Q.T.Quazar

'original, single-player': 1)Frostbite 2)Pressure Cooker 3)Enduro 4)Fantastic Voyage 5)Yars' Revenge 6)The Empire Strikes Back 7)Joust 8)London Blitz 9)Solaris 10)Spacemaster X-7 Homebrew: Toyshop Troubles Oystron Flow Thrust+ Ladybug Supercharger: wasn't that great

With all due respect, those 'improvements/tweaks' would pretty much kill the gameplay, as it is. 1) would mean you don't have to time properly any more, especially on the direction switch, which becomes half the game later on. For 2), the author himself was disappointed to learn of this 'exploit' of the game, and has stated so in interviews; he didn't intend the 'repeat-jump' aspect of the game. 3) the points in the game are oriented to surviving until you can kill off the squid. 4) if you make your dolphin quicker/more agile, it again ruins the difficulty of the timing aspect, which is so crucial to this game. i didn't like Dolphin in the 80s, when i was much younger, because i couldn't understand the subtle balance of the game. as StanJr said, it's almost a pure, coninual 'flow' game (although i need to count for the backjumps after 150k or so), probably more so than any other game on the Atari, which makes it quite unique (Frostbite and Seaquest are similar in this regard, but both have a higher 'twitch' factor)

Sounds awesome! I'm in, They already do this kind of thing on Twin Galaxies, which i also participate . But that doesnt matter its still fun. So you can definitely put me down on the list of competitors. great, glad to have you. the difference between HARP and TG is that you can watch each other's replays, and, as i said, this tourney will not be a straight up high score race. well, that and you don't have to pit yourself against Todd Rogers there's quite a bit of community overlap between MARP and TG, not so much with HARP, which is more casual. if you need any help getting set up/finding WolfMESS, feel free to contact me. cheers!

uh... really... nobody mentioned Dolphin? the one Atari game that revolved around sound? terrifically immersive and pleasing sounds, the harmonics of the seahorses, the urgency of the seagull, and the atonal bass of the octopus/squid-thing. Fantastic Voyage - No other game's sound effects create such immediacy/urgency... Star Wars: TESB - ...although when the Walkers approach your base, this game comes close. Star Wars: Jedi Arena - As the seeker builds up energy... then releases Adventure - The dragons' attack and swallow... and the *silence* of that damn bat. MASH - FERRET FACE! Frostbite - When Frostbite Bailey gets a bite from the bear (drowning sound ia pretty good too) Enduro - Motor/acceleration was terrifically done--so much so, i think a number of lesser games stole it after. Custer's Revenge - If you listen closely, it sounds like he's marching to 'Haiawatha' Demons to Diamonds - The nice 'hell echo' when you (or your opponent) get shot Joust - especially the 'Joust' and 'resurrection' sounds Mario Bros. - Running on the ground has a nice kind of 'Sandpapery' feel to it--great for two carpenters and the one several people mentioned: Yars' Revenge - Swirl and victory.

thanks, i'll note that protos are all trial-and-error. we need to get author credit up on your (and others') homebrews--still working out best way to implement that

hey all, hopefully i'm not violating any rules by posting this. for those of you who are interested, we'll be setting up an Atari 2600 challenge tourney at HARP (Home Action Replay Page) in a month or two. probably just for fun and bragging rights, maybe some small prizes if we get a lot of players. no entry fee or anything like that. if you're not familiar with HARP, we're an .inp/replay site for all home systems, similar to MARP (sharing some of the same staff) and using WolfMESS for emulation. HARP unlike the High Score Club at AtariAge, this tourney will feature some 'unusual' gameplay requirements, rather than just a straight-up 'high score wins' --such as playing Berzerk, game 9, without firing--so players may be required to approach games in a different or more challenging way. right now i'm just canvassing for interest so i can decide how to structure things, so if this sounds like something you'd like to take part in, please leave a post. regardless, feel free to come join us and beat up on some of my Atari, Apple II, Colecovision, or whatever scores. you can submit for pretty much any home gaming system. cheers, Q.T.Quazar