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NintendoAge 2014 Weekly Contest Presents: Boulder Dash Contest ends Sunday, 9/21/14 at 11 PM NA time

Sep 14, 2014 at 1:26:33 PM
bimmy_lee (78)
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(Kevin Miller) < Bowser >
Posts: 7072 - Joined: 08/10/2009
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Hello everyone and welcome to the latest installment of the Weekly Contests!  This week's game is going to be Boulder Dash.  Here are the rules:
  • 1 player only
  • Start on Stage 1-1
  • You must play the stages in order. No skipping around
  • Play until Game Over
  • When you get a Game Over, select End to get your score. You may not select Continue
  • Take your picture on the Title Screen
  • Highest score wins
  • GENRE: Puzzle


The contest ends Sunday, 9/21/14 at 11 PM NA time.  Your user name MUST be written on a piece of paper and be in the picture for your score to be valid.  The entire TV screen, or computer monitor if you are playing on an emulator, MUST be in the picture for the score to be valid.  No partial screenshots will be considered or accepted.  No screenshots by hitting "print screen" on a computer will be allowed.  You must take a picture of your computer monitor.  There may be instances where this will be acceptable, but it will be at the discretion of myself and the contest organizers.  Also, the use of turbo controllers is forbidden, as well as any cheat codes, Game Genies, or save states if playing on an emulator.  Also, we will only be using NTSC systems for the contests.  The use of PAL systems will NOT be allowed.  Good luck everyone and have fun


-------------------------

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"Wait...Bimmy and Jimmy??  How'd they make a mistake like this!?  Bimmy isn't even a real name!"

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Proud owner of post #2000, #2900, and #3800 in Inner Circle HQ thread


Sep 14, 2014 at 6:26:07 PM
Thundercat08 (9)
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(Alicia G) < Meka Chicken >
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Looks fun.

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Sep 15, 2014 at 4:45:05 AM
gutsman004 (126)
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(Guts Man) < Wiz's Mom >
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5,021 - World 2-3

Kept making dumb mistakes trying to kill all the enemies in each stage before I cleared it. Usually ended up having a mammoth fall on me. And no I did not intentionally point rack.


Edited: 09/19/2014 at 05:46 AM by gutsman004

Sep 15, 2014 at 2:12:28 PM
Vectrex28 (130)
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(CD-i Kraid) < Master Higgins >
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I always thought about giving this one a serious go. Let's do this

-------------------------
"Energy Tanks, Missiles, Power Bombs... You want it? It's yours my friend! As long as you have enough credits!"


Sep 16, 2014 at 8:42:02 PM
khog143 (73)
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(Kevin Holbrook) < El Ripper >
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After playing this for a bit I'm with gutsman. this game does nothing for me, and some of the design of the game seems very wonky, like how the rocks fall, being able to get trapped and not able to end the level at the expense of a life like Puzznic(at least I couldn't find a way), etc. That said, I made it to the end of World 2 yesterday, and hopefully will get farther.

Sep 17, 2014 at 9:57:06 AM
JamesRobot (22)
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(JamsGobot ) < King Solomon >
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Originally posted by: khog143

After playing this for a bit I'm with gutsman. this game does nothing for me, and some of the design of the game seems very wonky, like how the rocks fall, being able to get trapped and not able to end the level at the expense of a life like Puzznic(at least I couldn't find a way), etc. That said, I made it to the end of World 2 yesterday, and hopefully will get farther.





I believe you can commit suicide by holding a+b.

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Sep 17, 2014 at 10:47:58 AM
khog143 (73)
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(Kevin Holbrook) < El Ripper >
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Good to know! I tried doing button combos, start-select, etc. I guess I just didn't hold it long enough.

Sep 17, 2014 at 10:52:56 AM
arch_8ngel (68)
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(Nathan ?) < Mario >
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I didn't remember the controls having so much latency on this game.

I guess most of my Boulderdash game-time was on the version somebody wrote for the TI-85.
MUCH tighter controls in that one

-------------------------
 

Sep 17, 2014 at 2:50:27 PM
Thundercat08 (9)
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(Alicia G) < Meka Chicken >
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I broke my controller. Becauae I THREW it.

-------------------------
 

Sep 17, 2014 at 5:45:33 PM
arnpoly (110)
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(Aaron ) < King Solomon >
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Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

I didn't remember the controls having so much latency on this game.

I guess most of my Boulderdash game-time was on the version somebody wrote for the TI-85.
MUCH tighter controls in that one

Haha, in my mind the definitive version of the game is the TI-92 version.

It seems like the game only decides to use controller input every 8th frame.


-------------------------
Take On The NES Library!
NES Games Finished: 136
--------------------------------------------------
Next Game: #137 - Shadowgate
Latest Post - 10/11/19 - #130 - Bad Street Brawler
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Sep 17, 2014 at 5:48:36 PM
arnpoly (110)
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(Aaron ) < King Solomon >
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Also, I believe I found a way to point grind indefinitely.

In Level 2-2, if you kill all the enemies you get 2000 points which is enough for an extra life. I bet there are other areas even better than this because the points per kill goes up in the later levels.

Since this version of the game is a little, shall we say, inconsistent with the controls, I think it might be okay if we allow it because it is really tough to reliably pull off. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

-------------------------
Take On The NES Library!
NES Games Finished: 136
--------------------------------------------------
Next Game: #137 - Shadowgate
Latest Post - 10/11/19 - #130 - Bad Street Brawler
--------------------------------------------------
Website | NA Thread | YouTube | Twitter | Twitch

Sep 17, 2014 at 5:50:02 PM
arch_8ngel (68)
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(Nathan ?) < Mario >
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Originally posted by: arnpoly

Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

I didn't remember the controls having so much latency on this game.

I guess most of my Boulderdash game-time was on the version somebody wrote for the TI-85.
MUCH tighter controls in that one

Haha, in my mind the definitive version of the game is the TI-92 version.

It seems like the game only decides to use controller input every 8th frame.
 

TI-92?  BIG SPENDER!

We weren't allowed to have those, though I don't recall why TI-9x series were disallowed.

We thought we were hotshots for having TI-85's when most people had those dumpy TI-82's and TI-83's.

We all upgraded to TI-89's when we went to college, since they could do true symbolic solving for engineering classes.


-------------------------
 

Sep 17, 2014 at 5:52:02 PM
Vectrex28 (130)
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(CD-i Kraid) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: arnpoly

Also, I believe I found a way to point grind indefinitely.

In Level 2-2, if you kill all the enemies you get 2000 points which is enough for an extra life. I bet there are other areas even better than this because the points per kill goes up in the later levels.

Since this version of the game is a little, shall we say, inconsistent with the controls, I think it might be okay if we allow it because it is really tough to reliably pull off. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

It's almost impossible to pull off, but since it could be exploited, I'd forbid the abuse of that glitch, even though it's unlikely that anyone is going to pull it off.
Just add a no point racking rule.


-------------------------
"Energy Tanks, Missiles, Power Bombs... You want it? It's yours my friend! As long as you have enough credits!"


Sep 17, 2014 at 5:52:04 PM
arch_8ngel (68)
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(Nathan ?) < Mario >
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Originally posted by: arnpoly

Also, I believe I found a way to point grind indefinitely.

In Level 2-2, if you kill all the enemies you get 2000 points which is enough for an extra life. I bet there are other areas even better than this because the points per kill goes up in the later levels.

Since this version of the game is a little, shall we say, inconsistent with the controls, I think it might be okay if we allow it because it is really tough to reliably pull off. Anyone else want to chime in on that?
I think intentionally life-grinding should be banned, for sure, inconsistent, or not.


I think the game would be too frustrating to make a 1-life challenge, though, and since your life-counter isn't visible on the main screen it would be too hard to verify anyway.

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Sep 17, 2014 at 5:53:01 PM
arch_8ngel (68)
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(Nathan ?) < Mario >
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Originally posted by: Vectrex280996

Originally posted by: arnpoly

Also, I believe I found a way to point grind indefinitely.

In Level 2-2, if you kill all the enemies you get 2000 points which is enough for an extra life. I bet there are other areas even better than this because the points per kill goes up in the later levels.

Since this version of the game is a little, shall we say, inconsistent with the controls, I think it might be okay if we allow it because it is really tough to reliably pull off. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

It's almost impossible to pull off, but since it could be exploited, I'd forbid the abuse of that glitch, even though it's unlikely that anyone is going to pull it off.
Just add a no point racking rule.
 
It's tough to do, but far from "almost impossible" once you get a handle on how things drop and what you can safely support with your head. (so you learn to take your time)



-------------------------
 

Sep 17, 2014 at 5:55:12 PM
Vectrex28 (130)
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(CD-i Kraid) < Master Higgins >
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Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

Originally posted by: Vectrex280996

Originally posted by: arnpoly

Also, I believe I found a way to point grind indefinitely.

In Level 2-2, if you kill all the enemies you get 2000 points which is enough for an extra life. I bet there are other areas even better than this because the points per kill goes up in the later levels.

Since this version of the game is a little, shall we say, inconsistent with the controls, I think it might be okay if we allow it because it is really tough to reliably pull off. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

It's almost impossible to pull off, but since it could be exploited, I'd forbid the abuse of that glitch, even though it's unlikely that anyone is going to pull it off.
Just add a no point racking rule.
 
It's tough to do, but far from "almost impossible" once you get a handle on how things drop and what you can safely support with your head. (so you learn to take your time)

 

If that's the case, then we should definitely add a no point-racking rule. Also, new score coming soon


-------------------------
"Energy Tanks, Missiles, Power Bombs... You want it? It's yours my friend! As long as you have enough credits!"


Sep 17, 2014 at 6:00:36 PM
Vectrex28 (130)
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(CD-i Kraid) < Master Higgins >
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  DEC frame_count        ; Make crappy controls
  LDA frame_count
  BNE PissOff_Gamer      ; Only move character every 8 frames
  JSR Read_Controller
  JSR Move_Character
  LDA #$08               ; Reset counter so controls are crap
  STA frame_count
PissOff_Gamer:           ; Hahaha, Data East/JVC win you n00bz!

Seriously, the controls aren't very good.
3449


-------------------------
"Energy Tanks, Missiles, Power Bombs... You want it? It's yours my friend! As long as you have enough credits!"



Edited: 09/17/2014 at 06:01 PM by Vectrex28

Sep 17, 2014 at 6:06:54 PM
arnpoly (110)
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(Aaron ) < King Solomon >
Posts: 3641 - Joined: 07/26/2013
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Originally posted by: Vectrex280996

  DEC frame_count        ; Make crappy controls
  LDA frame_count
  BNE PissOff_Gamer      ; Only move character every 8 frames
  JSR Read_Controller
  JSR Move_Character
  LDA #$08               ; Reset counter so controls are crap
  STA frame_count
PissOff_Gamer:           ; Hahaha, Data East/JVC win you n00bz!

LOL!  I would not be surprised at all if that were actually source code!

Furthermore, I believe that pushing rocks has a random element to whether or not the rock gets pushed from the side, so sometimes it takes a while to do that and sometimes it happens right away.

-------------------------
Take On The NES Library!
NES Games Finished: 136
--------------------------------------------------
Next Game: #137 - Shadowgate
Latest Post - 10/11/19 - #130 - Bad Street Brawler
--------------------------------------------------
Website | NA Thread | YouTube | Twitter | Twitch

Sep 17, 2014 at 6:09:35 PM
arnpoly (110)
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(Aaron ) < King Solomon >
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Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

Originally posted by: arnpoly

Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

I didn't remember the controls having so much latency on this game.

I guess most of my Boulderdash game-time was on the version somebody wrote for the TI-85.
MUCH tighter controls in that one

Haha, in my mind the definitive version of the game is the TI-92 version.

It seems like the game only decides to use controller input every 8th frame.
 

TI-92?  BIG SPENDER!

We weren't allowed to have those, though I don't recall why TI-9x series were disallowed.

We thought we were hotshots for having TI-85's when most people had those dumpy TI-82's and TI-83's.

We all upgraded to TI-89's when we went to college, since they could do true symbolic solving for engineering classes.
 

Haha, yeah there were a few of us in high school that got TI-92s.  I ended up upgrading mine to a TI-92 Plus, which was a lot more helpful with math but I found that the TI-92+ port of Boulder Dash was just a little off compared to the TI-92 version.  I mean, what's the point in having a better calculator if the Boulder Dash experience is sub par? 

Now I have a TI-83+, TI-85, TI-89, and a TI-92+.  Yeah I'm a nerd.


-------------------------
Take On The NES Library!
NES Games Finished: 136
--------------------------------------------------
Next Game: #137 - Shadowgate
Latest Post - 10/11/19 - #130 - Bad Street Brawler
--------------------------------------------------
Website | NA Thread | YouTube | Twitter | Twitch

Sep 18, 2014 at 10:34:48 PM
ookii_risu (66)
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(Tonya B) < King Solomon >
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Originally posted by: arnpoly

It seems like the game only decides to use controller input every 8th frame.

I played this the other day and was experiencing this issue. I thought I was the only one. Really fun game, though, from what I've played so far. 


Sep 19, 2014 at 1:16:32 AM
arnpoly (110)
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(Aaron ) < King Solomon >
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103,678 (World 13-4)

I played this for way longer today than I care to admit.

Not to brag, but I really want to see someone challenge my score this week!


-------------------------
Take On The NES Library!
NES Games Finished: 136
--------------------------------------------------
Next Game: #137 - Shadowgate
Latest Post - 10/11/19 - #130 - Bad Street Brawler
--------------------------------------------------
Website | NA Thread | YouTube | Twitter | Twitch

Sep 19, 2014 at 1:43:52 AM
Thundercat08 (9)
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(Alicia G) < Meka Chicken >
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Everyone has their game. This one is arnpoly's, I can't get past 2-3. Tips?

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Sep 19, 2014 at 2:28:07 AM
gutsman004 (126)
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(Guts Man) < Wiz's Mom >
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Originally posted by: arnpoly

103,678 (World 13-4)

I played this for way longer today than I care to admit.

Not to brag, but I really want to see someone challenge my score this week!






It won't be me. I don't care for this game....at all. Like in my earlier post,I really like the SMW-esque overworld,the graphics are bright and colorful,and the music is catchy but the gameplay to me is clunky and the controls are loose and not that responsive. If this game were more like Spelunker,Lode Runner,or Pitfall I'd probably like it.

Sep 19, 2014 at 9:30:36 AM
arch_8ngel (68)
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(Nathan ?) < Mario >
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Strong score arnpoly!

I wish I could promise to give you a challenge on this one, but I don't think I'm going to have the time (and the controls in this version are so different from what I'm used to).

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Sep 19, 2014 at 6:12:59 PM
Beliskner (1)
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< Kraid Killer >
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Thought I'd start participating in this contest as well . Unfortunately I'll have to use emulators because I don't have a NTSC system. Not that I can give you guys a fight anyway . Started playing Boulder Dash and I'm super terrible. I got to 2-1 but then got murdered lol. Just not my game I guess plus the music makes me go crazy.

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