High Score Club Week 20: Fireball

[Ze_ro]

Important note: This weeks competition is over. If you still wish to discuss Fireball, 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!

 

You've been juggling for years, and are amung the best of the best. You've won every competition you've ever entered, and never dropped a ball. But none of that matters now, because you're about to attempt the most difficult juggling trick of them all. You're about to try The Fireball!

 

Game Information
Left Difficulty	A/Expert - Catching Requires More Precision
Right Difficulty	N/A
Game Mode	Cascade, 1 Player
Chosen By	Xot

 

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 will be approximately Sunday, August 22th at midnight (CST). In case you haven't already done so, please read the High Score Club rules. There is other useful information contained in that previous link, including a list of previous High Score Club games!

 

Unfortunately, AtariAge doesn't host any of the Supercharger games, so the AtariAge's Profile Page for this game won't have it. You can, however, find such things as a typed copy of the manual, reviews, screenshots, and other information there. If you need the ROM to play the game in an emulator, you might find something interesting at my web page... There's a link to it at the very, very bottom of this post.

 

If you are not a member of the High Score Club, but would like to be, then all you have to do is post a reply saying so, and I'll add you to the list!

 

Next week's game will be chosen by Scooterb23! Please send me a Private Message letting me know which game (and difficulty settings) you've chosen as soon as possible Scooterb23! (Already done)

 

High Scores:

• 
  [*]93,965 (tin)

[+10]
[*]60,056 (cuteycat2) [+8]
[*]50,545 (Jeffy Arensmeyer) [+7]
[*]42,544 (keilbaca) [+6]
[*]11,568 (Saldo) [+5]
[*]7640 (Ze_ro) [+4]
[*]6310 (khryssun) [+3]
[*]5565 (therealred5) [+2]
[*]5275 (vb_master) [+1]
[*]5139 (KaeruYojimbo)
[*]5087 (Keir)
[*]3379 (Malc74)
[*]3264 (Xot)
[*]3040 (NintendoDieScreaming)
[*]3001 (bjk7382)
[*]1983 (Tsukasa)
[*]1495 (Scooterb23)
[*]1425 (LarcenTyler)
[*]1278 (Kurushimi)
[*]1060 (Dan Iacovelli)
[*]744 (sabeen557)

• :
  (Cascade)
  
  • 17,166 (Galen Komatsu)
    [*]And that's it!
    • 
      

Best Tips:

• 
  

Score Statistics

• Average Score: 18,743
  [*]Std. Deviation: 6425
  [*]Total Score: 412,353

 

Current Standings [*]the 5th ghost [162] [*]Jeffy Arensmeyer [144] [*]sku_u [85] [*]jedijeff [69] [*]Ze_ro [60] [*]Stingray [48] [*]Chris++ [44] [*]keilbaca [40] [*]Malc74 [39] [*]Saldo [33] [*]Fellow Atari Man [29] [*]Shannon [28] [*]bobafett07728 [27] [*]bjk7382 [24] [*]stayrunner [24] [*]Robert M [23] [*]NintendoDieScreaming [23] [*]taxman [23] [*]crsdawg [20] [*]Numan [19] [*]homerwannabee [17] [*]The 8th Passenger [17] [*]Tsukasa [15] [*]HermChase [13] [*]cuteycat2 [12] [*]KaeruYojimbo [12] [*]NovaXpress [12] [*]khryssun [12] [*]Kurushimi [12] [*]Christophero Sly [12] [*]tin [11] [*]Thomas Jentzsch [9] [*]Goochman [8] [*]gospeedde [8] [*]LarcenTyler [7] [*]dykesr [7] [*]Keir [7] [*]mikeftrevino [7] [*]NE146 [7] [*]EricDeLee [6] [*]Paul Slocum [6] [*]StanJr [5] [*]DeV0 [4] [*]128bytes [3] [*]maibock [2] [*]Nateo [2] [*]chrisbid [1] [*]InanimateCarbonRod [0] [*]shining slade [0] [*]Kepone [0] [*]Saikyo [0] [*]Scooterb23 [0] [*]Dan Iacovelli [0] [*]moycon [0] [*]gamerz [0] [*]Gamemaster_ca_2003 [0] [*]video game addict [0] [*]LU8 [0] [*]fsuinnc [0] [*]iguana [0] [*]Luigi301 [0] [*]davepesc [0] [*]Albert [0] [*]pmpddytim [0] [*]karnov [0] [*]pitfallaimee [0] [*]Happy_Dude [0] [*]Kialan [0] [*]xmetalhedx [0] [*]vb_master [0] [*]Gateway [0] [*]Adrian M [0] [*]intvgene [0] [*]ScottHuggins [0] [*]jeepnut24 [0] [*]figgler [0] [*]sabeen557 [0] [*]Old_Atarian [0] [*]hobbles [0] [*]liquid_sky [0] [*]Spirantho [0] [*]johnnywc [0] [*]AcidTone [0] [*]FireTiger [0] [*]PaulEMoz [0] [*]BigFairy321 [0] [*]atari_wizard [0] [*]lost child [0] [*]Bunsen [0] [*]chadtower [0] [*]Big Player [0]

Standings are current as of the beginning of this week, and do NOT include points from this week's game. If you think there has been a mistake in any of the scoring, please contact me.

 

Member List

Scooterb23, Dan Iacovelli, LarcenTyler, sku_u, Luigi301, Max-T, adams_ale, gamerz, Christophero Sly, Trooper, Nateo, homerwannabee, lost child, Happy_Dude, video game addict, Spirantho, bobafett07728, mikeftrevino, 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, taxman, Ze_ro, maibock, moycon, somePUNK, Saldo, Stingray, Kepone, xmetalhedx, chrisbid, Kialan, Jeffy Arensmeyer, Keir, ToddRogers, Numan, iguana, LU8, jeepnut24, Albert, Tsukasa, Adrian M, dykesr, EricDeLee, Thomas Jentzsch, The 8th Passenger, the 5th ghost, Bunsen, atari_wizard, jedijeff, davepesc, maximebeauvais, buzzguy, bjk7382, khryssun, HermChase, wiz21mx, karnov, Goochman, NE146, keilbaca, vb_master, Sora, Malc74, sabeen557, 128bytes, Kurushimi, Fellow Atari Man, liquid_sky, InanimateCarbonRod, Krazy_kamino, pmpddytim, cuteycat2, kemsted, Xot

 

Scoring Points in FireballYou earn points for each block smashed. [*]You earn points for each set of blocks eliminated. [*]The closer to the top of the screen, the more the block is worth. [*]The more Fireballs in play, the more each block is worth. - Unknown, let us know if you can do it!   Hints and Tips As always, you really should read the manual. What's that? You don't have the manual? Well no problem, because AtariAge has a scanned copy of the manual available online right over here. What's that? You're too damn lazy to click that link? Well, here's the hints that it give: Try to anticipate where the tumbling Fireballs will land. Then get there ahead of them and wait. [*]If you're juggling more than two Fireballs, you may find it easier to not catch them. Keep the controller button pressed down, and the Fireballs will simply bounce off you. [*]Stay alert for the arrival of mystery Fireballs.   Good luck everyone!   --Zero (the manual) Instead of just holding the button, you're often better off actually grabbing the balls and throwing them at bricks... especially near the end of the level where there are only 3 or 4 blocks left, because random tosses are unlikely to hit them, even with so many balls. (Ze_ro) When the round first starts, DON'T hit the button! Otherwise you'll just toss the ball mostly at random... instead, wait for the message to disappear and your guy to show up at the bottom. Unfortunately, none of the balls will show up at this point, so it's sometimes a crap shoot as to which way you'll toss the ball! I think you always throw to the left on the first level, and seemingly to the right on all the other levels I've seen... if someone can figure out a trick behind this, I'd love to hear it! (Ze_ro) If you line things up properly, you can easily knock out the blocks on the very edge so that you can toss the ball up to the top. This is an old Breakout strategy, since the ball will knock out all the top blocks without you having to do anything really. As the blocks are eliminated, more balls are released, and things just snowball from there. Once in a while, a ball will find it's way back through the hole you made, so just grab it in the proper hand and toss it right back up there. (Ze_ro) When there aren't many blocks left, it's very helpful to play the balls in pairs. By now, six of them will be flying around, so grab two at a time and toss them. With very few blocks around, they'll likely not hit anything, and they'll end up bouncing right back into the same location so you can grab them again at the same time and give them another toss. This sort of lets you play six balls while only worrying about three. Otherwise, you'll be overwhelmed with 3 or 4 balls coming at you at once. (Ze_ro) Another good way to group balls together (although it's not as useful in "Cascade" as in the other modes) is to grab two balls at once, then jam your character against the very edge of the screen and toss them. One of them will bounce off the wall and follow the other one. Although it's likely they'll hit something and be seperated, it sometimes happens that they'll bounce off the same block somehow, or just stay in formation if they hit nothing at all. (Ze_ro) My success came from keeping the balls in pairs. You have a few seconds before a ball you're holding is automatically released. By holding a single ball as long as possible, you can increase your chances of pairing it with another single ball. Once you have "paired up", slam to either the left or right side and release both balls. If one ricochets, grab it and wait for another "rogue ball" to come along, then do the same thing. On every board (which all seem identical in difficulty), you can reach a point where you're throwing balls, from the sides, in pairs without hitting anything. Then you can take one pair and throw them from the middle of the screen while targeting single blocks. It's a great way to slow the momentum of the game and take control of a chaotic situation. And if you lose a ball with only a few blocks on the screen, you're almost positively screwed once all six balls approach the bottom of the screen unhindered. (Jeffy Arensmeyer)

[Shannon]

Oh great. I suck at these types of games.

[Dan Iacovelli]

I happen to have this game because I have got the stella gets a new brain CD (as well as the supercharger)

now Ijust have to reconect my 2600 to my tv to play.

[vb_master]

Happy I've got a Supercharger.

[sabeen557]

Happy I've got a Supercharger.

i just got mine saturday

[sabeen557]

744

[keilbaca]

I just got my supercharger today Can't wait to play it

[vb_master]

First score of the week

 

5403

 

Tip: kepp your fire button pressed down and move to the location where the next ball will land. If you miss one, just twist your paddle in the direction of the ball and hope that your guy can intercept it.

[Malc74]

Hmm, Breakout crossed with Kaboom. Can't say I'm enjoying this one...

 

3034 so far.

[keilbaca]

Grr... can anyone get this to a mp3 or a wav? its not that hard, go to sound recorder, put tape in tape player, put jack into audio in, hit play and record. Please, so I can play this game?

[vb_master]

I recommend getting the ROM, and using MakeWAV to convert the ROM to a WAV, and burn it to a CD so you can get a perfect load every time.

[keilbaca]

You guys are evil... actually took me some time to find the ROM, but its playing happily now on my supercharger, using wplaybin.

[tin]

i dont have fireball

[Lauren Tyler]

Great, looks like I might be sitting this one out!

[keilbaca]

Is it ok to post a link to the rom?

[Lauren Tyler]

So maybe, I'm not out of action, but let's just say the mouse doesn't make exactly a good substitute for paddles! (Maybe this is why I never got a Supercharger? )

[Ze_ro]

Is it ok to post a link to the rom?

You can find it on my webpage already... just click the little "WWW" icon underneath any of my posts to get there.

 

Boy, this one's a nasty one... once you release all the balls and most of the blocks are gone, if you die, you're pretty much a goner, since all the balls will be falling at once and you have almost no chance of actually catching them all. It would be a lot more forgiving if the game didn't give you the hook until you lost ALL the balls or something.

 

Anyways, I got 2836.

 

--Zero

[vb_master]

Well, thats the first time I am capable to get a gold.

 

Ze_ro, can you post the order of people to choose the next game, I want to know when I can choose.

[Kuddy]

My first score is 1278. I thought I was better at this game than I am.

 

Also, I thought we weren't supposed to pick Starpath games...

[Ze_ro]

Ze_ro, can you post the order of people to choose the next game, I want to know when I can choose.

The list of people in the club just underneath the standings is in order of who gets to pick next. The list is long, so I'm afraid it'll be quite a long wait.

 

Also, I thought we weren't supposed to pick Starpath games...

Huh... did I say that somewhere? I might have actually... Since AtariAge doesn't host the roms for the Starpath games, I was a little worried that not enough people would be able to join in (Even though according to most sources, Fireball isn't even all that rare).... oh well, I guess I'll reevaluate that after seeing how this week goes. Seems alright so far.

 

Anyways, I managed to get a pretty good go at this game and racked up 5115. Instead of just holding the button, you're often better off actually grabbing the balls and throwing them at bricks... especially near the end of the level where there are only 3 or 4 blocks left, because random tosses are unlikely to hit them, even with so many balls.

 

Also, when the round first starts, DON'T hit the button! Otherwise you'll just toss the ball mostly at random... instead, wait for the message to disappear and your guy to show up at the bottom. Unfortunately, none of the balls will show up at this point, so it's sometimes a crap shoot as to which way you'll toss the ball! I think you always throw to the left on the first level, and seemingly to the right on all the other levels I've seen... if someone can figure out a trick behind this, I'd love to hear it!

 

If you line things up properly, you can easily knock out the blocks on the very edge so that you can toss the ball up to the top. This is an old Breakout strategy, since the ball will knock out all the top blocks without you having to do anything really. As the blocks are eliminated, more balls are released, and things just snowball from there. Once in a while, a ball will find it's way back through the hole you made, so just grab it in the proper hand and toss it right back up there.

 

--Zero

[Scooterb23]

My first try is a whopping

 

1495

 

woohah

[Dan Iacovelli]

I happen to have this game because I have got the stella gets a new brain CD (as well as the supercharger)

now Ijust have to reconect my 2600 to my tv to play.

 

ok after 4 trys I managed to get a score of 1060.

(I might or might not be active in this as much as I used to be since I'm also in the atarilymplics (go team globtrotter) )

[Ze_ro]

As much as I liked my palindromic score, I managed to beat it: 5310.

 

Some more tips:

 

When there aren't many blocks left, it's very helpful to play the balls in pairs. By now, six of them will be flying around, so grab two at a time and toss them. With very few blocks around, they'll likely not hit anything, and they'll end up bouncing right back into the same location so you can grab them again at the same time and give them another toss. This sort of lets you play six balls while only worrying about three. Otherwise, you'll be overwhelmed with 3 or 4 balls coming at you at once.

 

Another good way to group balls together (although it's not as useful in "Cascade" as in the other modes) is to grab two balls at once, then jam your character against the very edge of the screen and toss them. One of them will bounce off the wall and follow the other one. Although it's likely they'll hit something and be seperated, it sometimes happens that they'll bounce off the same block somehow, or just stay in formation if they hit nothing at all.

 

--Zero

[+KaeruYojimbo]

I am really loving this game!

 

5,139

 

Oh, and vb master's screen shot looks more like "Firetrap" than "Cascade" but I could be mistaken.

[vb_master]

I am really loving this game!

 

5,139

 

Oh, and vb master's screen shot looks more like "Firetrap" than "Cascade" but I could be mistaken.

I just put it on the A mode... I think I forgot to put it on Cascade. I just quickly read through, and I was, "Ok, put it on A mode." then I played. Thanks for mentioning that, I messed up. Ze_ro please void my score, and I'll play Fireball again on Cascade. Sorry!