Steve Wiebe attempting the elusive Donkey Kong “Kill Screen”

[hchien]

How, sit to the left of the oil can?

Actually I'm not sure that's a safe way to get 0 points on the killscreen.  The very first blue barrel hits the oil can before the 3rd barrel reaches the middle ladder between the 3rd and 2nd girders.  Usually you get a couple of seconds after that the 3rd barrel comes down.  That's probably enough time for the fireball (if it goes left) to kill you.  Anyone know?

[LMDAVE]

It is just enough time

Go to 5:45, I remember Billy doing this on his killscreen, shown in the KoK side by side

SIDE BY SIDE GAMEPLAY

[stella_blue]

Steve is not as good to be as bad as me.

Yeah, to not risk to die on the kill screen, I skipped the bottom hammer. I didn't want to pull an Ethan.

Before Vincent spills the ugly details, I will.

I played 4 games of DK at Funspot this past Saturday.  My high score was 50,500 (Level 3-3 Elevators).

Vincent is now convinced that my DK personal best on MAME is a complete fake.

I'll offer the following lame excuses reasons for my control panel ineptitude:

• The throw of the joystick as opposed to the instantaneous keyboard response (although Hank warned me about that beforehand)
• The reversed L/R controls versus the default MAME key mapping (huge mental block on all but the most straightforward barrel combinations, and I screwed up a few of those too)
• Incessant laughter coming from behind me (distinctly French Canadian in origin)   

For me, transitioning to the DK arcade platform, after playing exclusively on MAME for 3 years, is like trying to play guitar while wearing oven mitts (I can't play guitar anyway, but it's the first analogy I thought of).

[Xermon54]

Scott, and your pace would even have been lower than my 543k if you had reached a kill screen!... haha, kidding.

Even if you obviously didn't play well with the arcade controls, it was nice hanging out with you and speaking about a bunch of DK stuff ;-). And I'm still waiting for you to create the topics you were talking about at Funspot! 

[hchien]

I played 4 games of DK at Funspot this past Saturday.  My high score was 50,500 (Level 3-3 Elevators).

No worries Scott.  I'll offer a few details of my first day on a joystick.  Keep in mind, I had already killscreened in MAME when I transitioned.

1- During my 2nd game, I didn't even pass 1-1.  In fact, I was wondering why I didn't get a 4th man.

2- My high score for the day was 200K.

This is why I was absolutely amazed that Jeff W got 1.1M+ at KO2.  I know he had the control panel, but still.

[mikegmi2]

I was also initially amazed Jeff did what he did at KO2...but after watching Jeff play some of those Mario hack levels, i'm not surprised at all that he did what he did.  DK is such a slower paced game with less going on, than some of those crazy Mario hack levels...and he makes them look easy. 

[stella_blue]

And I'm still waiting for you to create the topics you were talking about at Funspot! 

I've got at least 25 topics that I've been planning.  First, I have to remember what they are (some of them, anyway).  Next, I need to motivate myself to compose, type, and click [Post].  I'm a notoriously poor typist, and composing anything longer than one or two sentences is borderline agony.  Locating and clicking the [Post] button presents no major problems.   

[stella_blue]

I played 4 games of DK at Funspot this past Saturday.  My high score was 50,500 (Level 3-3 Elevators).

No worries Scott.  I'll offer a few details of my first day on a joystick.  Keep in mind, I had already killscreened in MAME when I transitioned.

1- During my 2nd game, I didn't even pass 1-1.  In fact, I was wondering why I didn't get a 4th man.

2- My high score for the day was 200K.

This is why I was absolutely amazed that Jeff W got 1.1M+ at KO2.  I know he had the control panel, but still.

Thanks, Hank.  I feel much better.

On Saturday, I meant to ask about your freshman dorm and undergraduate house affiliations, but forgot.  I lived in Massachusetts Hall (the tiny one, just inside of Johnson Gate) during the 1976-77 school year, and in Lowell House thereafter.

One last item that I've already mentioned:  If you ever find yourself back in Cambridge, I highly recommend planning a visit to Mary Chung Restaurant in Central Square.  If you are a fan of spicy dishes, the "Suan La Chow Show" and "Dun Dun Noodles with Shredded Chicken" are both outstanding.

[stella_blue]

It is just enough time

Go to 5:45, I remember Billy doing this on his killscreen, shown in the KoK side by side

[noembed]SIDE BY SIDE GAMEPLAY[/noembed]

There are a number of moments in that video that made me simultaneously smile and shake my head.

A few highlights:

Barrel Screen

0:44  "And then three barrels you jump over, it's 800."

In all the hours of video footage, nobody told this guy about the 800 sprite bug?

0:46  "Three barrels is quite an amazing feat."

Not so much.  It all depends on the spacing, but 97 out of 100 times, a guaranteed yawn inducer.

You want amazing?  Try backjumping just 2 barrels.

1:13  "More and more barrels will start colliding with you."

Completely unaware of this fact.  During even my best games, just one collision and I'm already dead.

1:35  "He uses the hammer to his advantage."
1:38  "Which is dangerous, 'cause it slows you down. Like, you can't get rid of that hammer."

Good safety tip.

Note to self:  From now on, avoid all hammers on the barrel boards.  They're bad news.


Rivet Board

2:48  "The countdown, of the points, the bonus score, that's your timer.  Like, everyone thinks it's not timed."

Do you know anyone who thinks that?  Me neither.

2:53  "But, Donkey Kong, if you linger too long and you have zero bonus points, your game's over."

It saddens me to learn that a single bonus timer infraction will abruptly terminate my game.


Pie Factory

4:19  "The other interesting thing is that this game is over with 22 screens."

Screen #22 is actually the conveyor stage on L6, but I'll let it go.


Elevator Screen

Commenting on the Super Jump:

5:19  "And they make some other daring choices.  Like, watch Steve as he jumps straight over, to that.  That's pretty skillful."

Why am I not surprised?  This is coming from the same guy who thinks 3 barrel jumps are amazing.

[ChrisP]

I don't think they have even a 20 second streak where they don't say something wrong or ill-conceived.

Oh well, god bless 'em.