 Joseph Janiec
Space Invaders 9,990 Joseph Amor
Spy Hunter 794,495 Brian McDowell
Star Gate 194,200 Scott Heyano
Star Rider 240,047 Eddie King
Star Trek 1,723,175 Maurice DiSciullo
Star Wars 13,990,709 Mike Hewett
Super Pac-Man 315,380* Steve Saunders
Tapper 5,000,000 Jack Gale
Tempest 792,317 Chris Ayra
Time Pilot 5,197,100 Jeff Peters
Track & Field 93,100 Gary West
Tron 1,695,463 David Palmer
Tutankham 115,100 Dwayne Richards
Vanguard 122,290 Mike Hewett
Zaxxon 367,550 Dave Ander
Zoo Keeper 16,145,250 Brian Halik
* Record set in 1983
The book also lists each player's birthdate and place of residence if
you are interested. Some of these scores are lame, and others are
amazing! Please share your better scores.
Anyway, that's the first world record publishing of high scores. If
anyone has a newer Guiness book and is insane enough as me to type it all
in, please do.
lee
: mk...@aol.com (MK DUD) wrote:
: The 1985 Guiness Book of World records states: (Please don't sue me
: Guiness people.):
: Game Score Player
: ---------------------------------------------------
: Defender 230,125 Gino Yoo
I can get half this score on my first ship (ok I used to) at the hardest
setting.
: Joust 1,002,500 Don Morlan
Easily if it's the first version.
: Jungle King 39,240 Chris Emery
I'd smoke him too. Mine's been doa for 3 + years. What's worse is I have
3-4 boardsets but too lazy to open this sucker up. Who else uses their
cocktail's to stack things on top of?
: Robotron 838,475 John Martinez
Most people could beat this (not me though)
: Sinistar 188,170 Joseph Janiec
I can still do this but not much more
: Star Gate 194,200 Scott Heyano
What a joke!
: Tapper 5,000,000 Jack Gale
Now this, I'm IMPRESSED! No one I know can get to the 4 scene. Ok, so maybe
everyone I know sucks! There must be some trick cuz I just can't serve beer
that fast. Any hints/info is appreciated.
: The book also lists each player's birthdate and place of residence if
: you are interested. Some of these scores are lame, and others are
: amazing! Please share your better scores.
Yeah, gimme their address so I can tell some of them that their scores
suck 8-) Wasn't Twin Galaxies planning another competition sometime in
the near future? I'd just love to see all those machines in one place
again...that way I don't have to buy them to reach that same goal.
Gaymond Lee
Mark Jenison
|> Dave Hallock (drhs...@pitt.edu) wrote:
|> : mk...@aol.com (MK DUD) wrote:
|> : Guiness people.):
|>
|> : Game Score Player
|> : ---------------------------------------------------
[snip endless gloating :) ]
|> : Sinistar 188,170 Joseph Janiec
|>
|> : The book also lists each player's birthdate and place of residence if
|> : you are interested. Some of these scores are lame, and others are
|> : amazing! Please share your better scores.
|>
|> Yeah, gimme their address so I can tell some of them that their scores
|> suck 8-) Wasn't Twin Galaxies planning another competition sometime in
|> the near future? I'd just love to see all those machines in one place
|> again...that way I don't have to buy them to reach that same goal.
|> Gaymond Lee
Last I talked to Walter Day (I think TwinG...@aol.com is his address), I think
he mentioned having the competition some time in January--probably at the arcade
in Iowa that he is filling with classic arcade games that he finds at auctions.
While I'm here, I might as well post mine :)
My highest score on Sinistar with default settings: 209,320
--
----------------------------------
Mark Jenison (jen...@cig.mot.com)
Software Engineer
Motorola--Arlington Heights, IL
----------------------------------
Roger Earl
> The world record for Joust was 104,000,000 ... If I remember (Two people
> played)
Ok, so how about Joust with the cheat fixed? I'm fairly good (wouldn't
say great), and without the cheat I can only manage about 250,000.
__
|_) _ __ ---->Vancouver Classic Video Game Club<----
| \(_)(_/ ---->Hosting Joust Tournaments Monthly<----
_/ re...@Direct.CA
Homer
>
>
> These are 2 games i KNOW. I've gotten like 2.7 million on
> robotron on the hardest setting
Surely the hardest setting would be Difficulty 10, and extra men
evey 50,000 (Or even none at all-but thats just silly)
Homer Simpson
-Hey Ho-Lets Go-
Homer
> |>
> While I'm here, I might as well post mine :)
> My highest score on Sinistar with default settings: 209,320
Chris Bright
ie. you can't stand on the middle ledge and kill the Pterodactyl.. As I said
before I scored 60,000,00 in 1983 (I was in the GAMES magazine highscore table
for two months) ... It takes about 45 minutes to get 1,000,000 points so to get
that score it took close to 50 hours ( huge waste of time !, but I was young)
250,000 it a joke , I could probably get that one 2 or 3 men
P.s. The game had replays every 20,000 I think ? Maybe 25,000.
David Hill
: Why the hell doesn't anyone believe that I scored 60,000,000 on Joust. I SURE
: I could do it right now !!!! .. Many times I rolled the game ( at 10,000,000
: points , takes about 6-7 hours) ... When you roll Joust and put up your high
: score it will display it as "9999999". My friends and I would call it
: "Going to the Arcade and putting up 9's" ... Does anyone still doubt me ???
: If so, I'll challange ANYONE out there ! (I'm not tring to be a dick,
: but I know it for a fact)
I believe you! My high score is close to 8 million. It was on a "fixed"
joust (no cheat bug). The only reason I played for that long was to win
a free T-shirt and $5 in tokens for beating the previous high score at a
local arcade in Ketchum, Idaho - 1984 or so. It was the most boring
afternoon of my life. For people who have "mastered" joust a high score
in the tens of millions is only a function of endurance and spare time.
-David
lee
: Why the hell doesn't anyone believe that I scored 60,000,000 on Joust. I SURE
: I could do it right now !!!! .. Many times I rolled the game ( at 10,000,000
: points , takes about 6-7 hours) ... When you roll Joust and put up your high
: score it will display it as "9999999". My friends and I would call it
: "Going to the Arcade and putting up 9's" ... Does anyone still doubt me ???
: If so, I'll challange ANYONE out there ! (I'm not tring to be a dick,
: but I know it for a fact)
Alright, let's play 8-) When you come, I'll wire it up. One of my sets
should work. That's funny. I wonder how many people flamed you for
posting that score.
Gaymond Lee
Greg Gibson
>: Game Score Player
>: ---------------------------------------------------
>: Defender 230,125 Gino Yoo
>I can get half this score on my first ship (ok I used to) at the hardest
>setting.
>: Joust 1,002,500 Don Morlan
>Easily if it's the first version.
>: Jungle King 39,240 Chris Emery
>I'd smoke him too. Mine's been doa for 3 + years. What's worse is I have
>3-4 boardsets but too lazy to open this sucker up. Who else uses their
>cocktail's to stack things on top of?
>: Robotron 838,475 John Martinez
>Most people could beat this (not me though)
>: Sinistar 188,170 Joseph Janiec
>I can still do this but not much more
>: Star Gate 194,200 Scott Heyano
>What a joke!
>: Tapper 5,000,000 Jack Gale
>Now this, I'm IMPRESSED! No one I know can get to the 4 scene. Ok, so maybe
>everyone I know sucks! There must be some trick cuz I just can't serve beer
>that fast. Any hints/info is appreciated.
>: The book also lists each player's birthdate and place of residence if
>: you are interested. Some of these scores are lame, and others are
>: amazing! Please share your better scores.
>Yeah, gimme their address so I can tell some of them that their scores
>suck 8-) Wasn't Twin Galaxies planning another competition sometime in
>the near future? I'd just love to see all those machines in one place
>again...that way I don't have to buy them to reach that same goal.
>Gaymond Lee
Most of these scores were NOT achieved with the games set to their
original factory specs. Games like Star Gate, Robotron, Joust and
others could be played endlessly (until the player became physically
unable to continue) and that's not what they were trying to achieve
with these competitions.
All of the games that were known to be forever lasting would be set to
either their most difficult setting, or were set to award either a
limited number of extra lives (or none at all in some cases). This
would apply to Stargate, Robotron, Joust and Defender above, they
probably couldn't set Tapper to a 0 extra life setting (although I
recall many people that were very good at the game). I also recall
that Star Wars was set to award 0 bonus shields (and the score
achieved was over 20 million).
I did not get involved with the Guiness Competition until 1987, (the
year they stopped publishing scores), and unfortunately missed the
mark on the game I was playing (Pac Land - 1,250,000 or so). A friend
of mine took the score for 720 with 527,100, and that score was
recorded in the Guiness Book of Sports Records for 1987.
Sorry to go off like this, but I know quite a few of the people listed
and they are all definately excellent video game players, and I hate
to have people under the impression that the scores achieved were less
than the excellence that they were intended to portray.
Just my .02
Greg Gibson
Greg Gibson
>Chris Bright (cbright) wrote:
>> Why the hell doesn't anyone believe that I scored 60,000,000 on Joust.
> With the cheat, no doubt. The rest, well I don't think anyone is calling
>you a liar, just that seeing is believing.
I know MANY people that can score 60,000,000 or 600,000,000 (if they
could stay awake that long). Actually, if you can score over
1,000,000 you should have the necessary skills to play a machine set
to factory settings (3 lives, bonus every 20,000) indefinitely. If I
remember correctly, all of the enemies became Shadow Lords around
stage 39 or so, and once that happens, the game becomes extremely
easy.
>> "Going to the Arcade and putting up 9's" ... Does anyone still doubt me ???
>> If so, I'll challange ANYONE out there ! (I'm not tring to be a dick,
> Come to Vancouver, participate in the next Joust tourney (or start one in
>your own city) and put up some stats, against other players. Lets see if
>you can manage some Joust-Joust and not just follow patterns. Blatant
>incentive for Joust tourney's aside hey, its always nice to be able to
>play against someone challenging: my top score may only be 250,000 without
>the cheat, but few can beat me in Joust-Joust (meaning player vs player, no
>wimping).
> __
> |_) _ __ ---->Vancouver Classic Video Game Club<----
> | \(_)(_/ ---->Hosting Joust Tournaments Monthly<----
> _/ re...@Direct.CA
As for playing Joust head-to-head, I haven't done that much myself,
but it does sound like fun. If I'm ever up that way I'll have to
check it out.
Greg Gibson
gre...@ix.netcom.com
Paul
As long as you can keep getting extra men you can play as long
as you want but do the last 2 digits end in 99 or 75 like
robotron?
Chris Bright
young ,, who here didn't?
Don Grose
>young ,, who here didn't?
Why was it a WASTE of time? Didn't you enjoy playing these games?
Don
Paul Astrachan
>
>>: Game Score Player
>>: ---------------------------------------------------
>>: Defender 230,125 Gino Yoo
>>I can get half this score on my first ship (ok I used to) at the hardest
>>setting.
Now wait a second. I have played Defender at the hardest setting.
Actually there are alot of settings that you can set to 99. With all options
at 99, baiters come in not one at a time, but as a mass armada of ships.
At full speed, never missing a lander, you can't get through the rack
without a slew of baiters coming after you.
At this setting, which I regard as the highest setting, I can't last
more than two or so racks.
At the normal default settings I used to play way, way, way too long...
The real trick was to put a high score of 999975 on the machine, since
scores over 1 million didn't get treated as such.
Anyone else ever done that? I imagine everyone knows the Defender bug
between 990,000 and 999,975 that makes this hard to do.
Doug Jefferys
:
: I know MANY people that can score 60,000,000 or 600,000,000 (if they
: could stay awake that long).
As long as we're on the subject of high scores and staying awake,
does anyone remember what the record for Asteroids ended up as?
I remember hearing of times measured in days. Theoretically, one
could play to exhaustion and take naps whenever one had too many
ships in reserve, so indefinite play was a serious possibility,
regardless of physical limitations.
Later,
Doug.
--
Douglas W. Jefferys |
Preferred: do...@freenet.hamilton.on.ca |
Alternate: djef...@multipath.com `-----------------.
WWW: http://www.multipath.com/d.jefferys/index.html |
Gordon Gibson
of 5.5 million with about 30 lives left, so I could have easily stayed on
for days!!
I was then banned from from playing the machine ever again by the
machines owner. I suppose 7 hours play from 10p is OK.
*---------------------------------------------------------*
* Gordon Gibson of Sinister Developments Ltd *
* Current Project (Slam Racer, game for Atari Jaguar) *
* *
* 'Send me down a burger and some french fries, *
* cos tomorrow I'm gonna die' Rodney Orpheus... *
*---------------------------------------------------------*
Brenda Norton
> between 990,000 and 999,975 that makes this hard to do.
Homer.
Greg Gibson
The game will automatically post a score of 9,999,999 once the score
has been rolled. This left little challenge necessary to get the high
score on the machine. The game would also place the newest score in
the event of a tie (in other words, the #1 score of 9,999,999 would be
replaced by any new score of 9,999,999), which allowed for some
rotation of high scores once multiple players were achieving this.
As for other Williams games, I recall that the player had to stop
Robotron scores at 9,999,950 manually, (Defender too from earlier in
this thread), Bubbles was automatic like Joust w/9,999,999, I think
Blaster would handle scores into the 10's of millions, and I don't
know if I ever saw any 99,999,999's, and I don't know of anyone
reaching scores of more than 1 or 2 million on Sinistar or Mystic
Marathon.
The only one I missed (I think) is Stargate, and it was probably set
up like Defender, but I really don't know.
Let me know if I forgot any.
Greg Gibson
gre...@ix.netcom.com
Michael W. Zintl
: > Anyone else ever done that? I imagine everyone knows the Defender bug
: > between 990,000 and 999,975 that makes this hard to do.
: Lots of free men ?
Yes.
Specifically, one free life with anything you hit or hits you,
_including_ enemy fire which is what makes it so tough, since you
can't get rid of spare lives other than by hyperspacing yourself to
death.
The only feasible way to pull this off is to lose all but one or two
lives _before_ you get to 990,000, run into shit without shooting
anything, then hyperspacing yourself to death on your last life, all
the while hoping you don't land on something in the process, lest you
roll your score.
I wonder if that was really a bug :-)
: Homer.
--
Michael W. Zintl
mzi...@plasma.ps.uci.edu
"Scientists have odious manners, except when you prop up their theory;
then you can borrow money from them."
--Mark Twain
Chris Bright
9,999,999 even though you can't get 9 points on Joust. I remember times in
1983 when the top ten scores on the machine I played would all be 9,999,999
Chris Bright
with the total highest score would be at the top. Not the new one in the event
of a tie.. I can remember 7-10 high scores being over 10,000,000 points and
posting on myself but not getting the first place score...
Dean Grover
Paul Astrachan <astr...@austlcm.sps.mot.com> wrote:
>
>>Actually, if you can score over
>>1,000,000 you should have the necessary skills to play a machine set
>>to factory settings (3 lives, bonus every 20,000) indefinitely.
>
>
I recall I had a score ceiling around 1.4M for a few weeks before finally
mastering the last few mixed waves.
Someday soon, I'm going to turn of extra men and see how far I can get.
Dean
--
==============================================================================
Dean Grover
funh...@netcom.com