Rockwaldo's Quest to play 4000 arcade games on MAME.

[Rob]

I've decided.. I'll do it. But I'll steal Rockwaldo's style (if he doesn't mind... would you mind, mate?), I'll do it in a blog (and I'll post the updates in a dedicated thread here), but instead of 80s shmups, I think I'll play every shmup on Mame, in alphabetical order. I'll do it like Rockwaldo, play 3 times, then write a short text with my impressions of the game (No deep review or anything, just a description of the gameplay and some of my personal impressions). I'll also do it in both english and portuguese, so my fellows from the brazilian shmups forum from Orkut can also read it.

And when I finish this (I plan to play one game per day, so this means I'll finish like.. in 2 years? ) I'll start an MSX Shmups blog

So.. Rob.. since you gave the idea... what do you say?

Heh, good luck!

[Mortificator]

It looks like your first stop'll be the 19XX games. Not a bad place to start.

[Shatterhand]

I just am not sure if the blog is the best way ...

I mean, if i actually manage to pull this off, we will have a tremendous database of arcade shmups. it would be a lot better if this was in a proper page, with an index with links to each game...

[Rob]

This should give you an idea for site design. It's pretty nice/simple.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/

[Rockwaldo]

I just am not sure if the blog is the best way ...

I mean, if i actually manage to pull this off, we will have a tremendous database of arcade shmups. it would be a lot better if this was in a proper page, with an index with links to each game...

To be fair, the blog way would work better if, like me, you were actually documenting your experiences of a barrell load of game. I get the impression that you are looking to provide a resource rather than a "story", so maybe a standard webpage would be a better idea?

Either way, good luck!

[Shatterhand]

For me, a Blog would be nice because it's very fast. You just write your words, snap a screenshot, and presto!

Rob, I can't check this page here at work, because any page with the word "game" in the URL is blocked here.

I also thought about doing it in a blog, and having a separate page that links to each page of the blog....

[Danny]

I think '98 is the best year. Good pick.

I'll have my NES thread up next month. Been playing some today.

Ah cool. Nes had a lot of shooters on it so it should be intresting to see which you perfer. I also have a ton of NES roms so I might check out some of the games you review heh.

p.s: Exsepct the link for my video to be up some time today once I have finished uploading it. The video is over 30 mins long so it might take awhile!

[Acid King]

So what are you suggesting? That Twin Galaxies go out and actively SEEK these other records? That isnt feasible surely, they have to rely on what is submitted to them, and if they arent submitted - irrespective of validity, then they can't be included.

I wont speak on the newer games, such as Ikaruga, as they are of no interest to me or my project (outside of playing for fun of course, i love Ikaruga on my DC) and to be fair i think TG are over-reaching slighty by focusing wider then just the retro arcade games.

Thanks for the answers so far though, i am genuinely interested in the reason why so many people hate TG so much.

I'm saying that being willfully unaware of real achievements in games and allowing joke scores like the 1 million Ikaruga score or the 300,000 Star Force score to be listed as actual records simply because no one has bothered to submit to the site destroys its credibility. I'm sure some of the scores may be legitimate world records, but in the words of Jimmy from South Park "Come on...".

The most simple and stupid analogy I can make is with food. If someone started an site for keeping track of eating records and listed someone as the world hot dog eating record holder for eating 3 hot dogs in an hour when we've all seen that crazy japanese dude eat like 50 in a few minutes, no one would take it seriously as a record. The bullet proof answer, of course, is that the real "record" doesn't count because the contest Nathan's has doesn't fit the criteria or because he hasn't bothered to submit his score to the site. Factor in the claim of being authoritative and that I've personally eaten 6 chili dogs in a half hour and...

Thats why no one here takes them seriously and why no one bothers to submit scores to them. Aside from the fact that we'd be willfully submitting records we know aren't records to begin with, the people that take playing for score seriously and play the kind of games that are popular on this site know that Twin Galaxies is not authoritative in the least when it comes to the records of modern (and as Star Force shows, retro) shooting games.

[Rockwaldo]

So what are you suggesting? That Twin Galaxies go out and actively SEEK these other records? That isnt feasible surely, they have to rely on what is submitted to them, and if they arent submitted - irrespective of validity, then they can't be included.

I wont speak on the newer games, such as Ikaruga, as they are of no interest to me or my project (outside of playing for fun of course, i love Ikaruga on my DC) and to be fair i think TG are over-reaching slighty by focusing wider then just the retro arcade games.

Thanks for the answers so far though, i am genuinely interested in the reason why so many people hate TG so much.

I'm saying that being willfully unaware of real achievements in games and allowing joke scores like the 1 million Ikaruga score or the 300,000 Star Force score to be listed as actual records simply because no one has bothered to submit to the site destroys its credibility. I'm sure some of the scores may be legitimate world records, but in the words of Jimmy from South Park "Come on...".

The most simple and stupid analogy I can make is with food. If someone started an site for keeping track of eating records and listed someone as the world hot dog eating record holder for eating 3 hot dogs in an hour when we've all seen that crazy japanese dude eat like 50 in a few minutes, no one would take it seriously as a record. The bullet proof answer, of course, is that the real "record" doesn't count because the contest Nathan's has doesn't fit the criteria or because he hasn't bothered to submit his score to the site. Factor in the claim of being authoritative and that I've personally eaten 6 chili dogs in a half hour and...

Thats why no one here takes them seriously and why no one bothers to submit scores to them. Aside from the fact that we'd be willfully submitting records we know aren't records to begin with, the people that take playing for score seriously and play the kind of games that are popular on this site know that Twin Galaxies is not authoritative in the least when it comes to the records of modern (and as Star Force shows, retro) shooting games.

I think you're perhaps being too offended by Twin Galaxies having any record at all. As Walter said in my quote above, they dont really specialise in that sort of game - hence the lack of decent records.

However, reading more into the Japanese scene, after some of the earlier comments, i can absolutely agree that the MODS that Japanese arcade players are using, i.e autofire mods and the like are NOT fair in the world of united high scores. You need to be all on the same level, which means same hardware, same settings - only then will you have accurate comparisons. If the original machines wanted you to have autofire, then they would have included it, as some games do. Getting great scores by modifying the machine, while facinating, is not in the spirit at all and as such the scores should be disregarded in a competitive environment.

Actually my next game is a good example - Aero Fighters. I had a quick go last night and it's a great game. However in the TG book, there is just a single arcade record, a measly 240,000 or so, held by one of the main referees no less from last year. Now, i spoke to this guy the other week in person and i have reason to believe that the record he has posted was meant as an encouragement for people to beat him, and it's quite obvious that if anyone that is worth his salt at shooters could be arsed they could do that rather easily.

We are becoming quite circular here, but I do think a lot of people imagine an arrogance about Twin Galaxies that really isn't there most of the time.

[Acid King]

As Walter said in my quote above, they dont really specialise in that sort of game - hence the lack of decent records.

Which is exactly what I just said and why few people around here take them seriously. They have low placeholder records for games that have proper world records or that we've seen videos of people clobbering. They don't pay enough attention the genre and the records they have in place are laughable in the proper context so of course no one is going to think too highly of them.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ancient post reply ahead!

It shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but the whole contingent of Americans that claim TG is the be-all, end-all of records drive me insane.

How much credibility does TG have? Are there a lot of people that consider it a reputable, definitive source? Obviously it's a joke around here, but this is the only board I read.

IIRC a lot of people over at Digital Press don't much like it either (archaic verification records, shitty scores on lots of games, etc.)

[Rockwaldo]

As Walter said in my quote above, they dont really specialise in that sort of game - hence the lack of decent records.

Which is exactly what I just said and why few people around here take them seriously. They have low placeholder records for games that have proper world records or that we've seen videos of people clobbering. They don't pay enough attention the genre and the records they have in place are laughable in the proper context so of course no one is going to think too highly of them.

Agreed. Although if i was you guys, I would rather plan an assault on their leaderboards and get some decent records on there. That way you help them a little bit and help improve yourselves at your favorite games?

[Icarus]

Agreed. Although if i was you guys, I would rather plan an assault on their leaderboards and get some decent records on there. That way you help them a little bit and help improve yourselves at your favorite games?

I'm not sure if people from here would really care to, to be honest. If anything, there is more fierce scoring competition here against other like-minded players, which is what a good proportion of our visitors come for.

From what I've seen of a number of TG scoreboards, a large portion of games have less than three score submissions, and a lot of those are just quickies thrown in to get a name on the board.

That and the fact that verification is required, which is something that this forum doesn't strictly operate. Only a handful of our visitors back up their scores with replays, and recording software/hardware isn't easy to come by or use for less technical-minded people. Same goes for MAME, a lot of our more skilled players prefer ports and PCBs over emulation.

EDIT: Just been browsing the scoreboards again.
Nine pages of Raiden 3 but no Raiden DX? -_-;;

[Acid King]

I almost want to record a "record breaking" run of Ikaruga and make fun of the fact that it's a lame record to be breaking. Chain the first half of the level then suicide until my credit is over.

[Icarus]

I almost want to record a "record breaking" run of Ikaruga and make fun of the fact that it's a lame record to be breaking. Chain the first half of the level then suicide until my credit is over.

Here's one for you, then.
Get to it. Chop chop. ^_-

[Acid King]

Here's one for you, then.
Get to it. Chop chop. ^_-

Bbbbut I just put Batrider in my cab... that would be a good one though.

Edit: The same guy has the records for both Batrider and Bakraid. Raizing master is him.

[Icarus]

Bbbbut I just put Batrider in my cab... that would be a good one though.

Edit: The same guy has the records for both Batrider and Bakraid. Raizing master is him.

Batrider Advanced. Umm... yeah. 60 players beat that score in a week, last year.

[Rockwaldo]

Fair enough, i can see how TG doesn't really fit in with this place. I must say though that i dont really subscribe to the way some of you chaps celebrate your high scores though - does seem a bit snooty, maybe that's just me being new to the hardcore scene...

Incidentally for my next game, Aero Fighters i got a score of 311,700 on my 3rd go, which is nearly 100,000 more than the arcade record in the book - checking arcadia, the high score is about 4 million. As my blog is related to the book, i will have a small form of celebration (and mention some of my discussions here) so please try to resist the temptation to piss on my chips..

[Shatterhand]

Aeroboto? I only knew that as Formation Z.

I left a comment in your blog regarding the "tanks at knee level"

[Icarus]

Fair enough, i can see how TG doesn't really fit in with this place. I must say though that i dont really subscribe to the way some of you chaps celebrate your high scores though - does seem a bit snooty, maybe that's just me being new to the hardcore scene...

Nah, we just like to compete here. Same goes for the hardcore forums of a lot of other genres. I don't celebrate my records that much anyway, as I know there are better players, but for me, chasing those records adds to my enjoyment of playing the games in this genre, and competing against good players is what I look forward to.

If you want arrogant and snotty, stop by the shoryuken.com forums and make a passing comment about a random fighting game. ^_-

Incidentally for my next game, Aero Fighters i got a score of 311,700 on my 3rd go, which is nearly 100,000 more than the arcade record in the book - checking arcadia, the high score is about 4 million. As my blog is related to the book, i will have a small form of celebration (and mention some of my discussions here) so please try to resist the temptation to piss on my chips..

I won't piss on your chips. I'll probably drown them in lager for a laugh, however. I keed, I keed. ^_-

The only thing I request is that you don't stop playing particular shootemups just because you're working your way through a big list. Join in some scorethreads if you get the time. You have my respect for coming in here and arguing your points clearly and honestly, but you'll get more points from other people if you come in and show a desire to compete against them. People around here like newcomers who compete and contribute.

[Shatterhand]

Yeah, I think it would be great if you participate in the STGT 07

[Rockwaldo]

The only thing I request is that you don't stop playing particular shootemups just because you're working your way through a big list. Join in some scorethreads if you get the time. You have my respect for coming in here and arguing your points clearly and honestly, but you'll get more points from other people if you come in and show a desire to compete against them. People around here like newcomers who compete and contribute.

Oh don't worry about that, one of my slight disapointments with the whole book is that there really aren't that many Japanese shooters, just as Walter hinted at, and thats a shame, as some of them are great.

I'm no expert, but my shooter reactions are pretty good, so I wont be going anywhere fast..

[durias]

@ Rockwaldo.

I've just read your recent post. Nicely done.

[Rockwaldo]

@ Rockwaldo.

I've just read your recent post. Nicely done.

thank you!

[Shatterhand]

Rockwaldo, how did you reach our forum ? How did you figure out that the people posting comments in your 1943 entry were members from here?

I always wonder how people sometime finds out too quickly someone is talking about them in a forum.... like Stuart Campbell did here

[Rockwaldo]

Rockwaldo, how did you reach our forum ? How did you figure out that the people posting comments in your 1943 entry were members from here?

I always wonder how people sometime finds out too quickly someone is talking about them in a forum.... like Stuart Campbell did here

Ha! you've had the illustrious Stuart Campbell here have you? Lucky lucky people..

It was through the blog actually, the wordpress jobby tells you where the refferals were coming from and this forum was one of them. As for working out the comments were from here, that part was more obvious.

[Shatterhand]

Ahh, it makes sense.

I am a little afraid to say his name here, he may try to come back, heh

[Pirate1019]

you've had the illustrious Stuart Campbell here have you? Lucky lucky people..

From what I hear, no.

[Rockwaldo]

Ahh, it makes sense.

I am a little afraid to say his name here, he may try to come back, heh

from what i hear, yes

[thenoble1]

Ahh, it makes sense.

I am a little afraid to say his name here, he may try to come back, heh

from what i hear, yes

You're grammar is teh win!