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[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

Welcome to the sixth High Score Club Variety Pack! Rules for this competition are a little different, so please read:

• This competition combines four games over a two week period. The deadline for posting scores is Wednesday August 10th at 1:00 AM (Central Time, UTC-6).
  
• Scores for each game will be listed separately, with reduced scoring awarded for each game (5 points for first place, 4 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd, 2 for 4th, and 1 for all other scores).
  
• Scores are also combined for a final ranking, with Combined Score = (Crypts of Chaos x 100) + (Submarine Commander x 100) + (Spike's Peak) + (Night Driver x 2500). These scores will then be ranked and scored as per normal High Score Club rules (11 points for 1st place, etc).
  
• This means you could score up to 31 points if you post the #1 score for all four games. Alternatively, even if your scores are low, you can get 5 points just for participating.
  
• You do not have to play the games in any specific order, and you can submit updated scores for each game separately.
  
• You do not have to play all four games. If you leave out one game, you will still be counted in the final ranking as if you had scored 0 for that game.
  
• Scores for individual games will still be capped at the point where the score rolls over. No additional capping will occur for combined scores though.
  
• For this competition, there will be no bonus challenges, and no points awarded for best tips (don't worry, they'll come back next time!)
  
• If more than 20 people participate in this competition, I will extend the scoring (Similar to what was done with Stargate a few weeks back)... So bring your friends, and you might end up with twice as many points out of the deal!

Game Information

Game Name:	Crypts of Chaos	Submarine Commander	Spike's Peak	Night Driver
Released:	1982, Fox	1982, Sears	1983, Xonox	1978, Atari
Left Difficulty:	B / Novice	A / Expert	B / Novice	A / Expert
Right Difficulty:	B / Novice	N/A	B / Novice	B / Novice
Game Mode:	Game 1	Game 5	Game 1	Game 2
Last Played:	New to HSC	New to HSC	New to HSC	New to HSC

Current High Scores

10,000 (JacobZu7zu7) [+10] 9695 (DT Kofoed) [+9] 6096 (oyamafamily) [+8] 4978 (toymailman) [+7] 4246 (Vocelli) [+6] 3843 (Stan) [+5] 3573 (Miss 2600) [+4] 3313 (Gorfy) [+3] 2304 (Jifremok) [+2] 734 (Scrabbler15) [+1] 0 (classicgamer_27330) [+1]

2760 (Gorfy) [+10] 2760 (toymailman) [+10] 2565 (Miss 2600) [+9] 2525 (DJT) [+8] 2495 (JacobZu7zu7) [+7] 2375 (DT Kofoed) [+6] 2155 (Stan) [+5] 2095 (Scrabbler15) [+4] 1710 (oyamafamily) [+3] 1285 (Vocelli) [+2] 1100 (Deteacher) [+1] 820 (Wickeycolumbus) [+1] 755 (Jifremok) [+1] 475 (Amstari) [+1] 395 (Darth Kinzer) [+1] 180 (classicgamer_27330) [+1]

377,100 (Stan) [+10] 239,750 (JacobZu7zu7) [+9] 99,750 (toymailman) [+8] 86,600 (Gorfy) [+7] 80,250 (DT Kofoed) [+6] 60,900 (Deteacher) [+5] 58,750 (oyamafamily) [+4] 51,000 (Jifremok) [+3] 21,350 (Vocelli) [+2] 8500 (LarcenTyler) [+1] 8500 (Miss 2600) [+1] 6000 (Scrabbler15) [+1] 6000 (Amstari) [+1] 4000 (DJT) [+1] 2000 (classicgamer_27330) [+1]

82 (JacobZu7zu7) [+10] 81 (toymailman) [+9] 78 (Deteacher) [+8] 76 (Gorfy) [+7] 76 (Miss 2600) [+7] 75 (DT Kofoed) [+6] 73 (Stan) [+5] 73 (DJT) [+5] 72 (zylon) [+4] 71 (Mister VCS) [+3] 71 (Jifremok) [+3] 67 (oyamafamily) [+2] 61 (Scrabbler15) [+1] 59 (Frostbite76) [+1] 58 (Vocelli) [+1] 56 (Amstari) [+1] 45 (LarcenTyler) [+1] 42 (classicgamer_27330) [+1] 29 (Darth Kinzer) [+1] 24 (Wickeycolumbus) [+1]

Combined Score 1,694,250 (JacobZu7zu7) [+22] 1,474,750 (DT Kofoed) [+21] 1,159,400 (Stan) [+20] 1,076,050 (toymailman) [+19] 1,006,850 (oyamafamily) [+18] 883,900 (Gorfy) [+17] 812,300 (Miss 2600) [+16] 719,450 (Vocelli) [+15] 534,400 (Jifremok) [+14] 441,400 (Scrabbler15) [+13] 439,000 (DJT) [+12] 365,900 (Deteacher) [+11] 193,500 (Amstari) [+10] 180,000 (zylon) [+9] 177,500 (Mister VCS) [+8] 147,500 (Frostbite76) [+7] 142,000 (Wickeycolumbus) [+6] 125,000 (classicgamer_27330) [+5] 121,000 (LarcenTyler) [+4] 112,000 (Darth Kinzer) [+3]

Current Standings JacobZu7zu7 [310] toymailman [287] oyamafamily [282] Frostbite76 [237] Gorfy [224] Vocelli [183] DT Kofoed [161] Stan [143] Jifremok [123] Deteacher [122] Scrabbler15 [112] classicgamer_27330 [107] Miss 2600 [104] theKLT [99] Amstari [90] LarcenTyler [85] roadrunner [78] cparsley [73] pokeplayer984 [65] SpiceWare [48] pis [38] keilbaca [37] ed1475 [36] Mister VCS [35] centiqueen81 [33] zylon [33] Krytol [28] Chuck D. Head [27] Wickeycolumbus [21] Cynicaster [20] SeaGtGruff [20] HatefulGravey [17] Curious Sofa [16] Torr [13] littleman jack [7] Darth Kinzer [7] atarigal [5] Cortat G [5] bennybingo [5] rmaerz [3] Zach [3] atariUCLA24 [3] dwane413 [3] SpaceDice2010 [2] MIKE5200 [2] Mangia-Boy [1] Buck [1] 4Ks [1] Cream147 [1] chuckwalla [1] DickNixonArisen [1] leematari [1] Zoyx [1] Mingy Jongo [1]

Hints and Tips

As always, you really should read the manuals. In case you don't have the manuals, AtariAge has typed or scanned versions of all four manuals. Please see their individual pages linked above for hints and tips (They will not be reprinted here).

--Zero

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[Ze_ro]

Take note of the difficulty settings for each game! I usually try to keep everything to B/B/Game 1 for these Variety Packs just to keep everything simple... but I think Submarine Commander and Night Driver will be a little bland on default settings.

--Zero

[Stan]

Very interesting variety pack. I was honing my Spike's Peak skills a few weeks ago just because I liked playing it. Let's see how it pans out in a competition. That game is downright TOUGH. No bonus for it? I'm kind of surprised because unless I just suck at it, it will be near impossible for most people to get a score above 10K.

[JacobZu7zu7]

All new games! Good way to pick 'em off, in the Variety Pack.

Too bad Entombed missed out.

[pis]

It´s somewhat of a NTSC-exclusive theme in the later half of the season i guess?
(crypts of chaos, submarine commander, frontline, up n´down, mountain king, tapper, donkey kong JR.)

[Ze_ro]

Stan, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:38 AM, said:

Very interesting variety pack. I was honing my Spike's Peak skills a few weeks ago just because I liked playing it. Let's see how it pans out in a competition. That game is downright TOUGH. No bonus for it? I'm kind of surprised because unless I just suck at it, it will be near impossible for most people to get a score above 10K.

Since none of these games have been played before, I didn't have much to go on for what the scoring will be. On Twin Galaxies though, someone managed to score 400k+, while Crypts and Sub Com topped out around 3-4k and Night Driver maxed at 80 (though the settings for ND and SC were not the same). Going by the manual, the actual scoring for Spike's Peak seems to be more generous for individual things than any of the other games.

pis, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:40 AM, said:

It´s somewhat of a NTSC-exclusive theme in the later half of the season i guess?
(crypts of chaos, submarine commander, frontline, up n´down, mountain king, tapper, donkey kong JR.)

Sorry... I never really think to check if a game is available in PAL regions or not

--Zero

[zylon]

Night Driver G2: 72

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[Vocelli]

Getting on the board early this time.
Night driver Game 2 A/B 39
Sub Commander Game 1 A 1010

Yeah!

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[Stan]

Yeah, I guess you're right, Zero. Spike's Peak is VERY difficult, but if you are good enough your scores can be pretty high just by nature of how the game gives you points. I'll start off ole' Spike with my score here. This is VERY TOUGH to get. Trust me, this game's a beast

77,150

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[Gorfy]

Night Driver G2 A/B: 65

Spike's Peak G1 B/B: I walk two inches, a bird lands on my head, and I die.
The best I could manage on this one is 5,000.

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[LarcenTyler]

Spike's Peak: 8,500

Night Driver: 45

[Gorfy]

Stan, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:31 PM, said:

Yeah, I guess you're right, Zero. Spike's Peak is VERY difficult, but if you are good enough your scores can be pretty high just by nature of how the game gives you points. I'll start off ole' Spike with my score here. This is VERY TOUGH to get. Trust me, this game's a beast

77,150

WOW

[Stan]

Spike's Peak is a tough game, but unfortunately for the wrong reasons. It's mainly horrible collision detection, terrible design, weird controls, and probably the worst layout I've ever seen in a game. The third round hardly makes any sense. Don't feel bad with that score, when I got this game a few years ago from Phantom I spent about freaking three weeks figuring out how to play it. It's that hard.

Edited by Stan, Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:36 PM.

[oyamafamily]

Submarine Commander (Game 5 A/B) - 860
Crypts of Chaos (Game 1 B/B) - 1811
Night Driver (Game 2 A/B) - 61
Spike's Peak (Default) - 2000

[Deteacher]

My advice for Spike's Peak: Read the manual: 60,900!



Submarine Commander: 1,100!



It's great to be back.

[Stan]

Definitely read it! Great score on Spike's man, awesome.

[Stan]

Current score tally:

Spike's Peak: 77,150
Night Driver: 53

[oyamafamily]

Deteacher, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:41 PM, said:

My advice for Spike's Peak: Read the manual: 60,900!

Spike\'s Peak (1983) (Xonox)_4.png

Submarine Commander: 1,100!

Submarine Commander (1982) (Sears).png

It's great to be back.

WELCOME BACK, DETEACHER! AND GOOD LUCK!

[oyamafamily]

NEW SCORES:
SPIKE'S PEAK: 14,300
NIGHT DRIVER: 65
SUBMARINE COMMANDER: 1055

Edited by oyamafamily, Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:38 PM.

[Stan]

New scores. Man, how are you guys nabbing so much on Night Driver? I had the pedal down the whole time and I always only get around 50-54.

Spike's Peak: 87,300
Night Driver: 54

[JacobZu7zu7]

Gorfy, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:31 PM, said:

Night Driver G2 A/B: 65

Spike's Peak G1 B/B: I walk two inches, a bird lands on my head, and I die.
The best I could manage on this one is 5,000.

Good ol' Spikes Peak aka, Sarah Palins Alaska adventure game...
I actually like it better then playing Donkey Kong, it's a trip. "acid" friendly...

Big Spikes Peak TIP:
When dealing with birds in level 1... you have to DUCK INTO the BOX... along the path, untill it goes by, then quickly get out and duck into the next one if another bird shows up. The polar bears you can jump over I think.

The next 2 levels just climb and go UP, and hope!
PS,
Levels are 3 "total" and they actually get easier by each one. Then the game repeats back to 1.

[Stan]

JacobZu7zu7, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:44 PM, said:

Levels are 3 "total" and they actually get easier by each one. Then the game repeats back to 1.

Phew, have you played the ice level enough? You can jump over the bears, yeah, but be careful, there are times they double back. There's a pattern to it that's easy to notice, but they do it from time to time. Also, the bird sometimes appears suddenly at the start for just one swoop. Other times it does it for three, so always anticipate three until you see it stop coming and then continue.

[DT Kofoed]

OK, here's initial scores for the three I already own.



Night Driver: 59 - definitely room to improve there; a simple, but fun game.

Spike's Peak: 41,550 - best I've ever done, seeing as I've never bothered to move past that horrendous first screen before! I love the HSC for giving me reason to play games I never really gave a fair shake to in the first place. Also, I love the double-enders, though I only have two of the four necessary for a complete set of all 8 unique Xonox games.

Crypts of Chaos: 2818 - great concept, crap execution. Tonight I figured out for the first time which screens indicate you can actually turn left and right! I know some of you will cringe to read it, but I really need to make some maps here.

Submarine Commander is on my Harmony, and I'll get to it soon... it's one I voted for in the past.

Also, do the variety packs alter the length of the HSC Season? Is 25 still the end? I got into this one late, and don't think I'll crack a top five finish. Maybe next season, maybe not.

[DT Kofoed]

zylon, on Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:49 PM, said:

Night Driver G2: 72

Wouldn't that picture be all the sweeter in an 8-track deck?

[DT Kofoed]

First time playing Submarine Commander: 590.
Also the first Sears exclusive I've played.