Attract mode code breakdown

[stella_blue]

Thank you, Don.  Those are some great suggestions!  I tried them all.

[JCHarrist]

Another way to have fun with this is to make the attract mode playable.

You can do this using the MAME debugger console by adding the following lines:

Code: [Select]

bp 80,1,{pc=87 ; g}
bp 1977,1,{pc=197a ; g}
You can also enable sound in attract mode with this line:

Code: [Select]

bp e9,1,{pc=eb ; g}
I will see if I can find another hack to make it so the game doesn't freak out when jumpman makes it to the top in attract mode.

edit:  found it.  The following hack fixes attract mode if jumpman should finish the level:

Code: [Select]

bp 746,{b@600a==16},{b@600a=5; g}
More fun with attract mode.  Set the screen played:

Code: [Select]

bp 770,1,{b@6227=2 ; g}
The above code sets the screen to 2 [conveyors] during attract mode.  Change the 2 to 3 for elevators, or to 4 for rivets.



Don Hodges

Oh man, just when I thought I was going to get some playing time in today. 

Thanks Don!

[stella_blue]

DK Attract Mode, as you've never seen it before!

Not Your Typical DK Attract Mode

The highlight video features 2 somewhat unusual examples of attract mode.

The 1st part illustrates how not to play the Pie Factory.  As the bonus timer reaches 1500 (and then again at 1100), I can't even begin to guess what Mario is doing.  At least he has the good sense to leech the fireball for 100 points before dying.

Ever wonder what happens if you switch screen types during attract mode?  The 2nd part is an interesting hybrid of the Conveyor and Rivet stages.  Again, Mario doesn't survive, but he does collect the hat and purse (a 600 point "good death").

EDIT:  The video highlight, originally hosted at Justin TV, is currently 1 minute 20 seconds of a blank screen.

[f_symbols]

that rivet treadmill   Blue pies FTW

[marinomitch13]

OMG, there has GOT to be a Rivet Hack made like that for people to play!

[JCHarrist]

DK Attract Mode, as you've never seen it before!

Not Your Typical DK Attract Mode

The highlight video features 2 somewhat unusual examples of attract mode.

The 1st part illustrates how not to play the Pie Factory.  As the bonus timer reaches 1500 (and then again at 1100), I can't even begin to guess what Mario is doing.  At least he has the good sense to leech the fireball for 100 points before dying.

Ever wonder what happens if you switch screen types during attract mode?  The 2nd part is an interesting hybrid of the Conveyor and Rivet stages.  Again, Mario doesn't survive, but he does collect the hat and purse (a 600 point "good death").

That's cool. We can see what happens in the overflow much more clearly without the barrels spoiling the fun. He hits the overflow at 45 seconds in the video on the pie factory.

Also interesting that he did climb the ladder toward the end of the rivet/pie factory hybrid board.

[JCHarrist]

So I gave up on trying to get him to the top on the first attract mode cycle. I decided to just put in a script that would potentially get him to the top and sit back and watch.

On the 27th cycle.... success!

DK attract mode reprogram success!

And it does indeed crash the game.

[stella_blue]

That's cool. We can see what happens in the overflow much more clearly without the barrels spoiling the fun. He hits the overflow at 45 seconds in the video on the pie factory.

There was another Pie Factory example where the fireballs left him alone, and he eventually died after the bonus timer reached 000.

The elevator stage isn't very interesting, as Mario runs past the edge of the starting platform, and dies immediately.  If you make it playable instead, you'll notice that everything moves very slowly (it is Level 00, after all).

[stella_blue]

So I gave up on trying to get him to the top on the first attract mode cycle. I decided to just put in a script that would potentially get him to the top and sit back and watch.

On the 27th cycle.... success!

[noembed]DK attract mode reprogram success![/noembed]

And it does indeed crash the game.

Outstanding!  I especially enjoyed the quintuple jump on the 5th girder.   

[f_symbols]

Just a thought about the riv-pie...  spoiler alert!---------------->TOTALLY OFF TOPIC

Would DK be harder easier/the same if; we removed the rivets and pies and replaced it with 1 riv-pie screen?  It would essentially subtract a minimum of 19 screens from the 117, but I think that the increased difficulty of this screen might actually offset the loss of boards.  Basically, i think that getting to level 22 on a game that only had 98 screens but included the riv-pie would be just as hard, if not harder, than getting to level 22 in standard DK.

What do you guys think?

[up2ng]

The elevator stage isn't very interesting, as Mario runs past the edge of the starting platform, and dies immediately.  If you make it playable instead, you'll notice that everything moves very slowly (it is Level 00, after all).

It seems like it would be straightforward to create an attract mode that passes an elevator screen.

[ChrisP]

You could never guarantee the position of the between-elevator fireball, so that would cause problems, but maybe there's a way around that?

[SQUIIDUX]

http://kotaku.com/this-guy-wrote-a-program-that-teaches-itself-to-play-ne-472451152

found this made me think of you guys

[Xermon54]

Insane, Jeff! That's awesome to know what happens when Jumpman finishes the first screen on the attract mode. Tears to my eyes mate!

[giv]

I just realized that this is the only way to actually end the game next to Pauline

I can't help thinking that the symbolism here has strong alchemical overtones.

The great work is complete.