16 replies to this topic

[rmaerz]

Quantum
Enter a subatomic world. Using the trackball, capture particles by circling them with your probes tail. Player surpassing the high score gets to "draw" his name with the trackball.

Game Information
Game Name: Quantum [revision 2]
Released By: Atari, 1982
MAME ROMset: Quantum
Dip Switches: Internal Defaults
Chosen By: rmaerz
ROM Location: http://romhustler.ne...nload/mame/3699
Twin Galaxies MAME World Record: 459,920

Note: You may freely choose your starting level

Competition ends Sunday, May 22 @ 12PM EDT


Leaderboard
1. 94,940 rmaerz
2. 72,700 Cynicaster
3. 53,120 mr.toast
4. 47,680 patbb
5. 36,720 roadrunner
6. 35,620 jasonbar









Season Standings
Calculations through week 40
1. patbb 1692
2. rmaerz 1491
3. roadrunner 1184
4. LarcenTyler 478
5. FlyingTurtle 360
6. mr. toast 341
7. jasonbar 291
8. Zoyx 209
9. Cynicaster 186
10. M.A.M.E Offender 164
11. Dr Galaga 147
12. ClassicGMR 128
13. keilbaca 126
14. Rathis 75
15. HatefulGravey 43
16. LaserHawk 30
17. chuckwalla 28
18. Mister VCS 24
19. homerwannabee 20
20. 4Ks 18
21. riffraff 15
22. onmode-ky 12
23. Fres 10
24. wizmo 8

.

Edited by rmaerz, Sun May 22, 2011 9:28 AM.

[mr. toast]

I'm guessing the point scrabbing method isn't allowed?

[rmaerz]

mr. toast, on Sun May 15, 2011 4:39 PM, said:

I'm guessing the point scrabbing method isn't allowed?

Post a link to how it's done

[rmaerz]

94,940

[mr. toast]

rmaerz, on Sun May 15, 2011 5:02 PM, said:

mr. toast, on Sun May 15, 2011 4:39 PM, said:

I'm guessing the point scrabbing method isn't allowed?

Post a link to how it's done

[rmaerz]

mr. toast, on Sun May 15, 2011 9:36 PM, said:

rmaerz, on Sun May 15, 2011 5:02 PM, said:

mr. toast, on Sun May 15, 2011 4:39 PM, said:

I'm guessing the point scrabbing method isn't allowed?

Post a link to how it's done

That's insane!

I'm open for suggestions as to how we can make sure everyone plays it straight.

I believe the high score table lists the score along with the level. If this is correct, perhaps we could do mandatory screen shots for all scores over 100K?

Or maybe cap scores at 460K with everyone reaching this mark finishing in 1st place?

[Cynicaster]

Haha, that cheat is funny. I really hope nobody resorts to that in this friendly little competition.

I gave this game a shot last night and I think it definitely falls into the category of games where using authentic controls puts you at a disadvantage (i.e. using a trackball vs. a mouse).

[rmaerz]

Cynicaster, on Mon May 16, 2011 10:36 AM, said:

Haha, that cheat is funny. I really hope nobody resorts to that in this friendly little competition.

I gave this game a shot last night and I think it definitely falls into the category of games where using authentic controls puts you at a disadvantage (i.e. using a trackball vs. a mouse).

Really? I would think it would be easier using the trackball...

[Cynicaster]

rmaerz, on Mon May 16, 2011 10:56 AM, said:

Cynicaster, on Mon May 16, 2011 10:36 AM, said:

Haha, that cheat is funny. I really hope nobody resorts to that in this friendly little competition.

I gave this game a shot last night and I think it definitely falls into the category of games where using authentic controls puts you at a disadvantage (i.e. using a trackball vs. a mouse).

Really? I would think it would be easier using the trackball...

With the trackball, you’re constantly rolling the ball to draw the path you want, bit by bit. On the other hand, you can simply whip a mouse around in a quick circular motion to create a big loop very quickly and fairly accurately.

Maybe screwing around with the analog sensitivity in MAME would make the trackball easier to use, I don’t know. For me, that’s the problem with most trackball games—either I never played the originals or it’s been so long since I played them that I don’t have a feel for how to tweak the sensitivity so that the responsiveness of the trackball in MAME is consistent with that of the original arcade machine.

Which raises an interesting question for me. I don’t want to stray too far off topic here, but to all those who had the pleasure of enjoying these trackball games when they were still “current” and could be found all over the place, did you find that the sensitivity was consistent from machine to machine, or would it be all over the map?

Edited by Cynicaster, Mon May 16, 2011 1:55 PM.

[rmaerz]

Cynicaster, on Mon May 16, 2011 1:54 PM, said:

With the trackball, you’re constantly rolling the ball to draw the path you want, bit by bit. On the other hand, you can simply whip a mouse around in a quick circular motion to create a big loop very quickly and fairly accurately.

Maybe screwing around with the analog sensitivity in MAME would make the trackball easier to use, I don’t know. For me, that’s the problem with most trackball games—either I never played the originals or it’s been so long since I played them that I don’t have a feel for how to tweak the sensitivity so that the responsiveness of the trackball in MAME is consistent with that of the original arcade machine.

Which raises an interesting question for me. I don’t want to stray too far off topic here, but to all those who had the pleasure of enjoying these trackball games when they were still “current” and could be found all over the place, did you find that the sensitivity was consistent from machine to machine, or would it be all over the map?

I think you're right about the mouse vs. trackball. I do find it easier using a trackball for Reactor and the Pede games, however.

Working from memory, I'd have to say that games like Centipede were consistent from venue to venue (given those that had fully functional controls).

And you're probably familiar with the whole Missile Command controversy surround slow cursor, fast cursor and dip switches so I'll exclude that one.

Even spinner games like Tempest, Breakout et al I don't recall there being a variance in controls from venue to venue.

But, despite all that, it could be just a matter of being more aware of bad controls nowadays. I know lousy loose joysticks and buttons with lousy action when I use them. And really, there's no excuse for an arcade operator not to fix those things since the replacement parts are cheap.

Edited by rmaerz, Mon May 16, 2011 3:15 PM.

[roadrunner]

I never heard of this game. Was this popular in the arcades?
I don't think this game was included in any arcade collections for the PS1, PS2, GB, GBcolor,...etc.

I gave this a go using the touch pad on my pc and got a whopping 860 points. lol

[Cynicaster]

roadrunner, on Mon May 16, 2011 5:28 PM, said:

I never heard of this game. Was this popular in the arcades?
I don't think this game was included in any arcade collections for the PS1, PS2, GB, GBcolor,...etc.

I gave this a go using the touch pad on my pc and got a whopping 860 points. lol

I was aware of this game before this tourney, but only because it just so happens that a few months ago I got curious about what vector-based games were out there and this one popped up on the interweb search. I do recall reading a bit about it, and the article saying that it was a bit of a flop in the arcades. I don't know, I think it's kinda fun.

[jasonbar]

35,620.

I'm not convinced that that little trick isn't naughty. Twin Galaxies makes no mention of it. It doesn't seem to be a glitch. After you circle an atomic particle, its little electrons scoot off--to capture them, you're pretty much forced to circle around immediately after circling around an atomic particle.

Thanks,
-Jason

[mr. toast]

Cynicaster: I already tried screwing around with the analog controls for the mouse. It doesn't do anything better

right now i'm around 99K to 146K with the weird leeching thing...highest i ever got was around 214K and my arm was in pain for a while afterwards

without leeching i can do a good 70K, so either way is fine.

[roadrunner]

Cynicaster, on Mon May 16, 2011 7:13 PM, said:

roadrunner, on Mon May 16, 2011 5:28 PM, said:

I never heard of this game. Was this popular in the arcades?
I don't think this game was included in any arcade collections for the PS1, PS2, GB, GBcolor,...etc.

I gave this a go using the touch pad on my pc and got a whopping 860 points. lol

I was aware of this game before this tourney, but only because it just so happens that a few months ago I got curious about what vector-based games were out there and this one popped up on the interweb search. I do recall reading a bit about it, and the article saying that it was a bit of a flop in the arcades. I don't know, I think it's kinda fun.

Cool, thanks for the info!

I did much better with a mouse 36,720

interesting game

Attached Files

•  quan0000.png   3.9K   1 downloads

[patbb]

47,680

Attached Files

•  quan0004.png   8.32K   2 downloads

[Cynicaster]

72,700

Attached Files

•  IMG00182-20110519-2333.jpg   49.27K   2 downloads

[mr. toast]

53,120

I swear I got higher somewhere...

[mr. toast]

53,120

I swear I got higher somewhere...





EDIT: double post...
note to self: when the AA server goes weird, do NOT refresh the page a bunch of times or you will get a double post...

Attached Files

•  0002.png   7.88K   1 downloads

Edited by mr. toast, Sun May 22, 2011 4:28 AM.