How many games to break 1m points

[TheSunshineFund]

Thought this would be a fun exercise to track.

I haven't played a game of DK since getting a kill screen with no point pressing last month.  I've been too busy with a few upcoming tourneys, but I plan to get back into it after those and crack 1m on this.

How many games (I plan on playing each one through on my arcade machine even if I die on 1-1) do you think it will take me to reach 1m.  In all likelyhood I will only play 1 serious game (1 h+) per session because I get burnt out otherwise from what I know about myself.

I'll track my progress along the way as accurately as possible.

[mikegmi2]

I'll start it off and predict 203 games.

[TheSunshineFund]

For reference:

DK Jr took about 50 games to break 1m and DK3 took 3 games to break 1m.

With DK being the toughest of the 3 by far, 200 is not a bad starting estimate.

[marinomitch13]

This is Wags, right? Serious games? -I say about 30.

If you've already killscreened, it will take you like 3-4 games to really get comfortable with all the nuances of getting the bottom hammer -and this you can practice even if you have 1 or 2 deaths during the start and it is obviously a futile attempt. Even though you say you get burnt out easily, since you've already had some 'longer-game' practice with DKJr, I think you'll already be prepared enough in that area of the gameplay. Lastly, about 50% of attempts will be relatively wasted due to deaths during the start.

[stella_blue]

I won't be nearly as generous as Mitch nor as brutally harsh as Mike (I kid you both!)

Assuming you play 1 serious game per session with no restarts, perhaps 4-5 times per week, I'll estimate that it will take somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 months or 120 attempts.

Good luck!

[hchien]

Obviously it varies from player to player.  Speaking from personal experience, it took me (from the time I started playing) 10 months to reach 1M.

3 months to reach a killscreen in MAME

3-4 month "transition period" (adjusting to a joystick, finding/buying a cabinet)

3-4 months to reach 1M

Since you're past the first 2 phases, you only need to worry about the last phase.  I'd say I was averaging 1 serious game/day during that last phase, so for me it was roughly 100 games.  You are probably more naturally talented than me and there are more resources out there now as well, so I'd say a bit less than 100 for you.

[TheSunshineFund]

This is Wags, right? Serious games? -I say about 30.

I plan to count every time I hit the start button as an attempt, otherwise there would be too much interpretation involved.  That being the case, I plan to play all of them through to the end as well. 

I plan to start in April most likely and will keep a log available.

[mikegmi2]

This will be interesting.  I kinda wish I kept track of my stats.  Would be cool if everyone did...to compare with others.

Good luck!

[lifereboot]

I actually did track the number of games that I played, ever since I bought my first DK cabinet.  It was an exercise in tracking my investment, to see if I'd "get my money's worth" for the cabinet, if I imagined that each game I played cost a quarter.

Initially, I was playing like most players do:  trying to advance past as many stages as possible.  I progressed from scores around 100k to 400k.

Over time, I progressed into more advanced DK strategy, passed the half a million mark, and eventually got into the 700s.

By that point, my strategy for playing had changed significantly, and was no longer "running boards" to get a higher score.  I found myself restarting games a lot.  Consequently, it was difficult for me to keep track of the number of "real games" that I'd played.

What I mean is, if I'm restarting constantly, in an effort to get a good 1-1 and 1-2, do those restarts count as a game?  For my initial thinking of "one quarter per play," I think that it would...  but now, after a few years of owning my DK machine, I don't consider those restarts to be "real games" anymore.

Currently, I aim for one good game a night.  It might take me 45 minutes to get a game going, and some nights I won't get a game started at all.  So when I read "203 games" in this thread, I question what that really means.  203 days?  Or 203 quarter drops?

... I lost my detailed progress when TG forums went away.  Live and learn, make backups.

[TheSunshineFund]

Every coin drop will count as a game.  I'll attempt to play all of them through to 1m even if I die 3 times on 1-1 and log each game.

[Xermon54]

Every coin drop will count as a game.

By thinking like that, it would take me 203 games to get a start at Donkey Kong ;-).

But joke aside, you can do it within 100 games, no doubt about that.

[ChrisP]

Attempting to play through bad starts might not be the most efficient use of your time!

If you're at 250K and have no reserve lives, why waste another half hour or 45 minutes on a game that isn't going to make it?

No need to torture yourself.

If you just want the double-hammer practice, I'd suggest playing an L5 barrel savestate over and over until you can average 20 or so barrel screens without dying.

[TheSunshineFund]

Attempting to play through bad starts might not be the most efficient use of your time!

If you're at 250K and have no reserve lives, why waste another half hour or 45 minutes on a game that isn't going to make it?

No need to torture yourself.

If you just want the double-hammer practice, I'd suggest playing an L5 barrel savestate over and over until you can average 20 or so barrel screens without dying.

Anything is possible in DK, could get 900k on one man, who knows 

Besides it will be good for the tracking and interesting I think so record every game.

I'm playing on arcade machine.  I don't even know how to make a savestate.   

[ChrisP]

Actually, you're very right about the "anything can happen" rule. I forgot about that.

I'm actually the last person who should be encouraging restarts, since I think I might be the first and only player to ever get a kill screen on a run that started with a 1-1 death!

It was a public arcade machine, and I put in a quarter to play, so I said "screw it, I'm seeing this through."

[TheSunshineFund]

Actually, you're very right about the "anything can happen" rule. I forgot about that.

I'm actually the last person who should be encouraging restarts, since I think I might be the first and only player to ever get a kill screen on a run that started with a 1-1 death!

It was a public arcade machine, and I put in a quarter to play, so I said "screw it, I'm seeing this through."

Ha that's awesome!