HSC Season 5 Week 3: Bowling

[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This weeks competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

It's just you and the pins. The tournament has been long and grueling, and it's come down to the final end. Pick up this spare, and the trophy is yours!

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Bowling
  
• Released By: Atari, 1979
  
• Left Difficulty: B / Novice - Easier Game
  
• Right Difficulty: B / Novice - Easier Game
  
• Game Mode: Game 5 - 1 Player, Straight Ball
  
• Chosen By: LarcenTyler
  

Post your scores right here in this thread, and I 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 elses. The deadline for posting scores is Wednesday, Oct 3rd at 1:00 AM (CST).

 

If you want to suggest a game for future weeks, please send me a private message and let me know! I will add your game to the list. One one game per person will be kept on the list, so you will not be able to suggest a game until your first game is played! (Please note that due to time constraints, I very rarely reply to private messages... but I do read them all!)

 

Anyone can play! Just post a score and I'll add you to the list! Please read the Rules & Information if you haven't already done so!

 

Current High Scores

1. 221 (Deteacher) [+11]
   
2. 219 (Christophero Sly) [+10]
   219 (toymailman) [+10]
   
3. 218 (theKLT) [+9]
   
4. 213 (Captain Beard) [+8]
   
5. 210 (theking21083) [+7]
   210 (Nathan Strum) [+7]
   
6. 207 (Impaler_26) [+6]
   
7. 206 (SpiceWare) [+5]
   
8. 205 (midnight magicman) [+4]
   
9. 204 (godzillajoe) [+3]
   
10. 201 (Artlover) [+2]
    201 (keilbaca) [+2]
    201 (Blackjack) [+2]
    
11. 200 (PressureCooker2600) [+1]
    
12. 192 (phaxda) [+1]
    
13. 186 (KaeruYojimbo) [+1]
    
14. 182 (rheffera) [+1]
    182 (Nognir) [+1]
    
15. 180 (atari2600land) [+1]
    
16. 171 (Kurt_Woloch) [+1]
    171 (Crazy Climber) [+1]
    
17. 157 (ed1475) [+1]
    
18. 154 (LarcenTyler) [+1]
    
19. 142 (Butterwasp) [+1]
    

Best Tips

• Deteacher [+2]
  

Bounties and Challenges

• Most Undue Drama in an HSC Thread: This one!
  

TwinGalaxies Top 3

(Game 1, Difficulty B)

• 300 Frankie Cardulla, Rodrigo Lopes (Emulator)
  
• 276 Stephen R Riesenberger, Jonathan A Ewing
  
• 227 Robert T Mruczek
  

Current Standings

(Note: These scores reflect the standing as of the beginning of this week, and do not include points scored from this game.)

1. keilbaca [25]
2. Rom Hunter [23]
3. Deteacher [20]
4. theking21083 [12]
5. Nathan Strum [9]
6. Pressurecooker2600 [8]
7. godzillajoe [8]
8. Blackjack [7]
9. keitaro [7]
10. rheffera [6]
11. SpiceWare [6]
12. toymailman [4]
13. Captain Beard [4]

• Nognir [4]
• ed1475 [3]
• shadow460 [2]
• Christophero Sly [2]
• atari2600land [2]
• Kurt_Woloch [2]
• Impaler_26 [2]
• gospeedde [2]
• Butterwasp [2]
• Artlover [2]
• LarcenTyler [2]
• Recycled [1]
• RJ [1]

Scoring Points in Bowling

• See the Wikipedia entry on Ten-pin Bowling.
  

Hints and Tips

As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a scanned copy and a typed copy available. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any specific hints.

My tip for this game is simple: Find a spot where you can actually score a strike from, then use that same spot on your first ball, everytime. The computer will give you strikes sometimes...just not all the time. For spares, use your feet to line up your shot. That works best for me.

 

To find my "sweet spot" this is what I do:

 

Move up until the top of your head is just touching the top line of the lane (see pic #1.) From here, tap down 4 clicks. I bowl my first ball from this spot every time. That's how I got the 3 strikes in the previous game (and 5 in this one.) Hope it helps boost some scores.

Here's my tip: Find the spot you can throw strikes from. Roll the ball. If you don't get a strike in the first frame, start over until you do. That way you'll be sure to get at least one strike in a game.

 

--Zero

[theking21083]

After 6 games this was my highest score

186

[Artlover]

184. Will post a picture later, too lasy to do it now.

 

Ok, is it like just impossible to roll a strike on game 5 or something? I tried positioning my player on every single vertical position, and at best you can only knock down 9 pins.

[theking21083]

My second game I got 1 strike on the 3rd throw of the 10th frame. That was the only strike I got and I don't remember how I did it cause it was a freak accident.

[+Nathan Strum]

Feh.

 

182

 

How many pins you knock down seems random. Even if you position your player in the exact same place each time, it doesn't hit the pins the same way. Maybe there's some way to influence your throws in this variation, but it seems to be just dumb luck.

 

[Lauren Tyler]

154

[Deteacher]

Playing on the emulator at work, I scored 175, but here's the kicker...I got 3 strikes! I had one open frame, which obviously did me in. I'll post a pic later.

 

As for the randomness, this brought back a funny memory. My dad lost all faith in computer games because of Atari bowling. To this day, he'll still rant about how you can put the ball in the same place every time and get a different result. Strange how much influence a simple game can have on someone's opinion of technology.

 

My tip for this game is simple: Find a spot where you can actually score a strike from, then use that same spot on your first ball, everytime. The computer will give you strikes sometimes...just not all the time. For spares, use your feet to line up your shot. That works best for me.

[PressureCooker2600]

First score.

 

143

 

I tend to get in this one position all the time and it knocks the same number of pins down. But mostly, like always, it's random. The game itself is addicting though. The only other bowling game I ever cared for is Wii Bowling.

[godzillajoe]

156 for starters

 

Is it my imagination or is this season of HSC much harder?

 

Lots of difficulty "A" games and not just "Game 1 - B"

 

I like it!

[PressureCooker2600]

146

 

Still no strikes.

 

I keep getting 9 pins in one throw....but never a strike.

[godzillajoe]

 

175

 

Will try again tonight

[godzillajoe]

Feh.

 

182

 

How many pins you knock down seems random. Even if you position your player in the exact same place each time, it doesn't hit the pins the same way. Maybe there's some way to influence your throws in this variation, but it seems to be just dumb luck.

 

 

There *is* a random element built into the game.

 

I'm trying to resist the urge to "cheat" and line up the guy in the same position each time. There are only about 25 or so positions your guy can be in. About 12 or 13 joystick taps up puts him in a good spot but that's lame. I just slam the stick up and release the ball when I think he's about right.

[Artlover]

I'm trying to resist the urge to "cheat" and line up the guy in the same position each time. There are only about 25 or so positions your guy can be in. About 12 or 13 joystick taps up puts him in a good spot but that's lame. I just slam the stick up and release the ball when I think he's about right.

I've tried "cheating" like that. Best I could get was 184. Position 11 gives consistant easy to pick up spares (usualy only 1 pin left). I spent hours playing. Trying different positions (mostly between 9 - 14). I can get 184 every time. Nothing higher.

 

Feh.

How many pins you knock down seems random. Even if you position your player in the exact same place each time, it doesn't hit the pins the same way. Maybe there's some way to influence your throws in this variation, but it seems to be just dumb luck.

There *is* a random element built into the game.

And because of that, why is this game part of the HSC? There is NO skill involved, only randomized luck. What's the point? If anything, I'd like to suggest using game 1 (curve ball). Atleast that throws some individual player skill into the mix.

 

I'm also wondering since it is randomness, how is it derived, and will emulators provide the same results as a real console?

[Captain Beard]

181 - after game after game after game of 178s and 180s.

 

Two rules questions:

1. Since this game is so much more enjoyable playing head-to-head, would scores from Game 6 be acceptable?

2. Which frame is the beer frame?

[PressureCooker2600]

149

 

Slowly....but surely....I'll make it to the inevitable stop point.

 

And what sucks.....the two times I got a strike in this game.....I had a horrible run that didn't even break my current hi-score.

[Deteacher]

221! I swear on my life this was on game 5. Nobody was more surprised that I got 4 strikes in a row. To find my "sweet spot" this is what I do:

 

Move up until the top of your head is just touching the top line of the lane (see pic #1.) From here, tap down 4 clicks. I bowl my first ball from this spot every time. That's how I got the 3 strikes in the previous game (and 5 in this one.) Hope it helps boost some scores. I'm sharing this in the hopes that someone else will be able to have similar success (and prove that I'm not cheating.)

 

I will try to recreate this using actual hardware. We'll see how it goes.

Edited September 26, 2007 by Deteacher

[Artlover]

Best so far 201.

 

221! I swear on my life this was on game 5. Nobody was more surprised that I got 4 strikes in a row. To find my "sweet spot" this is what I do:

 

Move up until the top of your head is just touching the top line of the lane (see pic #1.) From here, tap down 4 clicks. I bowl my first ball from this spot every time. That's how I got the 3 strikes in the previous game (and 5 in this one.) Hope it helps boost some scores. I'm sharing this in the hopes that someone else will be able to have similar success (and prove that I'm not cheating.)

That is the same as 14 positions up from bottom, but easier to do, thats for sure. I got a few strikes using your method. Tho it seems to be a little different then just going up 14 positions, which I tried last night and didn't get any strikes.?! One crazy randomizer there.

[Christophero Sly]

201

 

 

I've been tapping down 3 times from the spot Deteacher suggested.

 

*EDIT: I didn't get a good look at Deteacher's screenshot. I'm actually tapping down 4 times from that position, same as Deteacher.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Christophero Sly

[PressureCooker2600]

152

[PressureCooker2600]

168

 

Best I can do right now without tearing my hair out. Tried the strategies but to no avail. This is the best score I can get......9 spares, 1 mess-up, and the few extra pins at the end.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

182. I seem to have mastered the art of leaving only the 10 pin.

 

[Blackjack]

Played about a dozen games and only got 1 strike the whole time. Luckily it was on the end of a good run.

 

185

 

 

 

Something tells me that not many folks will be playing this more than a day or so because of the "randomness"

[PressureCooker2600]

Something tells me that not many folks will be playing this more than a day or so because of the "randomness"

 

Sadly, you may be right......

 

Everyone may max out and then stop in a day or two.

[godzillajoe]

Well I did finally manage a strike.

 

And am definitely not playing using the bullshit method of lining up your guy at the exact spot every time and hoping for the best

 

Would rather not play at all

[Christophero Sly]

And am definitely not playing using the bullshit method of lining up your guy at the exact spot every time and hoping for the best

 

Would rather not play at all

What, exactly, is wrong with that? That's basically what you do in real bowling. Besides, it's a totally random outcome, so I don't see what difference it really makes.

Edited September 27, 2007 by Christophero Sly