Demon Attack bug?

[toymailman]

I have a strange Demon Attack cartridge that didn't end at wave 84. I was trying to see how close I could get to a "perfect" score by hitting as many of the diving demons (look like birds) that I could before the game ended. I calculated a perfect score by wave 84 would be 143,760.

 

However, after playing a while the game never ended. I went past 200k and knew something was wierd, then 300k, then 400k. A little over 400k the game REALLY did a reset. After finishing the second wave of tiny expanding eyeball demons, the game went back to wave 1. I knew this because the demons no longer split anymore and everything moved a bit slower as if I had just started, but my score was super high. I turned it off (it was past midnight), but took a picture before I did. This version seems to go on forever, but I didn't want to play it that long.

Anyone else have a wierd Demon Attack cart? I'll have to check the rest of mine now. I hope I have some that work properly.

[+Omegamatrix]

Wow, great score! Yeah the Demon Attack bug and fix after is famous. Here's a little info on the rom.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1258793

[+HammR25]

How did you get the sun in your version of demon attack?

[+Omegamatrix]

How did you get the sun in your version of demon attack?

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, player one novice, player two expert, game reset

[shadow460]

How did you get the sun in your version of demon attack?

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, player one novice, player two expert, game reset

 

don't you have to do that after your score hits 400K, though? Or did I miss something...

[toymailman]

Wow, great score! Yeah the Demon Attack bug and fix after is famous. Here's a little info on the rom.

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1258793

Ahhhh, thank you. I'll have to play my rev A cart now to make sure I still have an original version. I;ve been selling all my extra stuff, and didn't realize Demon Attack was changed.

 

I don't really call the original a "bug" though. It was intentional as the manual states that the game stops at the 84th wave. I think I like the original better too. It is nice to know there is an ending, however the screen should show your score rather than go completely black. Didn't the intellivision versionhave a mothership to destroy after the 84th wave as a finale. It would be cool to have that on the 2600!

 

Now that I know, the next time I play the infinite version I'll have to record it. It felt like I could go on forever with it.

[toymailman]

I played another one of my Demon Attack carts today and it ended after the 84th wave. Whew, at least I didn't sell it. As for my score it is impossible to take a picture at the end, but before destroying the last expanding eyeball demon I had 136,655. So, with +35, +70 and +140 my final score would be 136,900. A new personal best for me!

 

I think the games that only progress to a certain level of difficulty should have endings (but post the final score of course). The revised Demon Attack and Atlantis I have each played recently were like this. The higher levels, although challenging, are not so difficult that one couldn't last forever with a little bit of practice. Still funs games though!

[neotokeo2001]

Play this one and post your high score.

 

 

Invader X Competition BIN:

Invader__X_Contest_Florida.bin

 

I originally started my hack of Demon Attack because I could play it until I decided to quit. This is a competition version of Invader X and most people only last a few minutes and more skilled players will last less then 10 minutes.

[supercat]

I don't really call the original a "bug" though. It was intentional as the manual states that the game stops at the 84th wave.

 

I would consider the loss of screen display to be a bug. If the cartridge did a forced "game over", that would not have been a bug.

 

Another approach might have been to have the game "stick" at level 84, with no extra lives--just aliens warping in continuously. Chuck Norris Superkicks is like that. Something would have had to have been done to prevent the sound going wonky, but that shouldn't have been too hard.

[toymailman]

Play this one and post your high score.

 

 

Invader X Competition BIN:

Invader__X_Contest_Florida.bin

 

I originally started my hack of Demon Attack because I could play it until I decided to quit. This is a competition version of Invader X and most people only last a few minutes and more skilled players will last less then 10 minutes.

Thanks! I'll give it a go. Is it the same increase in difficulty from Atlantis I -> II. Regular Atlantis is one of those I can play until my hand/thumb hurt (millions of points), but my best in Atlantis II is 559.

 

Also, how much for one of the carts??

[toymailman]

I don't really call the original a "bug" though. It was intentional as the manual states that the game stops at the 84th wave.

 

I would consider the loss of screen display to be a bug. If the cartridge did a forced "game over", that would not have been a bug.

 

Another approach might have been to have the game "stick" at level 84, with no extra lives--just aliens warping in continuously. Chuck Norris Superkicks is like that. Something would have had to have been done to prevent the sound going wonky, but that shouldn't have been too hard.

I agree on that one. The black screen with an unending annoying sound I'd consider a bug too. I only meant the fact that it ended was intentional.

[neotokeo2001]

Thanks! I'll give it a go. Is it the same increase in difficulty from Atlantis I -> II. Regular Atlantis is one of those I can play until my hand/thumb hurt (millions of points), but my best in Atlantis II is 559.

 

Also, how much for one of the carts??

 

In this version you only have 3 ships (no extras are awarded) and the difficulty has been increased. The scoring has also been lowered. There are only about 10 Invader X Competition carts and they were given away as prizes in high score competitions.

Each show has a different label variation.

 

INVADER X

 

 

DEMON ATTACK???

 

Marooned on the ice planet Krybor, you watch legions of eerie creatures scream overhead. They hover ominously. They give you no quarter. Attack and destroy them, or be destroyed! Armed with your Laser Cannon, you confront the ultimate challenge: SURVIVE!..................Or so you thought. Seems like that was just the training mission. Now prepare for the REAL THING!! INVADER X!!

 

If you have played Demon Attack and need a new challenge, then step up to Invader X!! These Invaders attack with more speed and cunning then the Demons ever did. Watch out for the new Stealth Technology!!

 

Only three Ships against the Invaders. How high can you score??

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

Move ship left and right with joystick.

Press button to fire. You can hold down the button for auto-fire.

 

SCORING:

 

Invader - 1 point

Mini-Invader - 2 points

Kamikaze Invader - 4 points

 

LIVES:

 

You start the game with one active ship and two in reserve. When a ship is destroyed it will be replaced with

one of your reserve ships. When all ships are gone the game displays your final score.

NO EXTRA SHIPS ARE AWARDED IN THIS GAME.

Edited December 22, 2007 by neotokeo2001

[toymailman]

I played it without reading your next post, but discovered the no extra lives feature anyway. Whew, very unforgiving without getting any more reserve ships.

 

For my first try...

1,504

 

[neotokeo2001]

I played it without reading your next post, but discovered the no extra lives feature anyway. Whew, very unforgiving without getting any more reserve ships.

 

For my first try...

1,504

 

 

 

That would have made you the winner at a couple of the contest.

[toymailman]

That would have made you the winner at a couple of the contest.

Cool! However, I'm in the Northwest. Florida is a bit far to go.

 

I'll give it another whirl sometime.

[neotokeo2001]

That would have made you the winner at a couple of the contest.

Cool! However, I'm in the Northwest. Florida is a bit far to go.

 

I'll give it another whirl sometime.

 

Invader X has made it's way to several places so far.

 

 

 

 

I still have plans to release the regular version of Invader X sometime in the future.

 

 

If you know of anyone that wants to have an Invader X High Score Contest let me know.

[toymailman]

I still have plans to release the regular version of Invader X sometime in the future.

No way, it was at NWCGE2k6?!? I don't remember this competition, and that one was only 10 miles from my place. Arghhh! Oh well, let me know if you ever release it. I gave it another try.

1,679

I am not a fan of emulation, mainly because my computer seems to "wig out" from time to time. Sometimes games being played speed up randomly, and throws me off. That is how I ended up losing my lives in these attempts. Nothing beats real carts and hardware for me.

[SeaGtGruff]

I am not a fan of emulation, mainly because my computer seems to "wig out" from time to time. Sometimes games being played speed up randomly, and throws me off.

Stella behaves that way on my father's computer, but it never does that on mine. If I remember correctly from what I've read in other threads-- and my explanation is probably going to contain some inaccuracies, so I'm hoping someone else will chime in and correct them-- Stella can't guarantee a perfect frame rate, due to all the other things that will be going on in the computer (stealing processor time from Stella, the dirty rats! ), so Stella will occasionally adjust the rate from frame to frame to try to keep the overall frame rate as accurate as possible. For example, if some of the frames are too slow for some reason, Stella will try to compensate by speeding up until the frames "catch up" with where they should be. Ideally, the slowing down and speeding up shouldn't be enough to be perceptible. But if the slow down is dramatic, then the speed up will be equally dramatic. For example, on my father's computer, Stella will sometimes "freeze" for a second or more, and immediately after that it will speed up like crazy for a little bit.

 

I presume that z26 and other emulators do the same thing to try to maintain a "constant" frame rate, but I'm not sure.

 

My father has Windows ME, whereas I have Windows XP Professional. I don't know if that has any bearing on it, although I've heard that Windows ME has a lot of quirky problems. I'm not sure what the other specifics of my father's computer are (speed, memory, etc.), but mine is definitely newer/faster/better than his.

 

Another thing that might make a big difference is that he has all kinds of-- pardon me-- crap running in the background on his computer, stuff I don't think he needs. Now, I do have some things running in the background on my computer, but not quite as much as he does, and not the same stuff. For example, I think he has MusicMatch running in the background, and I think I *used* to have MusicMatch running in the background on this computer, but I turned it off (and maybe uninstalled it) because it was occasionally causing problems that were aggravating me.

 

So which emulator are you using, what operating system do you have, what are the other specifics of your computer, what do you have running in the background, etc.?

 

Michael

[toymailman]

So which emulator are you using, what operating system do you have, what are the other specifics of your computer, what do you have running in the background, etc.?

 

Michael

I am using Stella, on an old (Pentium III 1.0 GHz) system running Windows ME. That probably explains it. Thanks!!