72 replies to this topic

[vdub_bobby]

Based on the fairly positive results of the interest-gauging poll, I'm going to go forward with this and draft some rules/guidelines.

I'll also keep the game list here.

Here's how it is going to work, for now:

1. Each week of the HSC will begin Friday Monday Tuesday morning.

2. We will play one game at a time, for one week.

3. For a score to count it must be achieved during that game's week in the HSC.

4. To join the club, just post a score!  

5. Each week we will vote on the following week's game.  Here's how that will work:
-  from the games list we will vote on the top 5 games
-  the winner of the voting will be the next week's HSC game
-  the non-winning game at the beginning of the list will be moved to the bottom of the list along with the winning game
-  so, the following week we will vote again on five games, three of which will be carryovers from the previous week
-  this gives every game at least five weeks to be voted in before being moved to the bottom of the list
-  feel free to continue to suggest games, they will be added to the bottom of the list as they are suggested

6. At the end of the week, points will be assigned:
-  1st place: 10 points
-  2nd place: 8 points
-  3rd place: 6 points
-  4th place: 4 points
-  5th place: 2 points
-  everyone else who participated: 1 point

7.  Quoting (freely) from Ze_ro now...

# PLEASE DON'T CHEAT! There are no actual prizes to be won, so this whole thing is just for fun. Please don't ruin it for everyone else.
# PLEASE DON'T ABUSE BUGS IN THE GAMES! Many NES games have loopholes that allow you to easily get huge amounts of points without much work (An example of such "Point Scumming": ??  Maybe turtle trapping in SMB). Not only do these result in somewhat bogus high scores, but it ruins the fun and challenge of the game in the process. I'll try to point out "forbidden" tactics as I become aware of them, but if you happen to stumble across one that I was not aware of, please let me know! (NOTE: If a bug is proven to exist partway through the week, existing scores may be removed if it can be proven that they have exploited the bug even if it was not intentional. If you have triggered the bug accidentally, I would urge to you voluntarily remove your score and post a new one.)

Answers to questions:

Q: Can the games be played on emulators, or only on actual hardware?
A: While I would encourage that you play it on actual hardware, emulator play will be allowed. However, please don't cheat by using slow motion, save states, or any other special features of the emulator that aren't available on the actual hardware. Also, please stay away from "questionable" emulation, such as any plug-n-play joysticks. These games may not be emulated properly (or not emulated at all!), which leads to slightly different gameplay and different scoring. Also, you have to play the actual NES version for your score... scores from (for example) the 5200 or ColecoVision port will not count. However, if these options are easier for you, then it may be worthwhile to practice with these games before taking a real run on an actual system or emulator.  NEX and other NES "clones" are allowed unless there are significant compatibility issues with whichever game is being played.  We'll play this one by ear.

Q: Do we need to post pictures to prove our scores?
A: No. This is not a requirement. We will assume you are being honest about your scores and leave it at that. If people feel that someone is lying about their score, we will deal with it then. If you want to post a picture that you think is funny or impressive, then go right ahead, but it's not required.  

Q: Do I have to be a member to contribute?
A: Not at all! If you want to join in on the cameraderie, feel free to do so. If you just want to express your like or dislike for the game, or contribute tips without bothering with high scores, then go right ahead!

Q: Oh... someone already has such a huge score that I'll never even come close to it. What's the point?
A: Try not to think about it like that. The main purpose here is to challenge yourself to new heights, and try to excel at a game in your own right. Instead of playing solely so you can try to get the highest score, try to play for the fun of it, and enjoy yourself. Ignore everyone else's scores, and focus on trying to better your own score. Who knows? You might find out that you're better at the game than you originally thought, and end up getting 1st place after all! You'll certainly never know if you don't try!

Q: I got the highest score! What do I win?
A: Well... nothing really. This isn't really about winning anything, but more about challenging yourself to new heights, and getting you interested in games that you might never have given much thought to before.

Q: I rolled the score! What happens now?
A: Congratulations! Unfortunately, this leads to a bit of a problem in the way all this works. You see, the power of the NES is rather limited, which means that the games can only get so fast. Since the speed of the game is limited, this often means that the difficulty of the game is limited as well. Once someone gets good enough at the games highest difficulty level, it's entirely possible for them to play (for all intensive purposes) forever! On a number of weeks, we've run into the problem that a number of people were good enough to do this. The problem then is how to decide who gets the #1 place. I don't want to force people to play a game for 10 hours straight just so that they can roll the score that one extra time to get a few extra points. I want people to enjoy the game, not to get sick of it. So, in the case that multiple people are skilled enough to roll the score, then their scores will just be listed as the maximum it can go before rolling, and everyone who does so will just be tied for first place. The person with the highest score who didn't roll the score will be considered as 2nd place and so on. If appropriate, this rule may be waived for certain games (for example, games that roll at 10,000 rather than 1,000,000). However, even though you won't get any extra points for obscenely huge scores, I highly encourage you to record the game and send it to the people at Twin Galaxies! I'm sure they'd love to see it!

The games:
Games
Sky Shark
Star Force
Balloon Fight
Top Gun
Over Horizon
Trog
Zombie Nation
3D World Runner
Marble Madness
Sky Kid
Ms. Pac-Man (Tengen)
Twin Eagle
Athena
M.U.L.E.
Battletoads & Double Dragon
Renegade
Donkey Kong 3
Flying Warriors (Flying Dragon 2?)
G.I. Joe
Seicross
Duck Hunt
Target Renegade
RoadBlasters
Legendary Wings
Pinball
Commando
Dr. Mario
Track & Field
Mega Man
Star Soldier
Mission Cobra
Gun Nac
Super Robin Hood (in Quattro Adventure)
Kirby's Adventure
Ice Climber
Snake, Rattle n Roll
Guerilla War
Kid Niki
Adventure Island
The simpsons Bart vs. space mutants
Thundercade
Terra Cresta
BreakThru
Slalom
S.C.A.T.
Robocop
Archon
Mighty Bomb Jack
Bomberman
Lunar Pool
Cobra Command
Silkworm
MagMax
Ninja Kid
Joust
Twin Cobra
Batman
Donkey Kong Jr.
Ninja Gaiden III
Low G Man
Mechanized Attack
Isolated Warrior
Shatterhand
8 Eyes
Defender II
Mappy
Gyruss
Fantasy Zone
Dropzone
Mappy Land
Heavy Barrell
1942
Dragon Spirit
Section-Z
Stinger
Image Fight
The Karate Kid
Alpha Mission



1943
Gunsmoke
Arkanoid
Pinbot
Elevator Action
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
Excite Bike
Castlevania
Kung Fu
Tetris (Nintendo)
Battletoads
Rush 'n Attack
Galaga
Life Force
Bubble Bobble
Gauntlet II
Trojan
Burgertime
Golf
Gradius
Castlevania III
Wizards & Warriors
Contra
Super C
Ninja Gaiden
Double Dragon

Super Mario Bros. 3
Double Dragon II
A Nightmare On Elm Street
Operation Wolf
Mario Bros.
P.O.W.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Donkey Kong
Super Mario Bros.
Boulder Dash
Jackal
Bomberman 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
Ikari Warriors
Kid Icarus
Snow Bros.
Ghosts 'n' Goblins
Pinball Quest
Zanac
The Legend of Kage
Pac-Man
Karnov
The Hunt For Red October
Vindicators
Duck Tales
Burai Fighter

Popeye
Tiger Heli
Qix
Paperboy
Bad Dudes
Tetris (Tengen)
Ghosts 'n' Goblins
Rolling Thunder
Guardian Legend TGL mode
Abadox
Othello
Lode Runner
Gumshoe
Ninja Gaiden II
Rad Racer
Spelunker
Spy Hunter
R.C. Pro-Am



Note: I've decided to keep the played-games separate for now.  I'll reintegrate them at some point when I figure out a good way to do that.

Edited by vdub_bobby, Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:01 PM.

[phaxda]

R.C. Pro-Am

[Atarifever]

Mappy!  That is, if anyone has it.

[MCHufnagel]

I would have to say Duck Hunt. Nearly everyone has it.

[keilbaca]

Vindicators!!

[rjchamp3]

Gunsmoke nes 999,990

[vdub_bobby]

rjchamp3, on Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:25 PM, said:

Gunsmoke nes 999,990

Thanks for reading the thread...

On the other hand, great nomination!  

[ewing92]

What about Gumshoe? That is a fun game, oh and that one game that you use the zapper but it is military, uhh, uhh, oh yeah it is called Operation Wolf.

1.Gumshoe
2.Operation Wolf

[BrianC]

Gun Nac
Zanac
Double Dragon II
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden II
Gradius
Life Force
Dragon Spirit
Star Soldier
Burgertime
Elevator Action
Castlevania
Contra
Super C
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Slalom
Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man (Tengen)
Rolling Thunder
Sky Kid
Guardian Legend TGL mode
Track & Field
Kung Fu

Edited by BrianC, Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:56 AM.

[keilbaca]

Ah, forgot about rolling thunder, gun-nac and zanac. I recommend those too Although for Gun-Nac, I recommend using Hard instead of normal. Normal is too easy.

[128bytes]

What will the rules be regarding emulators (PC or handheld) for the NES High Score Club?

[keilbaca]

128bytes, on Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:43 AM, said:

What will the rules be regarding emulators (PC or handheld) for the NES High Score Club?

Please let PocketNES legal

It looks like its based off of FCE Ultra by the way how it plays.

That is what is seperating me from good scores from atari 2600 to NES for this case: I can play them on my GBA as oppose not being able to for the 2600.

NES is going to be quite difficult though as because of save states... but then again Atari does as well. I'm just saying, because this is a different generation (Everyone remembers the NES around here in Texas but not the 2600, for example), a bit more cheaters might crawl out of the woodworks, so watch out for that.

Edited by keilbaca, Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:49 AM.

[vdub_bobby]

I figure the rules should be similar to the 2600 HSC rules:

-Emulators are OK, but no save states, slow down, or other emulator tricks allowed.  I.e., if you can't do it on a stock NES it isn't OK.

-Scores have to be achieved during the week (or two-week) period.  

-Screenshots showing your score strongly desired but not required.

Hmmm...maybe I'll just quote from Ze_ro's post explaining the 2600 HSC:

Quote

# PLEASE DON'T CHEAT! There are no actual prizes to be won, so this whole thing is just for fun. Please don't ruin it for everyone else.
# PLEASE DON'T ABUSE BUGS IN THE GAMES! Many Atari games have loopholes that allow you to easily get huge amounts of points without much work (An example of such "Point Scumming": in Asteroids, you can eliminate all but one small asteroid, and then "hunt" UFO's without the level ending), or finish the game while skipping a lot of the actual content (For example, using the X-Ray cheat in Superman to prevent the bridge from exploding). Not only do these result in somewhat bogus high scores, but it ruins the fun and challenge of the game in the process. I'll try to point out "forbidden" tactics as I become aware of them, but if you happen to stumble across one that I was not aware of, please let me know! (NOTE: If a bug is proven to exist partway through the week, existing scores may be removed if it can be proven that they have exploited the bug even if it was not intentional. If you have triggered the bug accidentally, I would urge to you voluntarily remove your score and post a new one.)

I would view "turtle trapping" in SMB as disallowed "point scumming," for example.  Though I'll listen to arguments to the contrary.

Quote

Q: Can the games be played on emulators, or only on actual hardware?
A: While I would encourage that you play it on actual hardware, emulator play will be allowed. However, please don't cheat by using slow motion, save states, or any other special features of the emulator that aren't available on the actual hardware. Also, please stay away from "questionable" emulation, such as the 10-in-1 joysticks with Atari games, the Atari Flashback, or the Intellivision collection CD's and similar commercial products. Usually these games are not emulated properly (or not emulated at all!), which leads to slightly different gameplay and different scoring.

I would add that the NEX and various NES clones are probably OK unless there are compatibility issues with the game of the week.

And, similarly, you join the HSC by posting a score in the appropriate thread.

I'll keep track of scores from week to week, using a scoring system similar to this:
1st place: 15 points
2nd: 11
3rd: 10
4th: 9
5th: 8
6th: 7
7th: 6
8th: 5
9th: 4
10th: 3
And everyone who participates but doesn't place will get 1 pt.

Edited by vdub_bobby, Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:25 AM.

[MCHufnagel]

Since emulation is allowed, I'm in! I only just bought a NES and currently only have 22 games. So I'll emulate the games I don't have.

[ewing92]

I need to buy a new 72-Pin Connector.

[vdub_bobby]

Keep the nominations coming, I think tomorrow I'll take the nominations we have so far, order them, and set up a poll for the first five so we can vote on the first game, with the club officially beginning competition this Friday or maybe next Monday.

[gdement]

Rush 'n Attack
Ikari Warriors
Top Gun
Golf
Kid Icarus
Double Dragon
Kung Fu

[figgler]

I nominate Pinbot.

[BrianC]

1943
Trojan
Batman
Bubble Bobble
Castlevania III
Gauntlet II
Super Robin Hood (in Quattro Adventure)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3

Edited by BrianC, Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:40 AM.

[keilbaca]

vdub_bobby, on Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:59 PM, said:

Keep the nominations coming, I think tomorrow I'll take the nominations we have so far, order them, and set up a poll for the first five so we can vote on the first game, with the club officially beginning competition this Friday or maybe next Monday.

Awesome, sounds great. That'll be perfect, gives me some time to play in between playing for the HSC for the 2600, and work time like on Saturday.

*makes sure to make 4AA charger for Saturday for the Micro*

I also nominate Kirby's Adventure

[rjchamp3]

Gunsmok 999,990 I had trouble uploading it.

But as you can see I have been verif in the past by TG as a maxed-out score

[figgler]

What about autofire? Legal?

[vdub_bobby]

Quote

What about autofire? Legal?

I dunno.  Have to be the honor system, obviously - thoughts?

[keilbaca]

People have been known to use the Starplex controller on the HSC, and that has autofire... I dunno, your call.

[rjchamp3]

A nightmare on elm street