Crazy Climber brag

[TheShanMan]

Well, I do play CC frequently and I can reach the 3rd building but haven't made it to the 4th yet, but hopefully I will by then. Getting to the 2nd building is plenty though to surpass the default high scores of 20,000, so hopefully you'll consider me qualified regardless. If so, LMK how much and I would be more than happy to test, give feedback, and burn new images as needed.

I did find Tim's page again and it seems like it's not worth making his adapter board if I will ultimately get a board from you. I also think I could live without the better letter navigation if high scores are saved because obviously after a while games would result in a high score only occasionally. Still, it would be nice to have. I may consider integrating his navigation change at a later time if you don't do it. Hopefully that's not the change that introduced instability. And are you sure it's one of the mods themselves that introduced the instability and not a failure to decrypt the roms 100% correctly?

BTW, I think the thing that will take you from "suck at the game" to halfway decent is the realization that you don't have to avoid getting hit by the falling pots. As long as you're holding on to a window ledge with both hands, they won't knock you off (unless 2 hit you at precisely the same time). They will alter your position though so my habit is to hold both joysticks downward. That way if there is a 2nd pot coming, you're still safe.

 

[mattosborn]

The decrypted set (without the enhancements) is apparently stable. So the problem must have been introduced by either the freeplay mod or the initials navigation mod. So I don't think it would be wise to try to put those back in as is. If I decided to do either one I'd start over from scratch.

 

[MilitiaMan]

So I could use a couple people to help with the beta testing (because I pretty much suck at the game). The beta testers will receive the kit at a greatly reduced cost. And having an EPROM burner is a plus, in case I need to send you a code update to test. But you need to prove first that you can reach the fourth building. These won't be ready for at least a couple months, so you've got plenty of time....

"Ooh-ooh-ooooh!"

I can get to the fourth building at will ... and past it most games. I don't have an EPROM burner, but there is one that I can use pretty close to me.

Please put me on the list ...

Steve
MM

 

[CrazyKongFan]

There's an interesting easter egg on the ROMsets that allow you to enter 10 letters. If you put in JORDAN.LTD it'll give you 2 free credits. I've never been able to test it on a real machine (I've only seen the US ROMset, and it only allows 3 letters), but it definitely works in MAME on the other sets.

 

[mattosborn]

Looks like there is no shortage of beta testers.... Thanks guys.

I think the reason I suck at the game is because I've never watched anyone good play... nobody to learn tips/tricks from. Don't remember ever seeing the game as a kid.

 

[tntbone]

I always thought I would love this game in the same vane as Robotron or Donkey Kong but there was never one in the wild back in the early 80's. Got to play it at the at the expo this summer and had no idea what to do I'd like to settle in with one machine for awhile and really get a grasp on the gameplay and nuances. I remember reading "How to master video games" by Tom Hirschfield (still have it) and wishing i could play that and Astro Fighter.

 

[kstillin]

DOH!!

Just had a 400K+ game. 482600 to be exact (50 points under 2nd place and 5K from 1st)

I LOVE it when you can run up building 4 without losing a man! That's the toughest thing. If you can do this, along with some skill on 2 and 6, you're almost guaranteed to get a shot at 500K.

That's the main obstacle on 2, 3, and 4: two-window wide gauntlets where girders and dumbbells are falling 2, 3, or 4 at a time. On building 4, you've got to dodge them twice for 8 floors with a breather of falling signs coming at you for 24 floors. There are a couple more gauntlets before you even get to the split though..

On building 3, once you pass Kong, you've got to run the two-window gauntlet with girders for 40 floors!! There's actually an adrenaline rush when you do it.

Just plain insane. They designed this game to give good value for your quarter. A little skill can get you through the four buildings. Sometimes it throws you a bone for your efforts to get you a little farther.

Just thought I'd share.
Kerry

 

[James_in_MD]

Looks like there is no shortage of beta testers.... Thanks guys.

I think the reason I suck at the game is because I've never watched anyone good play... nobody to learn tips/tricks from. Don't remember ever seeing the game as a kid.

Matt, youdaman! Now I really need to get my CC put together! I have two CC bds, so I will be up for 2 kits when you are ready.

Nice score kstillin! BITD, I could only get to Bldg3. Not long ago, I almost got to the top of 4 using MAME and a XBOX type joypad. I forget what the score was. I have a beautiful empty Polaris cab that I plan on using for my CC. I pretty much have all the parts I need, plus I have one of those nice metal repro CPOs. I'm not quite sure what a teal green CC would look like. The cab is so nice, I hate to repaint it CC orange.

One tip I have learned is that if you hold both hands down on a ledge and hold the joys down as well, you stand a decent chance of surviving a barbell/girder hit - but hey, I'm no pro!

 

[Steve W]

DOH!!

Just had a 400K+ game. 482600 to be exact (50 points under 2nd place and 5K from 1st)

I LOVE it when you can run up building 4 without losing a man! That's the toughest thing. If you can do this, along with some skill on 2 and 6, you're almost guaranteed to get a shot at 500K.

That's the main obstacle on 2, 3, and 4: two-window wide gauntlets where girders and dumbbells are falling 2, 3, or 4 at a time. On building 4, you've got to dodge them twice for 8 floors with a breather of falling signs coming at you for 24 floors. There are a couple more gauntlets before you even get to the split though..

On building 3, once you pass Kong, you've got to run the two-window gauntlet with girders for 40 floors!! There's actually an adrenaline rush when you do it.

Just plain insane. They designed this game to give good value for your quarter. A little skill can get you through the four buildings. Sometimes it throws you a bone for your efforts to get you a little farther.

Just thought I'd share.
Kerry

Start recording!!!

In addition to the randomness of the falling sign (I wish someone would dig through the code for this to see if it truly is random), the thing that always gets me is the 2 window wide girder situations. I would love to see how you play through that.

 

[pookdolie]

This is a timely thread. I'm hoping to get my Crazy Climber working tomorrow and, if I do, I'm gonna need to review this one...

 

[kstillin]

Whooo hoooo!

Here's my latest and greatest- I don't know if I'll ever be able to top this one.
600,300

I didn't lose my first man until building 7, which satisfies one of my grail quests- lose no men on a full set of 4 buildings.
With that quest squashed, it proves that theoretically, you could play forever. This is the first time I've ever done that.
Also, I passed building 4 TWICE without losing a man. (building 4 and 8) It's a pretty rare feat for me to do it once, so twice in one game is just crazy.

I've had 8 or 9 games over 400K since my last post (2/18). Three of those were #1 scores, but not my personal bests-
496,550 on 3/23
495,800 on 5/9
600,300 on 5/16

Oh- it also squashes the rumor that some clown posted on usenet years ago that on building 12, FIRE and FLAMES are in the windows and you have to dodge them...
Some idiot.

Kerry

 

[avidgeek]

You're a f'n Rock Star....most impressive indeed.
I've been to building five and it was a quick death...props to you brother.

Not sure if anyone else is in love with the first building victory song but that tune is teh shit! I had that as my custom cell phone ring for a while.

 

[Steve W]

Wow. That's really awesome!!!

Passing building 4 on one man 2x is amazing considering the randomness of the unavoidable sign. I'd love to get some tips on passing 2 column wide areas with multiple falling girders. Prominent on Building 3 I think?

 

[SeanMcL]

OK, so how do you survive a hit from the dumbbells and girders? I do the old "hold both sticks down", and sometimes my guy seems to hesitate before he falls, but he always falls. I can get to the 4th building, but I'm dead so fast that I never get a chance to figure anything out.

I sold my CC cocktail but am looking for a trimline version, so this is relevant to my interests.

 

[avidgeek]

Ahhhh yeah....here it is... Clip number 8...scroll down.

http://www.soundboard.com/sb/Crazy_Climber_clips.aspx

 

[Steve W]

OK, so how do you survive a hit from the dumbbells and girders? I do the old "hold both sticks down", and sometimes my guy seems to hesitate before he falls, but he always falls. I can get to the 4th building, but I'm dead so fast that I never get a chance to figure anything out.

I sold my CC cocktail but am looking for a trimline version, so this is relevant to my interests.

I think if you are above a certain floor # on a building, they simply must be avoided and the joystick down thing doesn't work.

 

[pookdolie]

Just got to the 4th building for the first time last night. Wasn't too hard once I realized you could survive a pot or bottle falling as long as you have two hands on the window sill.

Any word about the proposed HSS kit for this?

 

[mattosborn]

Any word about the proposed HSS kit for this?

Sorry, the project is stalled at the moment. Long story....
Maybe I can finish it up this summer.

 

[kstillin]

I think if you are above a certain floor # on a building, they simply must be avoided and the joystick down thing doesn't work.

That's right.
Count the floors as you climb from the bottom. Up to floor 15, you can take multiple hits from the girders/dumbbells as long as you have a downward handhold with both hands. On floor 16 and up, it will knock you down no matter how your hands are placed. You simply have to avoid.

The good thing is that you don't have to count long...

Oh- and if you get knocked down BEFORE floor 13 or so, you'll lose a man, but it won't register that you died on that building (2+) and the computer will keep throwing additional obstacles at you until you DO fall. Normally, it eases up on the additional obstacles once you die on a building.

Sometimes you can take a glancing blow from a girder above floor 16, but it's not guaranteed.

In rare cases, you can take a hit from a sign, but it has to be in the correct lateral position relative to the climber and you have to 'meet' it at a certain point after seeing it. It's hard to explain and it isn't consistent. In those cases, the sign 'hits' you multiple times, removing bonus points but passes over you unharmed.

I play a lot. I've played about 200 games in the past 3 months. I gave it a break for about 10 days during that period.

Level 4- in those past 200 games, I've passed it 10 times without losing a man. It used to be a lot more rare. I've made it through level four 67 times (33%) of those 200 with losing a single man. A double loss on 4 is par for the course.

Wait- you guys won't think I'm odd if I tell you that I keep stats, will you?
...

 

[SanTe]

Wait- you guys won't think I'm odd if I tell you that I keep stats, will you?...

You'd be surprised at how many competitive classic arcade gamers keep stats of their play and how detailed those stats can be. (I'm not one of them though. I'm too lazy to keep stats.)