First Founder

[Joe C.]

Sad times, last night I was not the First Founder

[derFunkenstein]

I don't know what this means. I googled First Founder and got Segways and portable dialysis machines.

[carlsson]

Joe played a round of M.U.L.E. but didn't win.

[Joe C.]

Joe played a round of M.U.L.E. but didn't win.

It's true! Tough times

[Joe C.]

I don't know what this means. I googled First Founder and got Segways and portable dialysis machines.

That's funny, but know you know

 

Ever played or heard of the game M.U.L.E.?

[derFunkenstein]

I've heard of it, but not played it. Looking around online people seem to like it.

 

Also, the reason for my Google results is that "first founder" is Dean Kamen, who created the portable dialysis machine and founded a charitable organization called FIRST.

[Eltigro]

I haven't played it, either. Doesn't seem like my kind of game, honestly. But I love the title screen music.

[carlsson]

I haven't played it since two nights before last Christmas.

[zzip]

Joe played a round of M.U.L.E. but didn't win.

You can win and still not be First Founder. I think you need to hit a certain threshold.

[zzip]

M.U.L.E. is easily my favorite 8-bit game of all time. Still like to play it from time to time.

 

My brother used to like to play it to get the best colony score. He would get so mad at me because I played to price gouge. But good personal score and

good colony score are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

 

More recently, I've tried playing as a real-estate broker. I grab plots or buy cheap plots with potential, but never develop them. Then mid-game when the other players have some money, I start to

sell them to the highest bidder. I have won the game this way, but it's riskier than the regular way.

[carlsson]

True, you need a colony score of 60,000 or more to get a First Founder declared. In the past 6 years the Atari 8-bit HSC has been running a separate high score club for M.U.L.E. (all formats accepted - see above link) and only twice we had scores dangerously close to the limit. Bunsen once had 60,423 pts and I once had 60,980 pts. All other scores were far greater. Delmoko posted a summary of 73 rounds between 2001 and 2014, in which three rounds ended below that limit so yes it can happen but unless you on purpose play very poorly, you should be quite unlucky to not reach it.

 

R  Colony Score      Message
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
0  0 to 19999        Overall, the Colony failed... Dismally.
                     The Federation debtors prison is your next home!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  20000 to 39999    Overall, the Colony failed... The Federation will
                     no longer send trade ships. You are on your own!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2  40000 to 59999    Overall, the Colony survived... Barely. You will be
                     living in tents. Few trading ships will come your way!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3  60000 to 79999    Overall, the Colony was a success. You have met the
                     minimum standards set by the Federation, but your
                     life will not be easy!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4  80000 to 99999    Overall, the Colony succeeded. The Federation is
                     pleased by your efforts. You will live comfortably!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5  100000 to 119999  Overall, the Colony succeeded... Extremely well.
                     You can now retire in elegant estates!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6  120000 to +oo     Overall, the Colony delighted the Federation with
                     your exceptional achievement. Your retirement will
                     be luxurious!

http://bringerp.free.fr/RE/Mule/reverseEngineering.php5

[zzip]

True, you need a colony score of 60,000 or more to get a First Founder declared. In the past 6 years the Atari 8-bit HSC has been running a separate high score club for M.U.L.E. (all formats accepted - see above link) and only twice we had scores dangerously close to the limit. Bunsen once had 60,423 pts and I once had 60,980 pts. All other scores were far greater. Delmoko posted a summary of 73 rounds between 2001 and 2014, in which three rounds ended below that limit so yes it can happen but unless you on purpose play very poorly, you should be quite unlucky to not reach it.

 

R  Colony Score      Message
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
0  0 to 19999        Overall, the Colony failed... Dismally.
                     The Federation debtors prison is your next home!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  20000 to 39999    Overall, the Colony failed... The Federation will
                     no longer send trade ships. You are on your own!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2  40000 to 59999    Overall, the Colony survived... Barely. You will be
                     living in tents. Few trading ships will come your way!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3  60000 to 79999    Overall, the Colony was a success. You have met the
                     minimum standards set by the Federation, but your
                     life will not be easy!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4  80000 to 99999    Overall, the Colony succeeded. The Federation is
                     pleased by your efforts. You will live comfortably!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5  100000 to 119999  Overall, the Colony succeeded... Extremely well.
                     You can now retire in elegant estates!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6  120000 to +oo     Overall, the Colony delighted the Federation with
                     your exceptional achievement. Your retirement will
                     be luxurious!

http://bringerp.free.fr/RE/Mule/reverseEngineering.php5

 

I've seen the "Living in Tents" message on occasion, but not the ones below it. I guess my next MULE challenge is to land in debtors prison I imagine it must be hard to achieve.

Maybe if I gouge the CPU players of most of their money, and just waste as much of it as possible.

[carlsson]

I think you need 2 or 3 human players to be able to do that bad. You need a really good strategy, perhaps start with Flapper that gets $600 extra, produce smithore and release every single mule you have time for and can afford. Two humans cooperating with this might stall the colony really badly.