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hepcat

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Posts posted by hepcat

  4. Posted · Edited by hepcat

    your attachment are INP file?

     

    what are those?

     

    only 260K zipped but 38meg unzipped?

     

    how could I open it. THANKS

    1030083[/snapback]

     

    [i just responded to this via PM, but I'm posting substantially the same thing in this thread in case people are not entirely clear on how to play these files back.]

     

    Mame inp files tend to be HUGE unless they are zipped up. I believe the game I posted Saturday was over 40meg before I zipped it.

     

    To unzip it, use Winzip and extract the unzipped file into the "inp" folder in mame32. To actually play it back, you need Mame32 v. 104. Then click on file and "playback input" or something similar. The file should appear once you've navigated to the inp folder. Highlight it and then open and Mame should start it automatically. You'll need the Ms. Pacman rom of course.

     

    Let me know if it works! I played it back on my own computer before I posted it, so I know it does work, at least for me.

     

    --Jason

  5. Posted

    Bump.

     

    I’ll post a new score today: 285,720. That’s my highest ever! There’s two reasons why it took me so long to bump this thread again. First, I was without a computer for almost two months. Second, grouping the monsters on the purple and beige levels (10-13 & 18) is REALLY hard. It took me a long time to get the timing down and it’s definitely still a work in progress. I relied not only on the Bozeman think tank guide this time, but also a recording that was posted last fall over at MARP.

     

    In this game, I killed every monster on the first 12 boards. Level 13 is where it started falling apart. Some of my deaths will seem inexplicable and I really have no explanation for them except that when you’re concentrating for nearly two hours on this game without pausing, you’re eventually going to make some dumb mistakes. This game also made it clear where I still need the most work. I only missed blue monsters on two boards: 13 &18. And I lost (wo)men on the following boards: 10, 12, 13 & 18. Clearly, I need more practice on the purple and beige boards. This is kind of a switch for me because for years I considered the third maze configuration to be the most difficult.

     

    Today was definitely an encouraging effort. I killed 262 out of a possible 268 monsters! If I had gotten those monsters and the banana I missed (yes, I missed a banana :x ) I probably would’ve broken 300,000 on Level 19. The fruits were rather generous, but even if they aren’t next time, I’m pretty sure that I can break 300K by the end of Level 20.

     

    Note that this recording was made in Mame32 .104, the latest stable release. The bug I mentioned earlier in the thread is still there, but for some reason the video is very choppy when I try to use Mame32 .90 on my new computer. I don’t understand why that’s happening as my new computer is far more powerful than the old one and Mame32 .90 worked fine on it. Does anyone have any ideas about why this is happening?

     

    Without further ado, here’s the recording.

     

    –Jason :D

    mspacman285720.zip

  6. Posted · Edited by hepcat

    After receiving a rather curt e-mail from Retro Zone assuring me that the controllers would work, I decided to order the Genesis Retrobox. It cost $23 + $6 shipping.

     

    It took almost two weeks after my order for the device to be shipped, but there was a notice on the site that orders were being delayed because of the Chinese New Year. The site currently claims that orders are shipped within 2-5 business days. I got the device on Monday, and tested it last night.

     

    I’m happy to report that so far, the device is working exactly as advertised. I just plugged it into an open USB port, attached a 6 button controller and then went straight into Mame and started programming buttons for Mortal Kombat II. The only tricky part was figuring out which keyboard button caused which action, and assigning the Genesis buttons accordingly, but that’s more of a Mame32 issue. The controller itself worked great. Heck, I think being able to use a Genesis controller for MKII is better than the arcade.

     

    To be 100% clear, what I ordered was just a cord with a USB port on one end and an adapter to plug in a Genesis controller into on the other. This particular item won’t do you any good if you don’t have already have a Genesis controller. Fortunately, I’ve kept several over the years.

     

    I can’t speak for the other Retroboxes available on the site (why on earth would anybody want one of these for Atari 5200 controllers anyway?), but if you’d like to be able to use Genesis controllers on your PC, with all six buttons available for use, I highly recommend this product. Now that I have one, I probably won’t use the Saitek controller anymore, unless I finally get around to trying more modern games someday.

  7. Posted

    I've found Stelladapter to be worth every penny that I paid for it.  Most of the emulators I use recognized the joystick and responded to input immediately.  After tinkering a bit with some configuration options in MAME, I was able to get my Atari paddles working with Arkanoid and other games that use a knob.  I bought the Atari - 80 Classic Games and downloaded the Stelladapter patch so that I can use the driving controller to play Tempest.

     

    WHAT

     

    I spent hours trying to play Arkanoid using the Stelladaptor and paddles and could never get it to work.

     

    http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...hl=stelladaptor

     

    Of course, my last effort was with Mame32 .80. Maybe it's easier to set up now.

     

    Can you please tell me which version of Mame you used and EXACTLY how you did it?

     

    To answer the original question, even if you're dumb like me and can't figure out how to use paddles, the Stelladaptor is worth every penny.

     

    --Jason

  8. Posted

    http://www.retrousb.com/

     

    I found the above website which sells controller adapters for use in emulators. The 6 button genesis controller is one of my all time favorites and it would be great to use it for fighting games in Mame. Has anyone ever bought an adapter from this site and actually used it in Mame?

     

    I already e-mailed the site and asked if it will work in Mame, but I also wanted to know if anyone here had tried it.

     

    I believe I hooked up a Genesis controller to my Stelladaptor when I first got it, but only one button will work. I'm hoping this adapter will allow all six buttons to work for fighters.

     

    Finally, I know there are many modern controllers out there that will theoretically work in Mame. In fact, I just bought a Saitek P990 controller for Mame, but I can't figure out how to program it to save my life. I am losing patience and hope to find a simpler solution.

     

    --Jason

  9. Posted

    I’ll post another game today :) . The following recording is from last night. My final score was 259,520. That’s only a 10,000 point increase over the first recording, but in this one you’ll see I’m getting a little more efficient and have figured out the timing for a couple other moves that make grouping the monsters easier.

     

    Other notes on this game:

     

    –Score at end of Level 5: 76,000.

    –Score at end of Level 9: 150,520. I missed only one monster on levels 6-9.

    –On level 16, I screw up and miss two monsters on the top left energizer. Otherwise I’m perfect on levels 14-16.

    –I thought the fruits were pretty stingy in this game. I only got two bananas after Level 7. At the very end of the game, I missed a pear. :x

     

    At this point, even if I clean up the obvious mistakes, I don’t think I’m going to be able to score much over 280,000 unless I hit an incredible streak of luck with the fruit. So, it’s time for me to try grouping monsters on the Chase boards. I have no idea how long it will take me to figure this out, but I will post another video at the appropriate time.

     

    Once again, this recording was made in Mame32 .90

     

    Enjoy!

     

    –Jason

    mspacman259520.zip

  12. Posted

    This thread will be for people who want to post Ms. Pac-man videos recorded in Mame. Maybe we can help each other increase our scores by watching other people play.

     

    I’m starting this off with a game I just played today. My final score was 249,420, the highest I have ever gotten on Ms. Pac-man. In this video, you’ll see that I’ve become a lot better at grouping the monsters on the orange and lavender levels (6-9 and 14-17 respectively.) You’ll also see that getting all four monsters, especially on the 1 second blue boards requires precise timing. The guide written by the Bozeman think tank should be taken as a general guide only. You have to refine their techniques on your own, and you should always keep trying to come up with your own moves!

     

    Some other notes on this recording:

     

    –Score at the end of Level 5: 76,000. I only missed one 1600 point monster.

    –Score at the end of Level 9: 149,420. That’s my highest ever by the end of that board. I was also perfect on Level 9, meaning I got all 4 monsters on all 4 energizers.

    –Level 16 takes forever, sorry. I was on my last life at that point and played very conservatively. However, you’ll see that I got all four monsters on the bottom right energizer even after the red monster had sped up.

    –Level 17: I got 2 bananas!

    –I still have a ton of work to do. I haven’t started grouping the monsters on the junior boards yet and am still making really stupid mistakes. At the end of this particular game I almost threw my monitor out the window in a fit of rage. You’ll see why. :x

     

    IMPORTANT: I made this recording on Mame32 v. 90. Why am I using that version when Mame is up to .101 now? Because every version of Mame I’ve checked past .90 has a bug in Ms. Pac-man that makes the monsters slow down in the tunnels after level three. It’s easiest to see when you watch the monsters emerge from the tunnels on the right side of the screen. I have no idea what’s causing it, but I know it didn’t happen in the original arcade game, and the bug has gotten me killed a few times. So I kept trying different versions until I found the latest one that did not have the bug.

     

    You can get mame32.90 at this website. If that link doesn’t work, PM me and I’ll e-mail you a copy.

     

    http://mame.joymonkey.com/mame32/index.html

     

    I’ll post more of my videos in the coming weeks, but I hope some of the other people in here who I know have been working on Ms. Pac will contribute too. Have fun!

     

    --Jason

    mspacman249420.zip

  13. Posted

    Update.

     

    OK, I finally did it. After 8 years, I finally broke my high score on Ms. Pacman last night. It was kind of a let down because my old high score was 232,000 and my new one is only 234,000. I got a banana on level 20 and lost my last man almost immediately afterward.

     

    Still, I am confident that dramatic increases in this score are only weeks, not years away this time. I’ve been working very hard on grouping the monsters for the past month or so and it’s starting to pay off. My average scores have increased as follows:

     

    –I’m almost always finishing the apple board with over 70,000 points. A couple nights ago, I got 76,000 just one 1600 point monster away from perfection.

     

    –I usually have over 110,000 by the end of the banana board, and around 140,000 by the end of level 9. Previously, I was very happy to have over 100,000 and 120,000 by the end of levels 7 and 9 respectively.

     

    I’ve been following the guide created by Don Williams and the “Bozeman Think Tank.” Parts of it are not entirely clear, but you can find some additional help over at the Twin Galaxy forums. Thanks to the guide, I can now get all 4 monsters on the top left and right energizers on the orange and lavendar boards (levels 6-9 and 14-17). I don’t do this every time, yet, but I know the technique works. As for the bottom right energizer, I haven’t gotten that one to work correctly because the orange monster keeps breaking off from the group for some reason. I’m working on my own technique for getting all four monsters on the bottom left energizer and am getting better at it every day.

     

    I haven’t starting trying to group the monsters on the junior boards yet. I’m going to keep working at the orange boards for now and start on the junior boards in a few weeks.

     

    One problem with trying to group the monsters is that you get careless. I’m losing 2 or 3 men by the time I reach the junior boards right now, meaning that one more slip up ends the game. As I get better at grouping and make it to higher levels with all 4 men, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to break 270 or 280K.

     

    I wanted to wait until I got a higher score to post a recording, but if anyone wants to see last night’s game, I’ll post it later. It’s very tedious though; it took about an hour and 10 minutes to reach 234K. You will see me make many dumb mistakes and try grouping the monsters many, many, MANY times before it actually works.

     

    More updates as events warrant. :)

     

    –Jason

  17. Posted

    After reading up on this, I've decided to go for it. I just preordered a GPx2 from www.gp32z.com. They're saying it will be about $180-190, which is less than I paid for my original GP32 (which still works fine).

     

    Even if the GPx2 doesn't come with emulators right away, GP32 will continue to keep me occupied while the new scene develops.

     

    --Jason

  19. Posted

    Ms. Pac-Man FAQ 2.0

     

    This is written by the original Bozeman Think Tank.  They are the fellows that publicly uncovered the secret of the junior boards.  Though the link mentioned in the article is broken, I have copies of the referenced .jpg files.

     

    (This game is definitely my next big project.  I can only get 292,000 now.)

     

    One day we shall learn the recently found trick to getting 141 boards every time.

    889818[/snapback]

     

    I read that FAQ, but I couldn't figure out how to group the monsters on the orange and junior boards by reading their written description or by looking at the jpgs. There is a MARP recording in which someone got 400,000. He must have been using a grouping technique to score that high, but I've never been able to get the file to run to see what he's doing.

     

    --Jason

  21. Posted

    Cool! And funnily enough I'm just going through a Lolo revival as I just completed Lolo 1 and am on level 7 on Lolo 2 (and stuck :lol:). Once I'm done I'll move to Lolo 3 which I could never finish.. but now I got gamefaqs if I ever get truly stuck for a couple of months :P

    846167[/snapback]

     

    The last time I updated this thread

     

    http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...c=55623&hl=lolo

     

    I was halfway through Japanese Lolo 2. I finished in February and I'm now playing Japanese Lolo 3. Now don't get me wrong, Lolo 3 is a very tough game, but the Japanese version is worse. WAY worse. I've only gotten halfway through it since February and I seriously think it is the most difficult game I've ever played. :x

     

    To put this in perspective, a couple weeks ago, out of curiosity, I played Lolo 1 again for the first time since high school. I finished it in a little over 2 hours.

     

    Still with the level editor, this remake sounds really interesting. I'm going to check it out.

     

    --Jason

  23. Posted · Edited by hepcat

    Here's the story:

     

    I bought my friend's son The Atari Anthology for X-box. Well has has been playing it for the past couple days and has found the games quite challenging. Well I go over to my friend's place and I hear his son swearing and crying at the X-Box. I go inot the room and his son starts saying how much Atari Baseball sucks because the other team keeps chaeting by walking and not swinging for the pitched ball. Then I ask him about Crytsal Castles(the arcade version), and he said he could only get to the third level and that Crystal Castles sucks too. He then said he hates Atari.

     

    I think the games of the 80's take much more skill than the much easier games of today.

     

    Poor kid :roll:

    864935[/snapback]

     

    I'm surprised he made it that far on arcade Crystal Castles without a track ball controller. It's a very challenging game!

  25. Posted

    There are a lot of skilled posters in this forum who have made remarkable alterations and improvements to some of our favorite classic video games. I’ve always hesitated to request something here because I lack the technical expertise to contribute first, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while and people seem very friendly in here so I doubt this request will be taken the wrong way.

     

    Most people agree that Atari 2600 Ms. Pacman is one of the best games made for that system, but one of the complaints against it is that it’s too easy. This is mainly because the light blue and orange monsters move much more slowly than Ms. Pacman. Only the red and pink monsters are faster than Ms. Pac as she eats dots and slightly slower than her when not eating dots as in the arcade.

     

    How difficult would it be to hack the game to make the orange and light blue monsters move as fast as the pink monster? This would increase the game’s difficulty substantially. Or for a real challenge, how about making all the monsters move as fast as the red monster? What about making all four move at the same speed as the pink monster at the start of a board and then having the red one speed up after a certain number of dots are eaten? (This is what triggers his speed up in the arcade.)

     

    Another possibility is that someone has already done one or more of these alterations and I just didn’t hear about it. In that case, if anyone could help me find the hacked game, I’d really appreciate it.

     

    Jason :)

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