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High Score Club Week 1: Circus Atari!


Ze_ro

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Important note: This weeks competition is over. If you still wish to discuss Circus Atari, then feel free to do so, but no further scores will be accepted. Thanks to everyone for all their contributions! Please join in on the latest High Score Club competition!

 

Hello and welcome to the first week of the High Score Club! I hope you have a good clean set of paddles, because this week's game is Atari's own Circus Atari!

 

Game Information
Mode Game 1, Difficulty B (Easy)
Chosen By Ze_ro

 

Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode as shown above (It's the default game mode anyways) so that your scores will be consistent with everyone elses. The deadline for posting scores is Sunday, April 11th at midnight. In case you haven't already done so, please read the High Score Club rules.

 

In case you don't have a copy of this game, feel free to visit AtariAge's Profile Page for this game, where you can not only find the ROM, but also a typed copy of the manual, reviews, screenshots, and other information.

 

Next week's game will be chosen by maibock. Please send me a private message with your choice by next Sunday maibock!

 

Scores for This Game:

  • [*]silverfuji.gif50,565 (Ze_ro)
[+10]
[*]bronzefuji.gif49,855 (taxman) [+8]
[*]36,361 (HermChase) [+7]
[*]35,741 (Paul Slocum) [+6]
[*]27,003 (mikeftrevino) [+5]
[*]26,590 (Christophero Sly) [+4]
[*]21,126 (Kurushimi) [+3]
[*]20,008 (Stingray) [+2]
[*]17,544 (jedijeff) [+1]
[*]12,790 (InanimateCarbonRod)
[*]12,786 (Happy_Dude)
[*]9992 (sku_u)
[*]9746 (shining slade)
[*]9458 (PaulEMoz)
[*]8670 (fsuinnc)
[*]7982 (the 5th ghost)
[*]6273 (Saikyo)
[*]6021 (bobafett07728)
[*]5769 (pmpddytim)
[*]4777 (ScottHuggins)
[*]4438 (128bytes)
[*]4426 (jeepnut24)
[*]4357 (Scooterb23)
[*]4144 (video game addict)
[*]3735 (maibock)
[*]3537 (gamerz)
[*]2939 (gospeedde)
[*]2507 (bjk7382)
[*]2287 (lost child)
[*]1860 (intvgene)
[*]1708 (Goochman)
[*]1672 (hobbles)
[*]1610 (Nateo)
[*]1428 (Gamemaster_ca_2003)
[*]1251 (homerwannabee)
[*]652 (Dan Iacovelli)
[*]616 (chadtower)
[*]506 (Adrian M)
[*]9 (Big Player)

Best Tips:

Statistics:
  • Average Score: 13,725
    [*]Std. Deviation: 3550
    [*]Median Score: 5273
    [*]Combined Score: 549,008

TwinGalaxies Top 3:
  • 74,268 (Ron Cocoran)
    [*]55,678 (Robert Mruczek)
    [*]34,838 (Michael Garber)
    • maibock
      [*]Stingray
      [*]jeepnut24
      [*]Adrian M
      [*]the 5th ghost
      [*]johnnywc
      [*]jedijeff
      [*]maximebeauvais
      [*]bjk7382
      [*]HermChase
      [*]Goochman
      [*]NE146
      [*]Cootster
      [*]128bytes
      [*]Kurushimi
      [*]liquid_sky
      [*]intvgene
      [*]ScottHuggins
      [*]InanimateCarbonRod
      [*]pmpddytim
      [*]StanJr
      [*]Xot
      [*]Scooterb23
      [*]Dan Iacovelli
      [*]LarcenTyler
      [*]sku_u
      [*]Luigi301
      [*]Max-T
      [*]adams_ale
      [*]Saikyo
      [*]gamerz
      [*]Christophero Sly
      [*]Trooper
      [*]Nateo
      [*]homerwannabee
      [*]lost child
      [*]Happy_Dude
      [*]video game addict
      [*]Spirantho
      [*]bobafett07728
      [*]mikefrevino
      [*]Paul Slocum
      [*]fsuinnc
      [*]Gamemaster_ca_2003
      [*]Robert M
      [*]DeV0
      [*]Gateway
      [*]Mendon
      [*]Fretwobbler
      [*]PaulEMoz
      [*]killersquirel
      [*]shining slade
      [*]chadtower
      [*]gospeedde
      [*]stayrunner
      [*]Big Player
      [*]Swingtown
      [*]Chris++
      [*]hotpants
      [*]hobbles
      [*]Ze_ro

 

Scoring Points in Circus Atari - Yes, after 9,999.

 

Hints and Tips
Ever get stuck in a rut. You're bouncing back and forth but not getting any higher. The trick is to line your clown up so the airborn guy is going to land on your head and the board is facing the opposit way to which your heading. Then at the last second, flip. Most of the time you'll go right to the top of the screen (Happy_Dude)
If you're having problems getting the guys to bounce high enough to hit the balloons, try to get them to hit closer to the edge of the lever to give the other guy more momentum. (Ze_ro)
If you fly up at just the right angle/time, you can "pinball" back and forth between the balloons, popping a LOT of them before falling. On occaision, I've been able to take out an entire row of balloons on a single jump. This usually happens more because of luck than skill though. (Ze_ro)
Needless to say, it helps if you have a good set of paddles. If you have problems with jittery paddles, try cleaning them out and you'll probably do a lot better. (Ze_ro)
Distractions are murder in this game. Try to play in a closed room, with no interruptions. Try to concentrate on what you're doing and don't look at the score while you're playing. This is especially important since you can't pause this game! (pmpddytim, Stingray)
Making contact is a lot more important than hitting the end of the seesaw. (jedijeff)
If the clowns are bouncing straight up and down on the right side of the screen try flipping the seesaw each time the left clown is in the air. This will move you closer to the center and you won't have to worry about judging the angle of a bounce off the wall. (jedijeff)
Take a few seconds for a breather before you start another run on a new life. There's no rush, so take a drink, flex your fingers, scratch your ear, etc. (jedijeff)
(For those of you playing on emulators,) DON'T leave AIM open while playing. I forgot I did, but that "Buddy Sign Off" door close sound reminded me as I lost my fourth life. (HermChase)
Remember to relax and try to always get the extra man. Once you have the extra man you can relax more knowing it doesn't matter much if you die. (stayrunner)
there is no set way to clear the reds. However, the way I usually use is:
1) Clear ALMOST all of the yellows.
b. Dig a hole into the blues.
IV: Try to get stuck on top of the blues, in a back and forth combo.

This will get you most of the red ones if done correctly. The final few you will have to pick off either by repeating this process, or with patience, aim, and precision. Don't always try to bounce them to the top. Wait. Use strategy to clear the ones you WANT to clear first. (HermChase)
The easiest way to get points (or, rather, quickest), is to clear the whole blue line in one fell swoop. The way I have found that I can do this best is to have a nearly full blue line and a nearly full yellow line, with a few reds left. If there is a hole in your yellow line, aim for it, and try to catch the very edge of the balloon. If done correctly, you will bounce up and down on it, clearing the yellows and the blues, and if there is no blue, it can bounce up and maybe catch a red. With this method you can score 100s of points in one shot.
The same can be done by bouncing on top of the blue row. (HermChase)
Remember that when you're bouncing in a pattern, your clowns will always drift slightly to the right, even when you're not hitting anything, or actively moving. You can affect this drift by catching the falling clown a pixel or two to one side to get very fine control of the jumps. This is especially noticable when there are very few balloons on the screen, and your clowns are constantly stuck on straight up-down bounces. (Ze_ro)
Your bounces also always take exactly long enough for the balloons to make one trip around the screen, so if you get into the position where you almost hit a red balloon, just keep the pattern going, and you can move every so slightly (using the above tip) enough to hit it on the next pass, or maybe two passes after. (Ze_ro)
If you're in a pattern, but not even close to hitting the balloon, try swapping sides on every bounce to "walk" your clowns across the screen... you'll eventually get into a different pattern where you might have a better shot. (Ze_ro)

 

Good luck everyone!

 

--Zero

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Yaaaay Circus Atari :D

I'm playing on the real thing with a modified paddle. It uses a Aluminium 1meg pot instead

of the old plastic original. Much more precise but requires more force.

 

My first Score - 950

 

tip:

Ever get stuck in a rut. You're bouncing back and forth but not getting any higher.

The trick is to line your clown up so the airborn guy is going to land on your head

and the board is facing the opposit way to which your heading .

then at the last second twist. Most of the time you'll go right to the top of the screen

Of course somtimes you'll just hit a yellow ballon and come crashing back to earth at lightning speed :P

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Albert said:

I'm glad to see this got off the ground. I should have signed up for Circus Atari, as I love this game.

 

I don't think it's too late. I, for one, would like to have you on board! :-)

 

I sat down and played five rounds. Here are my scores:

Game 1 - 358 (pathetic)

Game 2 - 1418

Game 3 - 802

Game 4 - 2278

Game 5 - 1450

 

It makes it a lot easier for me to dig these games out when I know that I will be playing along with many others. :-) Now I just need to dig up the old thread that tells me how to clean the pots on my paddle controllers! :-D

post-5032-1081186860_thumb.jpg

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If i use emulation can i use my mouse instead of paddles? :?

 

You sure can... playing with the cursor keys would certainly suck!

 

I should have signed up for Circus Atari, as I love this game.

 

You can join any time you want... just let me know, and I'll add you to the list.

 

Good job on the scores guys, keep 'em coming! You've probably already beaten my best :P I still haven't given it a solid run yet, so I'll post my score later. It was actually a choice between this and Kaboom to start the HSC, but I figured it was almost certain that someone else would end up picking Kaboom anyways, so I decided to go for the underrated Circus Atari instead.

 

Here's some of my own tips:

  • If you clear the top row of balloons, you get an extra life... this shows up as an X next to your score.

[*]If you're having problems getting the guys to bounce high enough to hit the balloons, try to get them to hit closer to the edge of the lever to give the other guy more momentum.

[*]Don't forget that pressing the button on the paddle causes your level to flip. You pretty much need to do this when you're stuck around the edges.

[*]You can still catch the falling guy even fairly close to the fulcrum (the middle of the lever), so try to make sure that when you're catching him, that your other man is pointed in the same direction that the falling guy is going. For example, if the falling guy is coming down while moving left, you want your other man to be on the left hand side of the lever... by doing this, if you make a mistake, the falling man will be more likely to hit the level closer to the fulcrum and survive rather than miss the lever altogether and end up as a wiggling mass.

[*]If you fly up at just the right angle/time, you can "pinball" back and forth between the balloons, popping a LOT of them before falling. On occaision, I've been able to take out an entire row of balloons on a single jump. This usually happens more because of luck than skill though.

 

--Zero

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Well, after some rather mediocre scores, I finally managed to work up a respectable score of 2788. That's about as far as I'll get for today I think. Hopefully I can break 3000 by the end of the week.

 

One of the hardest things about this game for me, although it sounds stupid, is knowing when to blink. I realized partway through that most of the times I died, it was because I lost track of my falling man for a just a split second. Since the game moves very quickly, and your guy bounces around quite randomly, if you blink at the wrong time, it could very well cost you a life. I've found it's usually best if you blink right after your guy hits the lever, since you can finish your blink before you have to worry about goofy bounces.

 

I've also found that in many games, I end up getting 75-90% of my score on a single life... so if you have a few disappointing lives where you died without even getting a single balloon (It happens to the best of us), don't get discouraged! It's entirely possible that your 5th live could end up netting you 2500+ points and instantly spring you past the rest of us!

 

And one last note... you can't get two extra lives during the same life. So if you already have an X, and you pop all the red balloons, then all you get is the point bonus.

 

--Zero

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My paddles are jittery, but (now that my father helped me clean them) only at random times when I need them the most NOT to be. :roll:

 

Anyway, my best after a few tries with the newly cleaned paddles is 1906.

I'll be playing all week, though! :D

 

Edit: 2769! 8)

 

Edit: I know at least one of you will ask me at some point, so yes: I did try ripping the top off of my paddle and putting yesterday's unwashed sock on top and controlling it with my teeth. It cut down on the jitter, but my jaw began to cramp. :ponder:

 

--------

Chase Hermsen

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Nothing like playing Circus Atari with a good paddle controller (jitter free that is.) :) My high score so far is 5721. 8) That extra life for clearing the top row sure helps a lot! My helpful hints would be to stay calm, get in a groove, don't go for the high bounce every time and use the force!

 

Jeff

post-1375-1081209434_thumb.jpg

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Personally, I think you should pick harder game variations in the future. With a little practice, it's not too hard to roll Circus Atari on game 1 and play for a long time. To me, high score contests that turn into endurance contests aren't as much fun. I prefer playing on tougher game variations where the games go quick. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

 

-paul

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Well, I took an hour off of writing a paper and decided to play a little Circus Atari. My first 4 games sucked only getting to the mid 1000's

After this I kinda got in a zone or somthing cause I reached 5769. :D I relized my score, though to myself "I might roll this over" then promptly died. :x

 

My Tip:

Dont look at the score.

 

EDIT: I dont actually know if you can roll this game over. I've only played it like 6 time previously and didnt do very good. I only thought that to myself cause I've never actuallyrolled one over before.

 

-Tim

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