Hello Everyone :) introduction and some questions

[Netliquid]

     Hey guys this might be a long post so please bear with me lol. My name is John and Ive been playing video games since I was a kid (I'm 29). I play PC and console games mainly and consider myself more hardcore of a gamer than the average person, gaming usually everyday for atleast a few hours. I also play many classic NES, Genesis, N64 and Playstation games. I grew up with them as some of us did and played as much as I could when I was younger. I saw King of Kong back when it came out in 2007 and being a gamer I thought it was an awesome film and could relate to it a bit being a gamer. I was never really into DK but this all changed recently when my friend asked me to go to Free Play Florida down here in Orlando. I was blown away to say the least. To see all these awesome arcade games I remember playing as a kid was awesome as I haven't been to an arcade in years! I got to meet Billy and saw a DK machine and was like what the heck, I'll try it. I had played it a few times in the past and never really thought much of it. Well this time for whatever reason I wondered if I could get somewhat decent at the game and this is where everything changed and the story begins.

  I could only ever really beat the first level and get to the first rivet stage and that was typically where my games would end. But after coming home that night and doing a few weeks of reading and watching Youtube videos of the pros and many others I have improved greatly. I play using MAME on my PC with the D-Pad on an Xbox One PC control. After about 2 and a half weeks of playing and implementing the strategies, I can now, fore the most part, get to the third elevator stage around 80k points. As I now know this is the wall for many beginner players. Now I'm not playing to try and break records, I just set a goal to myself of getting atleast 150k (that was the high score of a DK machine at a local arcade that I wanted to try and beat) and it seems that I am stuck in this spot with little improvement seen. So my questions are these: Any tips for beating this for a first time besides watching the timing? I just get really discouraged getting all the way there and then losing my last man or two trying and having to restart just to have another crack at it (I know this is how it goes lol). Someone said to try making a save state to practice but I'm not really sure how to even do that.

A couple more things I need to add. Now I know this might sound stupid but I went ahead and bought myself a small arcade machine that will be here soon because Ive always wanted one and it will be great to play DK with an arcade stick, even if it doesnt play "exactly" the same and is an 8 way stick. In order to beat this score on the local arcade machine and get to my goal of 150k Id really like to practice with a stick and figured this isnt a bad way to do it (its also a Christmas gift to myself lol). The problem with playing with an Xbox control is the D-Pad really sucks because sometimes it sticks while im still moving in a direction which has caused MANY avoidable deaths which lead me to wanting to pull my hair out. I tried switching the directional pad to the analog stick and its still just as bad. Ive tried keyboard but I want to get used to playing the correct way with a stick without having to switch back and forth.

So TLDR - Basic goals are 1) Tips to get past 3rd elevator stage 2) Get 150k to get to my goal and get the spot on the arcade machine 3) Stop sucking so maybe one day I can get to 200-300k points 4) I guess just keep playing alot. Any tips and advice are greatly appreciated and thank you to anyone who has read this to the end lol

[WCopeland]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

1.] Congrats and getting your home personal arcade machine. You'll probably be the envy of your friends! Now for the bad news... DK is going to play very poorly on an 8way stick. You probably won't notice it at first... but soon enough you will. You may try to go up or down and hit a diagonal instead. On an original arcade board you'd still go up a ladder, on MAME (or a multi-game board) you won't. It has the potential to cause many avoidable/accidental deaths. Converting your 8way to a 4way shouldn't be a problem, and it will almost be a requirement if you primarily play only classic games from the 80s. You need to find a 4way restrictor plate for your model of joystick, and replace its current 8way restrictor plate with the new plate. It will be a night and day difference.

2.] If your goal is improvement as fast as humanly possible, I do recommend learning how to play with the keyboard and emulator on the side. MAME defaults movement to the arrow keys and something on your left hand to jump... maybe space. I recommend using WASD for movement and something on your right hand for jump, just like it would be on an arcade machine. Learn how to use save states on MAME (this will let you load up the same board over and over and over again for practice), and drill the parts you're having trouble with. For example, you could make a save state for the third elevator and practice only that screen for half an hour.

To improve basketball free throws, you wouldn't play a complete game of basketball. To improve your third elevator, you wouldn't play a complete game of Donkey Kong.

[Netliquid]

Thanks Wes for responding to my first ever post! This will help me greatly. Im gonna look into the 4 way restrictor plate for the joystick. Hopefully I can replace it myself without it being too much of a pain or find someone to do it. I have been using Mame64 to play and will have to figure out how to get save states going or just switch to a new program altogether (I know everyone uses Wolfmame but I had trouble getting it to work). I guess from there I could just practice elevators. I am a little sad the 8 way joystick will be such a big problem though

[krehztim]

Hello and welcome.  As an average-to-improving player, I can definitely second Wes' advice about using MAME save states for the springs.  After this was suggested to me by another helpful user here at DKF, I spent about 2-3 hours one day just playing the hard-level springs over and over and over.  That was enough for me to really get the early visual cues as to whether the incoming springs are long or short.  One of my next games after that 2-3 hour binge was over 400k.  As one who has an 8-way USB stick for MAME, I also couldn't agree more about either using a keyboard for MAME and a 4-way for a cabinet.  Makes a HUGE difference.  Good luck - looking forward to seeing you around.

[Netliquid]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

1.] Congrats and getting your home personal arcade machine. You'll probably be the envy of your friends! Now for the bad news... DK is going to play very poorly on an 8way stick. You probably won't notice it at first... but soon enough you will. You may try to go up or down and hit a diagonal instead. On an original arcade board you'd still go up a ladder, on MAME (or a multi-game board) you won't. It has the potential to cause many avoidable/accidental deaths. Converting your 8way to a 4way shouldn't be a problem, and it will almost be a requirement if you primarily play only classic games from the 80s. You need to find a 4way restrictor plate for your model of joystick, and replace its current 8way restrictor plate with the new plate. It will be a night and day difference.

2.] If your goal is improvement as fast as humanly possible, I do recommend learning how to play with the keyboard and emulator on the side. MAME defaults movement to the arrow keys and something on your left hand to jump... maybe space. I recommend using WASD for movement and something on your right hand for jump, just like it would be on an arcade machine. Learn how to use save states on MAME (this will let you load up the same board over and over and over again for practice), and drill the parts you're having trouble with. For example, you could make a save state for the third elevator and practice only that screen for half an hour.

To improve basketball free throws, you wouldn't play a complete game of basketball. To improve your third elevator, you wouldn't play a complete game of Donkey Kong.

I already have some great news to report!! I managed to get a save on the 3rd elevator stage and practiced it for about an hour and got past it!!!!!! Thanks again Wes for your advice and thank you Krehztim for all the kinds words

I guess my question now after getting by them about 20 times is this - sometimes when the long spring looked good I still got hit near the top of the ladder. I know sometimes you need to retreat back but I cant figure out what I should be looking for when this happens. It seemed to happen about 2/5 times. Also when you retreat do you move back to the original spot with your heels on the yellow floor tile?

[homerwannabee]

Also practice the barrel boards after level five going top hammer only.  The next level with the most preventable deaths is the barrel boards after level five.

[TheSunshineFund]

Hi and welcome!   Enjoy your stay and don't forget to visit Steve's List Forum.

[M.Schrock]

I am by no means a pro at donkey Kong (pb 348700) but I finally beat the elevator screen by watching the second spring coming. What I mean is you have to initially run on a long spring and hope the next one is a short spring but I had trouble watching one then running and looking out for the other. So I always watch for the springs on the left and I move jump man without watching him up the ladder. It takes a little practice to know how long you go right then up without looking but that's how I do it lol.

[YesAffinity]

Welcome aboard!  Some advanced spring theory here:

https://donkeykongforum.net/index.php?topic=492.0

You may not be ready for all of that, but the visuals there give you a good sense of where the springs CAN land.

I taught my friend, who recently broke 150k, the "balls-balls"/"balls-foot" technique, referring to the position at Kong's body of the first and second spring.

When you're running toward kong to get to the safe spot on the left of the ladder, you want two springs in a row that land under his balls.  Start running on the first spring to land at his balls, and watch for the second.  If it lands at his balls, keep running.  If it lands at his foot, run back, rinse and repeat.

From the safe spot left of the ladder, when running to the ladder - run on a spring that lands at his balls and watch for the second spring.  If it lands at his foot, keep going.  If it lands at his balls, run back...it will hit you on the ladder.

Hope this helps, and good luck, sir!

if you have specs on the joysticks coming in your arcade cab, post them and we can probably help you find the 4-way restrictor for it.

[Netliquid]

Welcome aboard!  Some advanced spring theory here:

https://donkeykongforum.net/index.php?topic=492.0

You may not be ready for all of that, but the visuals there give you a good sense of where the springs CAN land.

I taught my friend, who recently broke 150k, the "balls-balls"/"balls-foot" technique, referring to the position at Kong's body of the first and second spring.

When you're running toward kong to get to the safe spot on the left of the ladder, you want two springs in a row that land under his balls.  Start running on the first spring to land at his balls, and watch for the second.  If it lands at his balls, keep running.  If it lands at his foot, run back, rinse and repeat.

From the safe spot left of the ladder, when running to the ladder - run on a spring that lands at his balls and watch for the second spring.  If it lands at his foot, keep going.  If it lands at his balls, run back...it will hit you on the ladder.

Hope this helps, and good luck, sir!

if you have specs on the joysticks coming in your arcade cab, post them and we can probably help you find the 4-way restrictor for it.

Thank you to everyone for the replies and all the tips these will help me greatly. Im about to head to the arcade to get some play and practice on a real DK machine. I will definitely try the tips that you mentioned

Also some good news on the joystick. I called the manufacturer and asked if I could have a 4 way installed instead of an 8 and he actually said they all come installed with a 4 from the start, awesome!! He said its about a 30 second fix for them to switch them to either configuration but it will be a 4 when I get it so this will help a TON.

[KIG666]

We talked together on twitch, nice to see you here.
I see you already figured out how to practice with save states so a new high score is right around the corner, lit 

[Netliquid]

We talked together on twitch, nice to see you here.
I see you already figured out how to practice with save states so a new high score is right around the corner, lit 

Thanks Kig, nice to see you too! I did pretty well last night and beat my high score but still need more practice with the elevators. I have claimed the 3rd and 4th spots on a local machine but I am going back to claim number 1 soon! Got past the 3rd elevators got stuck on the 4th set.

http://imgur.com/a/PAshZ

[HugDD]

Hey John, welcome and kongrats on your progress in Donkey Kong!    Nice to hear you've got a four way, because as Wes said, that's an absolute must with the joystick, because those diagonal motions can mess you up (happened to me when I used to play on MAME).  As for the third elevator, level four springs, I have a similar approach that M.Schrock utilizes:  I look left for the springs, when the long spring hits dead center on the yellow metal in between Kong's legs, then over jumpman's head, I run and use my peripheral vision to climb and check the next spring.  If I'm able to catch another long spring on time (again dead center on the metal), and I've either not climbed or only started climbing, I double back to the center, and wait again.  The second spring as you're climbing of course, should land a bit to the left of the metal.  It's tough getting this down, and until it's second nature, it can be a real hurdle.  For me, I learned it the hard way at Galloping Ghost Arcade (also learned quite a bit from backdoorfred and Hans Kollinger in person, and watching the past streams of NC_Shane, f_symbols, up2ng, and others), which took a few months to get, but once I got it, I managed to make it as far as level 12 on my best game ever.  I haven't played Donkey Kong as actively in a while, so my progress has been at a stand still.  What's the furthest you've made it in the game so far?  Best wishes in your Donkey Kong and other gaming endeavors! -Duc

[Netliquid]

Thanks Hug! So far Ive made it to level 6 on MAME (My PC) and Level 5 in the arcade as shown in the screenshot. I can def tell the technique is going take some getting used to and will probably be one of the things I spend the most time practicing, along with the barrel boards.

So if I understand this correctly only a second "long centered spring" is what has a chance of hitting you while on the ladder, and all the other spring arcs are safe and wont hit me?

[CaptainJivePants]

Thanks Hug! So far Ive made it to level 6 on MAME (My PC) and Level 5 in the arcade as shown in the screenshot. I can def tell the technique is going take some getting used to and will probably be one of the things I spend the most time practicing, along with the barrel boards.

So if I understand this correctly only a second "long centered spring" is what has a chance of hitting you while on the ladder, and all the other spring arcs are safe and wont hit me?

"Super short" springs can also catch a trailing leg on the ladder.  That one can definitely be tricky to figure out and practice. 


What kind of arcade joystick did you end up purchasing? I'm always interested to hear which ones work, are well-liked, and easy to change between 4- and 8-way.


Also, welcome to DKF!