From "Start" to Finish

[LMDAVE]

We all know the real "Start" is Level 5, but what happens during the game for each person from there to the end?
 
For me its been a series of wrong milestones and lack of concentration lately.
 
On my 1.1m quest, after Level 5 starts, I have two quick milestones, 200K then 300K, after that the next noticeable milestone is 12-3, a big gap. I tend to recognize this point in the game lately mainly because it is the halfway point of the game. It is also where a good portion of my games have been ending after acknowledging this.
 
Normally, I'll double my score after 12-3 and it's a pretty close gauge of pace.
 
From there milesstone will go back to scores for me, then places.
 
700K, 800K, 900K, 1M, #6, #5, #4, 1.1M.
 
 
So....that's way too many milestones.
200K, 300K, 12-3, 700K, 800K, 900K, 1M, #6, #5, #4, 1.1M.
 
 
So, I'm going back to: Four Marios, Four mental milestones between Start and Finish and see how it goes.
 
 
350K (10-1), 600K(13-2), 850K(17-5), 1.1M(22-1)
 

[ChrisP]

Ideally I try not to think about milestones and just maintain the attitude that "there is only this screen."

It's not as easy as it sounds in practice.

[LMDAVE]

Yeah, I agree, always take care of the current job. But, if you're lucky, you have one of those games where a zone takes over and you start racking up the boards. That's when that second layer of looking at milestones pop up, or a small break of concentration makes you do something stupid.....like interfacing with the chat and then jumping a barrel and landing right on top of it.   :-\

[ChrisP]

I try to stay in the moment, but by the time I get to L17 or so, I'm definitely counting down screens.

I actually go to a particular effort NOT to mentally note that I'm at the halfway point. The end just feels so far away.

[VON]

For me there is only one milestone marker, the beginning of level 13.  Once I reach level 13 I somehow relax.  Both consciously and subconsciously I recognize the game is more than half over and that soon enough I'll be on level 14, then 15, then 16 etc..  The last half of the game has always been the easy part for me.  This isn't to say I complete every game that passes the half-way point, far from it, but taking a game past the half-way marker is still the milestone by which I gauge whether a game has gone deep or not, and taking a game deep is the most exhilarating feeling in Donkey Kong.  Once I've entered the "teens" I stop worrying about whether or not I've lost an early life, I no longer think anything about my score, and in general I tend to play more fluid.  I believe this shift in attitude is mostly a product of "being warmed up" so to speak - tension disappears, and what will come will come.

Naturally I've completely jinxed myself with this declaration, but whatchagondo.

[mikegmi2]

I keep track of 2 pace markers, the end of 7-3, and 12-2.  When I get to 7-3 I multiply my score by 4 to get my pace.

Then I do what Dave said, at 12-2 I double my score to get my pace.  After that I stop thinking about what my final score will be, and just play according to plan...whether it's both hammers...or both hammers + grouping...I simply do what I need to do and play through the game.

For me, I am kind of the opposite of you Ross...I am pretty relaxed in the beginning, and start psyching myself out after I get past the halfway point.  13 is considered an unlucky number (shouldn't they have taken L13 out of the game and skipped right to 14...I mean hotels do this...shouldn't DK?) so I always feel like if I haven't had 1 already...13-6 will be my first rivet screwing.

The 1 thing that often helps, as counterintuitive as it might sound, is losing my first life. I tense up when I make it deep with my first man...L10+, and once I lose that first man it feels like a small weight has been lifted off my back...like hey, its ok, its just a game, you have more guys left, now continue playing.

[stella_blue]

From there milesstone will go back to scores for me, then places.
 
700K, 800K, 900K, 1M, #6, #5, #4, 1.1M.
 
 
So....that's way too many milestones.
200K, 300K, 12-3, 700K, 800K, 900K, 1M, #6, #5, #4, 1.1M.

Dave, I'm a little confused as to what #6, #5 and #4 represent.  Do they refer to the number of boards remaining before the kill screen?

As for me, I don't really use pace charts, so any score beyond Level 5 has no particular meaning.  Once I pass stages 7-3 and 12-2, I realize that I'm 25% and 50% of the way there, respectively, but I don't perform any mental calculations in order to extrapolate my score.  I'm basically just thinking, "Ok, I'm past the halfway point, and I'm still on my 2nd man, so that's good."

Lately, I've just been playing with whatever style feels comfortable at the moment.  Typically, I'll take both hammers on the barrel boards and occasionally do a small amount of grouping up top, until I'm down to just one man in reserve.  At that point, I transition to top hammer only.  I just let the points take care of themselves, with the expectation that a kill screen game will produce a final score between 950k and 1.05m (depending on how long I can extend those first 2 lives).

The 1 thing that often helps, as counterintuitive as it might sound, is losing my first life. I tense up when I make it deep with my first man...L10+, and once I lose that first man it feels like a small weight has been lifted off my back...like hey, its ok, its just a game, you have more guys left, now continue playing.

I understand that feeling, Mike.  I had a game not that long ago where I began Level 14 with 0 deaths.  For no apparent reason, I began to take a more defensive approach, instead of sticking with the gameplay that got me to that point.  In much the same way that an overly cautious driver is often more of a safety risk than someone who drives too fast, the deaths started occurring with disappointing regularity (every 3-5 screens).  Bottom line, somewhere during Level 16 or 17, it was already game over.

[LMDAVE]

Scott, those represent the places on the TG high score list.

[stella_blue]

Scott, those represent the places on the TG high score list.

Oh, I see.  I didn't even consider that.     You'd think the term "milestone" would have tipped me off.

[LMDAVE]

Then I do what Dave said, at 12-2 I double my score to get my pace. 

If I double at the end of 12-2, I'll add about 15K to the estimate. Even though the end of 12-2 is the end of the 58th board, the half way point, the first 14 boards for me are played at an average of 8500 per board, the last 14 boards are played at about 9600/board (58k/level) pace. So, that gives about 15K difference.

But secondary to that, I always just check to my chart and see how far I am from the level goal score and adjust the end score by that much...it's usually more fun when you're adding the end score instead of subtracting though.