THE DIG DUG THREAD!

[retrorussell]

Colecovision DIG DUG:

[NE146]

Gakken handheld Dig Dug

[retrorussell]

If you reach the 256th screen on Dig Dug, you get a "kill screen"-- a glitched level that kills off the player or prevents them from getting anywhere on the screen, found in Donkey Kong (not given enough time to complete a level), Pac-Man (integer overflow preventing you from completing the screen), etc. In Dig Dug's 256th screen you are placed on top of a Pooka to start off, and this automatically kills you! This keeps happening until you run out of lives.

Here's a look at round 1:

What I usually do on this screen is use the rock nearest the top; I can often squish 3 enemies with this (but hard to squish all enemies with, without getting trapped). Something to remember is that the enemies follow your movements. If you drop a rock, the enemies backtrack when they're following you (unless they are RIGHT on your tail, then they will likely kill you when you try to drop the rock). To keep the enemies from escaping from the tunnel either as eyes or solid form it's a good idea to move right above where the rock was as it drops. This is easier to do than explain but is critical to lining up enemies to get squished.

Edited September 17, 2018 by retrorussell

[retrorussell]

Round 2:

Now what I do here requires a bit of the very critical "fast-pumping" that pumps enemies up just long enough for you to safely walk through them: Go left and tunnel directly under the Pooka just NW of me, below the topmost rock. I prepare for the other 2 Pookas to eventually break free of their tunnels before the Fygars do. With the quick pumps I"m able to line them up in one long dead-end shaft below the rock. When I drop it, I dig right where it was so I lead the Pookas back under it when they try to float away.

Edited September 17, 2018 by retrorussell

[retrorussell]

Round 3:

I sort of do the same to take out the 3 Pookas here that I did with Round 2: I group them all under the top rock with a vertical dead-end shaft and quick-pump them as they float their way over. Drop the rock and guide them when they're perfectly aligned (if one gets to the horizontal shaft just under the rock they may move back and forth but they'll still likely get squished).

[retrorussell]

Round 4:

Here I just move to the rock just above the Fygar on the right and hold my position under it (facing upwards at the rock). I wait until the 2 Pookas to my left and below me float over and join the Fygar in the shaft below me. I drop the rock and veer back to where it was to again guide them into the way of the rock. Learning the AI of the enemies in this game is fascinating for me.

[retrorussell]

Round 5:

Ooh! Color pattern change! You know, I guess I don't really have a distinct pattern I like to follow on this stage-- perhaps the best idea is using that rock to the far right that you'll "fast pump" enemies under and pumping up the Fygar on the way.. or maybe killing him so you're not overwhelmed by the other enemies that are going to come after you very soon.

[retrorussell]

Round 6:

I believe we have our first "double enemy" appearance: two Pookas in one. They are above and to the left of you. I'm not sure what to do here; my fast pumping skills see me through many early rounds. It might be best to use the rock just above the Fygar on the right, rather than the one at the top, since one of the Pookas will float through the dirt shortly after the start of the round and go through the dirt to get to you.

[retrorussell]

Round 7:

A whopping 7 enemies now! I can usually lure 2 early emerging Pookas to get squished by the far right rock. Again, learning to quick pump enemies is helpful for partially inflating enemies so you can pass through, but also for rapidly pumping enemies to explode when things get a bit hairy and they start to hound you in droves. Just make sure to get them in the bottom colored area of dirt, horizontally, for the maximum points.

[retrorussell]

Round 8:

Using the rock to the far right can nail a couple Pookas for you with the right timing to start the round. Just don't dig too deep a shaft or the Fygar can breathe through the dirt and nail you.

[retrorussell]

Round 9:

Ooh.. another color pattern change! Not sure which rock to use here.. probably the one immediately to your left, since enemies are all around the other ones. Dig a shaft above the Fygar near the SW corner, maybe quick pump him and extend the shaft below him to make it dead end and lead enemies back into the path of the falling rock.

[retrorussell]

Round 10:

Two combined enemies are in the tunnel just to my northeast on this one. I ignore them and get the Fygar on my left squished by the rock above him, then maybe dig a shaft below the one to the far left and wait for enemies to come to me.

[retrorussell]

Round 11:

 

 

It's tempting to drop the rock above and to your left to squish the Pooka and Fygar but the double enemies above/left is part Fygar and will breathe through the dirt as you wait under the rock. It may be best to line up enemies in a shaft under the rock below you.

Edited September 17, 2018 by retrorussell

[retrorussell]

Round 12:

Using the rock immediately to the right I can usually nail both Fygars (yes, they're double monster) below it. There's a double monster to the top left too.

[retrorussell]

Round 13:

Another color change, back to the first color.. and this is the BEST ROUND in the game! The reason being is the amount of points you can get with the one rock to the top left. Make your way through the Pooka tunnel on the way and quick pump him (explode him if you like but I always partially pump him to get through him). Dig a nice long shaft below the rock. Fygars will float on over; you can move them into the horizontal tunnel with the Fygar below your starting point. Once you have a satisfactory amount of enemies in your vertical shaft move left to drop the rock on them. I usually get 5 or so.

[retrorussell]

Round 14:

I usually take the rock to the northeast of me to take out the emerging Pooka to the far right and the Fygar below it. The 2 enemies on your tail you can probably take out with the bottom rock.

[retrorussell]

Round 15:

This forces you to act fast, as the Pooka to your right emerges IMMEDIATELY! I dig down the left vertical shaft below me and take out the Fygar, and use the bottom left rock to take out the Pooka on my tail. Then maybe use the rock to the southeast of the starting point to take out another enemy or two.

[retrorussell]

Rounds 12 through 15 now repeat (but are called 16, 17, etc.), sometimes with color pattern changes. The enemies get faster, emerge sooner, and the "speed up" music starts much quicker, often a couple seconds after you start a round.

After you pass round 99, the round counter resets to 0. But the difficulty is no easier.

 

Use the pictures I showed and post your own strategies! Especially if you know how to eliminate all enemies with one rock!

[retrorussell]

Playstation's Namco Museum list of personal records for Dig Dug players:

Top 5 scores:

Total play time/number of games played:

# of rounds passed/latest round till first loss:

Amount of lives lost/percentage of lives lost by monsters/fire/rock:

# of popped enemies in which layer of dirt:

# of enemies killed by one rock and how many times (0- eight):

Which rounds you cleared all enemies with one rock (rounds 1-15):

Kill/escape ratio (smashed by rock, killed Fygar, veggie taken, let escape):

Ranking:

Edited September 17, 2018 by retrorussell

[retrorussell]

SCORING:

Dig a small bit of dirt: 10 points.

Pooka or Fygar exploded by pump vertically on first layer color/surface: 200 points:

Pooka or Fygar exploded by pump vertically on second layer color: 300 points.

Pooka or Fygar exploded by pump vertically on third layer color: 400 points.

Pooka or Fygar exploded by pump vertically on fourth layer color: 500 points.

Pooka exploded by pump horizontally: same as vertical scoring.

Fygar exploded by pump horizontally: double Pooka scoring (400 1st layer, 600 2nd layer, 800 3rd layer, 1,000 4th layer).

Enemies crushed by a rock: 1: 1,000. 2: 2,500. 3: 4,000. 4: 6,000. 5: 8,000. 6: 10,000. 7: 12,000. 8: 15,000.

Prize score: Carrot: 400. Turnip: 600. Mushroom: 800. Cucumber: 1,000. Eggplant: 2,000. Green pepper: 3,000. Tomato: 4,000. Garlic: 5,000. Watermelon: 6,000. Galaxian flagship: 7,000. Pineapple: 8,000.

[retrorussell]

Various game info/hints:

 

>Extra lives given at 20,000 points, at 60,000 points and then every 60,000 points.

>Remember the enemies try to follow your movements-- you can use this knowledge to your advantage in SO many ways. Like when they're eyes and trying to follow you through the dirt; you can lead them into tunnels where they have to stop and become whole again, giving you a chance to escape. Or lining them into the path of a falling rock .

>Try to avoid the embarrassment of getting killed by the last enemy which is just trying to escape.

>If the final enemy is too far away to catch, just dig the dirt for points.

>You can't dig EVERY SINGLE inch of dirt-- there will be some at the very top you can't get-- but you get no special reward if you dig everything else. Plus, it's much more difficult to avoid enemies with all that open space.

>If you drop a rock on an enemy at the EXACT same time you explode it with your pump, a glitch may occur in which all the enemies disappear. The only way to clear the level now is to drop another rock.

>The score will roll over at one million and if you make the high score list your score will be the closest score you had to one million before it rolled over.

>Enemies don't normally turn to eyes unless they run into a wall/dead end.

>You can fire your pump through a thin layer of dirt to get the enemies. The Fygar can breathe fire through thin layers.

>Released in Japan on April 19th and in North America on May 1 of 1982.

>I can't stress it enough: make dead-end shafts underneath rocks to ensure enemies will retreat down into the dead end with no mode of escape except to turn into eyes and float out; here, you lead them back into the path of the falling rock by moving to where the rock was. The enemies FOLLOW YOUR MOVEMENTS and get squished.

>Taizo Hori's ex-wife is Toby Masuyo, the heroine from BARADUKE!

[negative1]

If you reach the 256th screen on Dig Dug, you get a "kill screen"-- a glitched level that kills off the player or prevents them from getting anywhere on the screen, found in Donkey Kong (not given enough time to complete a level), Pac-Man (integer overflow preventing you from completing the screen), etc. In Dig Dug's 256th screen you are placed on top of a Pooka to start off, and this automatically kills you! This keeps happening until you run out of lives.

Here's a look at round 1:

 

 

What I usually do on this screen is use the rock nearest the top; I can often squish 3 enemies with this (but hard to squish all enemies with, without getting trapped). Something to remember is that the enemies follow your movements. If you drop a rock, the enemies backtrack when they're following you (unless they are RIGHT on your tail, then they will likely kill you when you try to drop the rock). To keep the enemies from escaping from the tunnel either as eyes or solid form it's a good idea to move right above where the rock was as it drops. This is easier to do than explain but is critical to lining up enemies to get squished.

there were different rom variations.

 

some you could marathon, and keep playing at a fast speed.

 

another one, had slow boards at level 136 and up:

 

 

later

-1

Edited September 23, 2018 by negative1

[negative1]

i use modified versions of these patterns,

for the first 12 levels..

 

=================

 

later

-1

[negative1]

Various game info/hints:

 

>Extra lives given at 20,000 points, at 60,000 points and then every 60,000 points.

 

 

not on every official namco version:

 

you get 5 men period. 1 at 10000, and another at 60000 thats it.

 

on atari versions, you get one at 10000 and then at every 40000 points

 

i've hit 1 million plus on both types

 

 

 

>Remember the enemies try to follow your movements-- you can use this knowledge to your advantage in SO many ways. Like when they're eyes and trying to follow you through the dirt; you can lead them into tunnels where they have to stop and become whole again, giving you a chance to escape. Or lining them into the path of a falling rock .

 

its better to use patterns

 

 

 

>The score will roll over at one million and if you make the high score list your score will be the closest score you had to one million before it rolled over.

 

 

yes, but the levels are recorded in hexadecimal after 100

 

these stay on the scoreboard.

 

later

-1

Edited September 23, 2018 by negative1

[NostAlgae37]

 

373,930. My top score on Dig Dug for Atari 2600.

 

 

Mine is 329,160 in Stella (no cheats or continues). Newer version of my 35th Anniversary hack forthcoming.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/267344-dig-dug-35th-anniversary-edition/?p=3798453