Maximizing points on 1-1

[The Butcher]

What's everyone's trick to maxing points on the first board?

I see peoples signatures have 11,000, 12,000

If I get 7,000, I think that's a really good run. What am I missing?

I'll try to get some footage of a "good run" for me up here tonight.

[mikegmi2]

Maximizing points is all about "beating the clock".  Each barrel is worth basically 100 points off the bonus timer...in other words, each time a barrel is released by Kong, you lose 100 points off the bonus timer.  Its all about abusing the barrels and netting as many points from them as you can.  How?  Jumping groups.  If you jump 2 barrels its worth 300 points, or 150 points per barrel.  If you jump 3, it's worth 500 points (even though it says 800...glitch), or 166.66 points per barrel.  Every time you do this you're beating the bonus timer clock.

Then there's smashing barrels.  This is the best way to score points.  You get 300 points per barrel, which is 3x the base value.  Maximizing blue barrel/fireball smashes is key as well...an 800 or even 500 smash is huge when you're really keeping track of points and going for the max.  It's also important to wait a bit before grabbing the bottom hammer.  At some point, around 3200 on the bonus timer, the barrels become easier to steer, which increases your chances of getting more smashes.  Waiting also gives you more chances to smash extra fireballs or blue barrels, if you time your hammer grab at the right time...and have a little luck with fireballs moving into range for smashing.

Re-jumping groups is also huge.  Jumping one 2 barrel group is worth 300 points, or 150 per barrel.  If you jump that same group again, you now netted 600 points from those 2 barrels, or 300 points per barrel...and on and on.  Re-jumping is huge.

The fireball is so slow on 1-1, leeching points off the fireball can also earn you huge points (jumping away from it when it is close by you).  You can time jumping away from the fireball when you are also jumping a barrel to net 300 points, or 2 barrels to net 500 points...again these points are huge because they're essentially points out of thin air...and not exactly points lost from the bonus timer.  You can go nuts on the first girder and score a few thousand points before you even climb a ladder.

Here Phil's World Record for 1-1...you'll see all of the things I mentioned above, in this video.

https://donkeykongforum.net/index.php?topic=6.0

Good luck!

[TheSunshineFund]

What's everyone's trick to maxing points on the first board?

Leeching the bottom girder effectively.  A great first hammer and some luck.

[corey.chambers]

Here is the Lv. 1-1 that I have posted on my Youtube channel: DonkeyKongGenius. [noembed]Level One Barrel Challenge[/noembed] It is only 11,100 points but shows some grouping attempts. I had the lucky smashes that I needed but I couldn't get more out of it with the luck and skill level I had at the time. I am in the middle of making the Barrel Training Video which will be posted on my channel soon. That should be helpful as well.

[marinomitch13]

Here is a pretty rough gauge (off the top of my head) of what to expect from adding certain components to your 1-1 pressing (assuming you are pretty efficient at the transition i.e. climbing from the 2nd to the 5th girder). These scores only really apply if they are added in this order too, as the amount of time allowed for grouping up top and leeching the fireball/grouping on the bottom can both be affected by how many hammers you grab -as well as they both can affect each other .

Running the board: 3,500-4,500 total
Adding the top hammer: 5,500-7,000 total
Adding the bottom hammer: 7,000-9,000 total
Adding grouping up top (before using the top hammer): 8,500-10,000
Adding Leeching the bottom fireball *a lot* (this includes on the second girder, when applicable) and/or pre-bottom hammer grouping: 9,500-11,000

Obviously, better luck than usual is needed for the higher scores... these are just estimates for your typical, almost 100% safe attempts. I'd actually say that if you can *consistently* get about 9,500-10,500 without dying then you're probably pretty much maxed out at 1-1 pace and you'll need to start employing riskier techniques (not play to survive) to get the bigger scores.

EDIT: The most important component to add in order to jump from an 11k score to like a 12k or 13k score is gonna be harassing the daylights out of the bottom fireball and leeching it on the 2nd girder while also jumping over barrels. Then, risking grabbing the bottom hammer in tight quarters at a time where you can at least smash 3 blue objects. Typically, with this method of over-pressing the bottom fireball, there actually won't be much time to group up top under Kong.

[Monstabonza]

Mitch, I'm gunna ask for a clarification here,
I agree with your no hammer call but adding top  hammer, personally from experience I'd sat from 5k to 6.3k is what u get.im not saying your wrong I'm saying what am I missing??

[stella_blue]

Mitch, I'm gunna ask for a clarification here,
I agree with your no hammer call but adding top  hammer, personally from experience I'd sat from 5k to 6.3k is what u get.im not saying your wrong I'm saying what am I missing??

My experience more closely resembles yours, Nick.  Without any intentional grouping prior to grabbing the top hammer, I generally score somewhere in the 5500-6500 range.

[marinomitch13]

Yeah, maybe my ranges are of a bit... I didn't go back through and double-check them, and it's actually been a while since I've just done the top hammer on 1-1. I just know that when I do, I tend to get a couple barrel groups on the 4th girder below Kong as I wait to climb up to the hammer (I don't like letting barrels pass me in the transition).