Great Hierophant Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) In Activisions Vol. 3, Todd and two other players achieved the best time in Dragster of 5.57. But by Vols 5 & 6, he shares the 5.51 "record" with two other players (not the same players listed in Vol. 3.) Was there a rash of photo doctoring cheats, or did frying the console give them an advantage? Edited February 1, 2018 by Great Hierophant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackAttack Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Also you could have send in a photo of the wanted time while the game was still running and the dragster is close to the finish line. On the resulting picture the dragster would be a very few pixel left of the finish position (2 pixel for 5.57), but that is really hard to identify on a blurred, CRT photo. All you need is: - good enough skills to be at least close to the wanted time - a friend taking the photos - patience (or a VCR with decent freeze frame) Wouldn't the time from the second player give this away though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitanClassic Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I read this gem in the comments of the Kokaku article, Todd Rodgers now is the Guinness Record holder for the longest held fake video-game Guinness Record. What sort of proof would he need to provide to verify it? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Wouldn't the time from the second player give this away though? It would display "Blown" or "Early" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackAttack Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Having the world record time with a second player seems very suspicious, but I suppose it would be a legitimate scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacman000 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 If Guiness made a book of records to settle bar arguments... What happens if two blokes walk into a bar and start arguing about Twin Galaxies? Are they legit? Fakers? Too strict? If Guiness is on their side can Guiness be trusted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 What happens if two blokes walk into a bar and start arguing about Twin Galaxies? Are they legit? Fakers? Too strict? If Guiness is on their side can Guiness be trusted? Not getting laid. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) If Todd Rogers did cheat, how did he cheat? Back in the early 1980s, there was no such thing as a Game Genie to manipulate the code of a console game. While the tools to implement a hack to the game were available in the 1980s, it would have been very time consuming for an individual to reverse engineer the game code and would have required a great deal of specialized knowledge. Such ability would not likely be within the reach of your average 17-year old. The method to prove a high score was to take a photograph after you finished the game and mail it into Activision. If it accepted your photo, then you got your patch or your recognition in the Activisions Newsletter. Unfortunately, photo manipulation is not something that was invented with Photoshop. So I believe that one manipulated photo, some razzle-dazzle performances, early notoriety, a morally-bankrupt referee buddy and an uncritical institution and you have a perfect storm of conditions which a cheater can manipulate to get recognition he does not deserve. I don't even know if photo manipulation may have even been necessary. The question I have is - how carefully did the person answering the mail at Activision really vet the photos that came in? There would have been a lot of photos coming in, and patches going out. And a lot of those photos would have been pretty blurry, or badly exposed, or both. I remember trying to take pictures of my scores off a TV screen in the early 80's, and all I had access to was my Instamatic (which never took very good photos on its best day). I didn't have a working Polaroid anymore, so I couldn't just take a picture, wait a few minutes to check it, then take another if it didn't work. I had to take a bunch and send it off to be developed and hope I got something usable. I was able to get photos of Gravitar for the Atari patch, but I don't think I ever got a readable picture of any Activision score (seems to me I tried for Laser Blast, and got nothing). So one possible scenario - Todd gets a 5.61 or a 5.57. Takes a blurry photo, and sends it in with a letter saying, "I know it's hard to read this, but the score is really a 5.51." Person at Activision answering the mail that day is already swamped with patch requests, reads it, checks a list to make sure it's eligible for a patch and says, "Okay, looks right to me." And presto - high score. Later, someone else at Activision reads the lists of scores that have been written down and says, "Wow - is this score right? That's not possible!" Person answering the mail says, "Yes it is - I check all of these to make sure they've sent a photo." But by then, the original letter and photo have been discarded, as have every other submission that has come in, because none of this is about maintaining a database of official "World Records". This is about sending patches out to kids who play their games, because it's a fun thing to do. It doesn't seem like it would've been that hard of a system to manipulate. And if you get away with it once... then you might be inclined to try it again. Hypothetically speaking. This looks like the exact same camera I had: Edited February 1, 2018 by Nathan Strum 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+thanatos Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 So what's the consensus on touching ourselves while staring lovingly at a signed photo of Todd Rogers? Do we still touch ourselves, but do it with a scowl on our faces or do we throw out his photo and find another hero? There are so many options. We need verification that said touching took place. Please feel free to create a vid of yourself touching yourself while holding the photo (a camera tripod is recommended should you need a third hand while you perform your ceremonial duties), and upload it to an appropriate adult website so a panel of judges can authenticate it. NO JUST NO! I totally busted up laughing after reading those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Only one brick left to remove. Acitivision needs to make a statement revoking their endorsment of this "record". Then this mess is officially delt with in full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynicaster Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Is almost as big a phoney as Todd. Ask him about his supposedly VCS Donkey Kong cart that he said was different from everyone else's. Quite the fiasco there as well. TG and Todd deserve each other. Ladies man my ass. Eh? What did he say about his Donkey Kong cart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karbuncle Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) Todd apparently posted a parting shot on Reddit with a doctored photograph showing 5.51 instead of the original 5.77 on the pre-doctored photo. JD Lowe is fairly certain it is Todd that made the post. The person has the same posting mannerisms, and has "64" on the end of the user name just like Todd does on his Twitter page. At any rate, earlier in this thread is the original photo, but I've combined the two side-by-side to show there's no doubt it's the same photo. Also of note is whoever edited the photo had access to the original unedited photo, as can be seen by the underlying image data that would have been covered up by the "digthatbox.com" text. For reference, here's the Reddit post:https://www.reddit.com/r/speedrun/comments/7tzaaa/todd_rogers_response/dthiptf/ Edited February 1, 2018 by Karbuncle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) Ridiculous! The so called 'ToddRogers64' has one single post. Use your brain! Also of note is whoever edited the photo had access to the original unedited photo, as can be seen by the underlying image data that would have been covered up by the "digthatbox.com" text. And maybe you should better wonder why the upper part of the vent is partially blurred on the left. Edited February 1, 2018 by Thomas Jentzsch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karbuncle Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) Ridiculous! The so called 'ToddRogers64' has one single post. Use your brain! Oh you're right. Todd would never start an account to post a parting shot like that. Nevermind that JD Lowe believes it is him, or that whoever edited the photo had access to an original without any text on it, or that the person was clever enough to use "64" on the end of the user name. I suppose if Reddit tracks the IP address to his home town, there's still no chance it's him, right? Edited February 1, 2018 by Karbuncle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 See my edit above. Should be clear now, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karbuncle Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 See my edit above. Should be clear now, no? I'll grant you that it looks blurry there. However, it still doesn't suggest Todd didn't post the photo. The only way to find out is if someone at Reddit can track the IP address of the account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 (edited) No, IMO it does suggest that you posted it. Prove me wrong! Seriously: It is utterly disgusting how people behave. Its not enough for them that Todd's reputation is destroyed (for good reason) and that he is virtually lying on the ground already. Instead they continue to trample on him. IMO this behavior is very telling about such people. I can't even tell who is worse here. Yuck! Edited February 1, 2018 by Thomas Jentzsch 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I could do a better job of removing that text. It's pretty sloppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 I could do a better job of removing that text. It's pretty sloppy. So true. And yet idiots are seeing what they want to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northcoastgamer Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 One month into the new year and this thread is up for the worst thread of the year award eleven months away. If you believe Todd, the doctored picture, or anyone at Twin Galaxies you are a FOOL! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 So true. And yet idiots are seeing what they want to see. Also - it makes no sense for Todd to doctor an old photo, when it's so ridiculously easy just to take a new one, and doctor that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyHW Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Todd apparently posted a parting shot on Reddit with a doctored photograph showing 5.51 instead of the original 5.77 on the pre-doctored photo. JD Lowe is fairly certain it is Todd that made the post. The person has the same posting mannerisms, and has "64" on the end of the user name just like Todd does on his Twitter page. At any rate, earlier in this thread is the original photo, but I've combined the two side-by-side to show there's no doubt it's the same photo. Also of note is whoever edited the photo had access to the original unedited photo, as can be seen by the underlying image data that would have been covered up by the "digthatbox.com" text. For reference, here's the Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/speedrun/comments/7tzaaa/todd_rogers_response/dthiptf/ How does a doctored photo store it's own original? I'm not following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 How does a doctored photo store it's own original? I'm not following. It's in the image tag imbedded in the file. Like if you take a picture with a polaroid and then edited it in paint I can still find that you took the original with a polaroid. Some tags can even tell where and when it was taken. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakasama Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 If Guiness made a book of records to settle bar arguments... What happens if two blokes walk into a bar and start arguing about Twin Galaxies? Are they legit? Fakers? Too strict? If Guiness is on their side can Guiness be trusted? If that bar serves Guiness, I can see it leading to at least some punches thrown, incoherent screaming, and tears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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