Official 2006 DP MAME League Discussion Thread! It's ON!!!

[InsaneDavid]

Wait a minute, Juganawt - Mr. Brag 400k+, new Twin Galaxies MAME record....... didn't submit?

ROFL

You know in the back of my head I kept saying to myself "watch, he'll forget to send his score or something." See, I'm sure that threw a lot of people off and they gave up earlier.

Very nice score, Mayhem.

[Mayhem]

I was thinking erm... why am I top? Did he not submit then? O_O

My score was about 10k more than I got in the YakYak competition. So I averaged out there. I hate the game though :P

Now Raiden, I've only seen played and not actually tried it before, so this is gonna be new...

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Man, I cant believe I got second place. I guess practice does pay off!

Raiden. Hell yes.

[s1lence]

Im glad I made the cut and I love Raiden. :D

[Fighter17]

I could have gotten to the top 5 if I have summited the scores. LOL

[Jibbajaba]

You should ALWAYS submit your score. Someone got like 9,500, but he still submitted. You have nothing to lose by submitting. Out of like 37 "players", I only got like 19 scores. Pretty bad. But the first round is usually a throw-away for this exact reason. There's always a large number of flakes.

As for Juganawt, he's a cheater. Also, he is a dumb cheater.

Protip: If you are going to cheat, A: be less obvious, and B: don't send me an INP file.

For more details on juganawts extremely short career as a MAME leaguer, check out his post in the Xevious thread here:

http://www.jibbajaba.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3

Unbelievable.

Chris

[Juganawt]

As for Juganawt, he's a cheater. Also, he is a dumb cheater.

Protip: If you are going to cheat, A: be less obvious, and B: don't send me an INP file.

The way I see it, using a built in glitch in the actual rom to increase score isn't cheating. I didn't use altered inps, didn't input cheat codes, I just used the game's built in tricks to get a higher score... I didn't see anything in the rules about not using ingame advantages to increase score, so I thought it was fair... just like it's deemed fair to use the glitch in pac-man in world record attempts.

Ah well, if I'm out, I'm out, aint gonna complain, I'll still play along for fun.

[Mayhem]

So what's the glitch then... cos no one brought it up on YakYak when we played, and we actively go against glitches in our Lleague code of rules drawn up over time.

Personally though, if the rules here don't state no using glitches, then there isn't a problem using them. Without knowing what it is, and how to activate it, I can't really say anything more on my opinion of it.

(another glitch for example, getting massive bonus points in Phoenix via a certain trick)

[Juganawt]

So what's the glitch then... cos no one brought it up on YakYak when we played, and we actively go against glitches in our Lleague code of rules drawn up over time.

Personally though, if the rules here don't state no using glitches, then there isn't a problem using them. Without knowing what it is, and how to activate it, I can't really say anything more on my opinion of it.

(another glitch for example, getting massive bonus points in Phoenix via a certain trick)

I've never seen this glitch documented anywhere, and I stumbled upon it by accident while rolling a cigarette before pressing the coin button.

It varies for the difficulty settings on the DIP switch. Here's how you do it for standard settings and standard difficulty.

On the second roll through of the attract demo, a ship comes in from the right on it's own just above a cluster of 3. If you press the coin button followed quickly by the start button the very second the computer's bullet touches that ship, the game starts with a weird line of those gray rotating slates. Shoot the slates from left to right to get an easy 200k - 1.2 million points, depending on how many slates you hit that flash blue and red. You also get lives for every 60k you get, so if you get the 1.2 million score you get several bonus ships to start your game with.

The downside is this shoots the game up to it's highest difficulty setting, making all the enemies a general pain in the arse.

See the input file for more info.

http://www.cwgsy.net/private/juganawt/xeviousinp.rar

[Jibbajaba]

We can go back and forth about whether or not is cheating all we want. I understand Juganawt's point that it is a built in glitch, so I am not going to say that he is "cheating" anymore, knowing now the details of what he did. That being said, I still think that what he did goes against the spirit of the competition. Had he shared the glitch with everyone, or made any sort of reference to it at all, I might feel differently. Of course some will say that it gave him an advantage in the competition, so why would he share it? If nothing, he should have PMed me about it to see if it was going to be OK. I would have said no, but at least then he wouldn't have been DQed for it (had he stopped using it).

I think red flags should have gone up for all of us when he said that he beat the Twin Galaxies score on his first try.

Anyway, I see both sides of the issue, but I have to stick with my decision.

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

Also, now that I think about it, I doubt that it is a "glitch". It may be a cheat mode put in the game by the developers, just like the Konami code. And if that is the case, then it is definitely cheating.

Chris

[Fighter17]

You should ALWAYS submit your score. Someone got like 9,500, but he still submitted. You have nothing to lose by submitting. Out of like 37 "players", I only got like 19 scores. Pretty bad. But the first round is usually a throw-away for this exact reason. There's always a large number of flakes.

As for Juganawt, he's a cheater. Also, he is a dumb cheater.

Protip: If you are going to cheat, A: be less obvious, and B: don't send me an INP file.

For more details on juganawts extremely short career as a MAME leaguer, check out his post in the Xevious thread here:

http://www.jibbajaba.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3

Unbelievable.

Chris

I should have submitted, but I forgot! LOL :(

[InsaneDavid]

We can go back and forth about whether or not is cheating all we want. I understand Juganawt's point that it is a built in glitch, so I am not going to say that he is "cheating" anymore, knowing now the details of what he did...

...I think red flags should have gone up for all of us when he said that he beat the Twin Galaxies score on his first try.

Anyway, I see both sides of the issue, but I have to stick with my decision.


Also, now that I think about it, I doubt that it is a "glitch". It may be a cheat mode put in the game by the developers, just like the Konami code. And if that is the case, then it is definitely cheating.

Hold up, it doesn't matter either way since...


The downside is this shoots the game up to it's highest difficulty setting, making all the enemies a general pain in the arse.

Which changes the game out of the default settings so any score achieved under those circumstances is in violation of the rules and is invalid. No debate required.


I should have submitted, but I forgot! LOL :(

And that's the reason you should always submit, things come up, people forget, etc. :)

Only thing about this round that pissed me off a bit is that my previous high score from the one I submitted, 117,210, would have put me in the same place in the rankings as the last minute run I had and submitted at 122,210. Also the lower scoring round was much more entertaining. I could have spent that last two hours with my girlfriend but blew them playing Xevious for no reason at all now it seems. :angry: Damn you Xevious.

[Jibbajaba]

The downside is this shoots the game up to it's highest difficulty setting, making all the enemies a general pain in the arse.

Which changes the game out of the default settings so any score achieved under those circumstances is in violation of the rules and is invalid. No debate required.



InsaneDavid just went Kojak on our asses, and is absolutely correct.

Here is the bottom line with glitches or cheat codes. I don't have a problem with them if everyone knows how to use them, but if everyone uses them then there is no point in anyone using them. This rationale is an example of why it is cheating. If Juganawt had shared his knowledge with everyone, then there would have been no point in using it in the first place. Thus it is an unfair advantage, and thus it is cheating.

Because of this ugly episode, I am forced to alter the rules slightly. This is important, so lets kick the font size up a notch.

From now on, be prepared to submit an INP file upon request. You do not have to send them in with your high score, but if I decide that I want to see an INP of your gameplay (due to specific circumstances, not a random check) then you have to produce one, or I will not accept your score.

I assure you that this is a right that I will only excersise under extreme circumstances. This will not be a regular thing.

Yes this sucks. But think about this. What if Juganawt had not recorded an INP file? What could I have done but accept his score? My hands would have been tied. I can't just call someone a cheater for no reason other than an amazing score. This new rule is in place so that the next time someone submits a score that I think is a little bit too high, I can view the INP file to check for funny business. I hate doing this because it shouldn't be needed, but as we all just learned, it is.

Chris

[xredmenacex]

Chris, you made the right decision here. It should have been obvious to all involved that "using a glitch" was not in the spirit of a high score competition. I was kind of wondering about those scores but I figured it might be possible. Now I know. Lame.

Anyway, I'm glad I ended up with a decent placing. I'm in the minority of people that really like Xevious and I've actually played it quite a bit. I wasn't too happy with the score I'd submitted because I've had lucky runs in the past which were about twice as much. I just wasn't able to repeat it this time though.

I'm not sure I've ever played the original Raiden, so we'll see how it goes...

[DragonMaster Sam]

Well, I placed 17th out of 19 people, so it looks like I'm out of the running again. A few more playing sessions, and I could've qualified. I'll be ready for round 2's game though.

[xredmenacex]

I know this isn't a MAME forum but could someone tell me how to make an INP file. That's just like a recording of the whole game right? I'm assuming there's a simple on/off button or something.

[scooterb23]

Yep, if you go into MAME, under the File menu, there is a "Play and Record Input" option, just choose a filename, click ok, and have at it!!

[Jibbajaba]

I know this isn't a MAME forum but could someone tell me how to make an INP file. That's just like a recording of the whole game right? I'm assuming there's a simple on/off button or something.

I believe that I but an entry in the MAME League faq about it.

http://mameleague.jibbajaba.com/faq

Pretty easy.

Chris

[HardcoreGamer]

Could you have done this on an actual Xevious cab?

If not, then you shouldn't be doing it here.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Alright, I've got a question then.

Because I dont feel like recording an INP every single time I want to play, what if I were to get a high score in Raiden (for shits and giggles, 20 million more then anyone else) and didn't have an INP recorded, and you ask for one. Could I play a similar highly scoring game played after the fact to prove it, or would it HAVE to be the same exact game? If it has to be the same game, I think I might just not record and if I get accused of cheating or whatever, I'll just bow out of the whole thing. This should be fun, not a hassle.

[HardcoreGamer]

You should be able to prove that you made such a high score. Usually, if you score by that high a margin, cheating is involved.

Why would it be such a hassle to prove you did better?\


I'll just bow out of the whole thing. This should be fun, not a hassle.

Don't even be that way. Else I'll have to think that that's one less competitor I have to worry about.

[LinkOracle]

working on the castlevania twin pack for GBA

[Kitsune Sniper]

You should be able to prove that you made such a high score. Usually, if you score by that high a margin, cheating is involved.

Well, it depends on the game. If you're good enough you can rack incredible bonuses easily - remember Puzzle Bobble? Look at how far away the higher scores were from the lower scores. And to use another example, if you beat a fighting game with nothing but perfect victories, you can get a HUGE high score.

[HardcoreGamer]

I used the term, "usually." I know there are extenuating circumstances.

I still stand by the thought of wanting to prove such a good score. I'd record INPs just for the heck of it, but I use MAMEoX, which doesn't allow for them.

[InsaneDavid]

InsaneDavid just went Kojak on our asses, and is absolutely correct.

LOL "Who loves ya, baby?"


Because I dont feel like recording an INP every single time I want to play, what if I were to get a high score in Raiden (for shits and giggles, 20 million more then anyone else) and didn't have an INP recorded, and you ask for one. Could I play a similar highly scoring game played after the fact to prove it, or would it HAVE to be the same exact game? If it has to be the same game, I think I might just not record and if I get accused of cheating or whatever, I'll just bow out of the whole thing. This should be fun, not a hassle.

It sounds like all it does it provide a review safety net. I think it's more to review play style. Let's say someone did get 20 million more on Raiden than anyone else. If a .inp was requested and then submitted of a play session - and the player couldn't get five minutes into the game or not make like even 1000 points, then it would be obvious that the original run was dirty.

We all have those miracle runs every now and then but when they do happen it's on games that you're decent at to begin with.


working on the castlevania twin pack for GBA

Uh... that's great junior.

[Sosage]

We all have those miracle runs every now and then but when they do happen it's on games that you're decent at to begin with.

Which is even more reason to just hit play and record (it is maybe 2-3 more clicks from regularly launching the game). If Jibba audits me, then I'll let him sit through it until he sees my once in a life time top score run (Lucky for him I only play in 15-20 minute spurts anyways). The files seem to store input only and a 20 minute play seemed to weight in around 8 megs.

Unless it is slowing down Mame, your version of Mame doesn't support it or the files are taking up precious porn space, it really shouldn't be a big deal imo. Just do it, have fun and compete already. =P

[InsaneDavid]

Which is even more reason to just hit play and record (it is maybe 2-3 more clicks from regularly launching the game). If Jibba audits me, then I'll let him sit through it until he sees my once in a life time top score run (Lucky for him I only play in 15-20 minute spurts anyways). The files seem to store input only and a 20 minute play seemed to weight in around 8 megs.

Or you could make each play a separate .inp file to cut down on view time.

I'll be honest, sometimes I record an .inp, sometimes I don't. At first I like to have a bunch of fast playthroughs to get into the game and in the past some of my high scores have come from these. When I sit down to make my serious runs I usually record an .inp file, retaining the high one and overwriting the default file over and over for the ones that aren't.

[jcheatle]

We all have those miracle runs every now and then but when they do happen it's on games that you're decent at to begin with.

Which is even more reason to just hit play and record (it is maybe 2-3 more clicks from regularly launching the game). If Jibba audits me, then I'll let him sit through it until he sees my once in a life time top score run (Lucky for him I only play in 15-20 minute spurts anyways). The files seem to store input only and a 20 minute play seemed to weight in around 8 megs.

Unless it is slowing down Mame, your version of Mame doesn't support it or the files are taking up precious porn space, it really shouldn't be a big deal imo. Just do it, have fun and compete already. =P

Speaking personally, I don't care one way or another about the INP files. It's just a real pain in the arse for me to exit out of MAME, then hit record and wait for it to reload through the opening screens, especially for games like Xevious and City Bomber, I think, which on mine (don't know about anybody else's) started out scrambled then finally started working.

I mean this especially when I get into it the game flow where if I start poorly, I kill myself off quickly and start again, you know? But then again, I wouldn't even know what cheats or glitches to use since I haven't played but two of the games thus far before (Puzzle Bobble, go figure and Simpsons). Thus, I'd hardly consider myself suspicious. :)

It's a good idea, just as a double check if needed, though. And like somebody else said, if I actually had a game where I *could* do that (remembering that Puzzle Bobble was still close with the top 4 or 5), yes, I should be able to have a second game which is close. So meh, whatever.

And allow me to be the first to say... Raiden sucks, there's too much stuff going on with these power ups and stuff. I wish it was slower like Xevious. LOL Just kidding, great game, but I am definitely in the "happy to be here" mode. I can't see any way that I sneak into the top 8 but crazier things have happened, I guess.

[InsaneDavid]

especially for games like Xevious and City Bomber, I think, which on mine (don't know about anybody else's) started out scrambled then finally started working.

To quote my FAQ...


Running Games In MAME32 v0.95

To simply play a game, double click its title in the center column and it will start up. Onscreen prompts will come up saying to type "OK" to continue (wiggling the joystick, control pad, or arrow keys left then right will do the same). As these are exact copies of the information on the chips in arcade cabinets, many games may display odd graphic patterns or gibberish for a moment upon start up - this is normal. If you were to power up a physical arcade cabinet of a game this is what would happen, they are performing start up tests.

[Jibbajaba]

Just a couple of things:

First of all, yes INP files are very large, but they compress like a mofo. A 10 meg INP will compress down to about 40k.

Second, don't worry about having a seperate little INP file for every time you play. If you are going to sit down and play, say, Raiden, just start recording and play as many games as you want. Let me worry about sifting through it and finding your high scoring run. I just throw that bitch into hyper fast forward mode and kick back with a bag of pretzels.

I'm not going to get all anal about this, demanding things be a certain way, like only playing one game per INP file or something. I want to make this as easy as possible for you guys.

One thing I feel the need to stress YET AGAIN is that this is being done to protect those of you who play honestly (which is all of you except for the one bad apple at the moment). If we are going to have new people constantly coming into the league, then we run a higher risk of some cheaters showing up.

Remember, this may be a pain in the ass, but if people cheat in the league and nothing is done about it, then it ruins it for everyone.

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

Second, don't worry about having a seperate little INP file for every time you play. If you are going to sit down and play, say, Raiden, just start recording and play as many games as you want. Let me worry about sifting through it and finding your high scoring run. I just throw that bitch into hyper fast forward mode and kick back with a bag of pretzels.

I'm not going to get all anal about this, demanding things be a certain way, like only playing one game per INP file or something. I want to make this as easy as possible for you guys.

Yeah, the one run per .inp thing is just something I do since I go back and watch them throughout the round, learning from my own play runs.

[Jibbajaba]

Raiden scores will be due at 11:59PM tomorrow night, not tonight.

Chris

[s1lence]

Raiden scores will be due at 11:59PM tomorrow night, not tonight.

Chris


Ok good as I just discovered that I need to make inp's of my scores, just to be safe :). Game on.

[jcheatle]

Understood about letting the INP run. Sounds good. And I took my embarrassing score and at least added a little bit to it. Maybe by tomorrow with the extra time, I'll be OK.

[Jibbajaba]

Raiden scores are due in just over 2 hours.

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

Raiden scores are due in just over 2 hours.

Chris

Glad you posted, this totally slipped my mind. I should have just submitted last night. LOL

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Raiden scores are due in just over 2 hours.

Chris

Glad you posted, this totally slipped my mind. I should have just submitted last night. LOL
Oh man, I'm lucky. I've been playing the hell out of this, but went to bed really early tonight. I just happened to wake up for some reason, and I was like "Oh shit! I never submitted!"

[Jibbajaba]

OK I have 19 scores so far. Lets try to do better than last round. 55 minutes left!

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

Scores have been posted, the rankings sheet is now current, and I have announced the next tournament (although signups have not yet started).

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

New game posted.

http://mameleague.jibbajaba.com/tourn1.htm

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

Hey everybody. Sorry I flaked on the game yesterday. Here it is:

http://mameleague.jibbajaba.com/tourn1.htm

Scores will be due on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I'll change the schedule on the website.

Section Z scores are posted, and the rankings are updated.

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

Damnit, I thought I had you all in Section-Z, but I always get stuck at that one point as my .inp shows. Damn Section-L. LOL Down but not out. ;)

[Jibbajaba]

Down but not out. ;)

On the contrary. Thanks to your performance in Section Z, you have movied into second place in the World Rankings!

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

Down but not out. ;)

On the contrary. Thanks to your performance in Section Z, you have movied into second place in the World Rankings!

Cool, I need to get up near the top and secure some distance as this summer I'm going to have to drop out for a few weeks. :/

[jcheatle]

Cool, I need to get up near the top and secure some distance as this summer I'm going to have to drop out for a few weeks. :/

Speaking of dropping out... between the finish of the spring semester and my general disregard for shmups, I'm out for the last 3 rounds of this tourney.

Any word though on Puzzlefest signups yet? I can't imagine I missed them, but the tourney allegedly starts next week. I probably won't have much time with moving and starting a new round of summer classes, but if I'm going to win any of these, it'd be puzzles, so I'll make the time. LOL

[Jibbajaba]

Hey guys,

First of all, I apologize for the 2 day delay. Sometimes life gets in the way, you know?

Second, there has been a small rule change. From now on, instead of the third place finisher in the second-to-last round winning third place overall, the third and fourth place finishers will play the round 5 game to determine a third place finisher. That means that all four players from round 4 need to play round 5!

Finally, I am sorry for the download size of this round's game. It is 4.5 megs, which even at 56k isn't that bad. Just start the download and go watch TV for a few minutes.

Absolutely finally, sign-ups for Puzzlefest '06 start tonight. Just send me an e-mail at this address if you want in. Again, no entry fee.

OK, here's this round's game: http://www.jibbajaba.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23

Good luck,

Chris

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Dont worry about being late, real life is always more important than DP. As for the game results, I'm not surprized. I had hardly any time to play, and the score that I submitted was the first game that I played, and I couldn't beat that in about 3 more games, so I said to hell with it and submitted. If I had the same score I had last tourny, I would've been second. Thats alright, I'm fine with only getting 3rd place this round :D

And Mayhem deserves this one. He's gotten first place on all the games. I thought I was good at shmups.

[InsaneDavid]

As for the game results, I'm not surprized. I had hardly any time to play, and the score that I submitted was the first game that I played

Same here, that was my one and only play of Gun.Smoke this year since the hockey game ran way late and I had planned on playing after it was over. LOL

[Jibbajaba]

Scores posted, rankings updated, blah blah. Just gotta pay out some prize meseta!

Chris

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Wait, how did Zero get third and not me? I got a little higher score then him, according to your post.

[xredmenacex]

^I noticed that too Mr. Foodmonster.

I think there are a couple of errors in the world rankings too. They are based on total (normalized) points right?

Anyway the tournament was a lot of fun. Thanks to Chris and everyone involved!

[Jibbajaba]

Sorry you are right. I forgot what we were doing there. Good thing I havent paid out any meseta yet! Hah!

What mistakes are there on the world rankings sheet? Please let me know so that they can be corrected.

Chris

[xredmenacex]

^Well, if ranking is based solely on the number in the points column: the people in 7th (360 points) and 6th place (318) should be switched. And the people in 12th place (299-hey that's me!) and 11th place (253) should be switched.

Unless I'm just confused. I'm not much of a numbers guy. :)

[Mr.FoodMonster]

No, that looks right. Other then you shouldn't be 11th or 12th, you should be in 8th place.

[xredmenacex]

^Oh, yeah you're right! LOL

[Jibbajaba]

OK I fixed everything if you guys want to proofread it again. :)

Chris

[xredmenacex]

Looks good to me. Thanks again for your work in doing this league!

[Mr.FoodMonster]

It says I dont have a bronze and still says that Zero has one. Other then that, it looks fine as far as I can tell.

Well, I can tell that you've obviously got things in 'real life' getting in the way, maybe you should postpone the tourny until whatever is going on settles down or something? Maybe find another person willing to run it? I'm not trying to rush you, just maybe you cant handle running this at the moment and postponement would be for the best?

(I tried so hard not to post 'postpwn')

[Jibbajaba]

Maybe find another person willing to run it?

Jesus, am I doing that bad of a job?

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

Maybe find another person willing to run it?

Jesus, am I doing that bad of a job?

ROFL I was wondering how long it would take for this conversation to begin. Memories... of last year...

You're doing a fine job.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Maybe find another person willing to run it?

Jesus, am I doing that bad of a job?

Chris
No, like I said, if you had something going on and running this was getting in the way of whatever that was, then it would be understandable to let someone else take over. I honestly dont mind if there is a week where nothing happens, and I think the job you're doing is excellent. If you're spending time on here with the tourny when you've got something going on in real life that you need to focus on, then by all means have that come first. But, you're on top of it and if that idea offends you, please dont take it that way.

[InsaneDavid]

Just checking if the dates are correct, scores for this first round aren't due until the 25th?

[Jibbajaba]

Just checking if the dates are correct, scores for this first round aren't due until the 25th?

Yes. Sorry I didn't call attention to this in the e-mail. I will send out a follow-up. I am leaving on a business trip today and will not be back until Thursday, so I can't start the next game until at least then, so I figured we could just have an extra long first round.

Chris

[Jibbajaba]

Puzzlefest round 2: http://mameleague.jibbajaba.com/tourn1.htm

Since so few people submitted scores, everyone advaces to round 2, but only the top 8 will continue on from there.

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

Ahh, now THIS is a puzzle game - not that Sokoban / Boxxle crap. LOL

[Jibbajaba]

Ahh, now THIS is a puzzle game - not that Sokoban / Boxxle crap. LOL

I have to disagree. Boxy Boy is much more puzzly than this game, but Klax clearly falls into the puzzle category.

I don't know why you guys didn't like Boxy Boy. If you actually spent time with it learning the solutions to the levels, you could just rack up points like a mad fool.

Chris

[o2william]

I don't know why you guys didn't like Boxy Boy. If you actually spent time with it learning the solutions to the levels, you could just rack up points like a mad fool.
I tried to do that, but for some reason I didn't have the patience. It's strange; I was addicted to Sokoban years ago and spent way too much time playing it (in sparkling CGA graphics!). It's too bad Boxy Boy didn't have a level skip function so that if you got stuck on a puzzle you could try something different (but being an arcade game I can understand why it didn't). My attention span ain't what it used to be. LOL

Klax will be better.

EDIT: Klax will be better if I can it to work. For some reason, I've never been able to play Klax in MAME. The background looks fine, but the blocks are invisible! This happens no matter what version of MAME or Klax romset I run. Anybody else have this problem or know how to fix it?

[InsaneDavid]

Ahh, now THIS is a puzzle game - not that Sokoban / Boxxle crap. LOL

I have to disagree. Boxy Boy is much more puzzly than this game, but Klax clearly falls into the puzzle category.

I don't know why you guys didn't like Boxy Boy. If you actually spent time with it learning the solutions to the levels, you could just rack up points like a mad fool.

They're not bad games, just a series I've never been good at or enjoyed all that much.

[Jibbajaba]

I don't know why you guys didn't like Boxy Boy. If you actually spent time with it learning the solutions to the levels, you could just rack up points like a mad fool.
I tried to do that, but for some reason I didn't have the patience. It's strange; I was addicted to Sokoban years ago and spent way too much time playing it (in sparkling CGA graphics!). It's too bad Boxy Boy didn't have a level skip function so that if you got stuck on a puzzle you could try something different (but being an arcade game I can understand why it didn't). My attention span ain't what it used to be. LOL

Klax will be better.

EDIT: Klax will be better if I can it to work. For some reason, I've never been able to play Klax in MAME. The background looks fine, but the blocks are invisible! This happens no matter what version of MAME or Klax romset I run. Anybody else have this problem or know how to fix it?

On my computer, the Klax ROM that I posted works with the version of MAME that I posted.

If anyone else is having a problem, please speak up now.

Chris

[InsaneDavid]

EDIT: Klax will be better if I can it to work. For some reason, I've never been able to play Klax in MAME. The background looks fine, but the blocks are invisible! This happens no matter what version of MAME or Klax romset I run. Anybody else have this problem or know how to fix it?

Posted in the other forums but I'd rather address this here -

Is there something special / nonstandard about your video card or display drivers?

[o2william]

Is there something special / nonstandard about your video card or display drivers?
Shouldn't be. I'm using the video card that came with my 3-year-old Dell desktop (32 MB ATI Rage 128 Ultra). Only thing "unusual" about my setup is that I have an ATI TV Wonder video capture card installed. I'm running Win XP Pro, 1280x1024 resolution. No system conflicts or anything like that.

Like I said, I've always had this problem with Klax -- before I got the TV Wonder card, before I even got this PC. Before this contest, I thought MAME didn't fully support it. :/

[InsaneDavid]

Hmmm...

Go into Options -> Default Game Options...

Under the Direct3D tab, make sure "Use Direct3D" is UNchecked.

Under the Advanced tab...

Use DirectDraw - checked
Tripple buffering - UNchecked
Match game refresh rate - UNchecked
Sync to monitor refresh - UNchecked
Wait for vertical sync - UNchecked
Switch resolutions to fit - checked
Switch color depts to fit - checked

Resolutions all Auto, Stretch using hardware checked, Frame skipping UNchecked - Draw every frame.

Under the Miscellaneous tab...

Everything on the left UNchecked except for Use RDTSC timing system, and Skip validity checks. All the artwork stuff should be checked by default, BIOS as None.

Under the Display Tab...

Run in a window - UNchecked
Start out maximized - checked
Enforce aspect ratio - checked
Throttle - checked

Clean Stretch - Auto
Rotation - Default

Effects - UNchecked


That's all probably correct but check them out anyway, you never know.

[jcheatle]

Ahh, now THIS is a puzzle game - not that Sokoban / Boxxle crap. LOL

I have to disagree. Boxy Boy is much more puzzly than this game, but Klax clearly falls into the puzzle category.

I don't know why you guys didn't like Boxy Boy. If you actually spent time with it learning the solutions to the levels, you could just rack up points like a mad fool.

Chris

I'd have to agree with Jibba here... I mean, if we take the strictest definition of puzzle, as in trying to find a solution, Boxy Boy is more puzzler than Klax. But we're picking nits here.

FWIW, I figured my score on the first one was crap, as I too expected more people to learn the levels and then rack up points. I tried to remember the best I could, but it didn't work the greatest. Still enough though, I guess.

As for round 2, it may no longer be the nineties, but there is indeed time for Klax. I'm liking what I have so far. Look out. LOL

[o2william]

I have solved the problem. Turns out it's that most basic of computer problems: user idiocy. LOL

When I installed MAME32 0.95, I pointed the self-extractor to a directory where I had an old version of MAME32 already installed. I thought it would overwrite my old mame32.exe; I didn't realize it would create and extract to a /mame32 subdirectory. So I was running an ancient version without knowing it, and apparently Klax really wasn't supported back then. Obviously I haven't been keeping up with new MAME versions for a while.

That means my middling Boxy Boy score was achieved on a nonstandard MAME32 build. Seemed to play OK, but if you want to invalidate the score, go ahead. Serves me right for treating a self-extractor like an installer.

Thanks for the help guys!