Tracking down a video game programmer...

gorfchampion

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We all know of Larry Demar and Eugene Jarvis. Eugene is probably one of the better known classic arcade game programmers. But what about some of the other guys?

Here's my question. How would I go about trying to find out who programmed Sea Wolf and then track them down to get some answers about the game? Is this even feasible?

I have a question that I'd be willing to bet only original programmer(s) could answer.

Anyone out there that owns a Sea Wolf can certainly try to figure this out with me.

Default (factory recommended) settings is 60 seconds with 4K pts needed for bonus extended time. After playing maybe 300-400 games of Sea Wolf on TG settings(60 sec with 2K for bonus time) I have yet to see a program pop up that will allow more than 9,900 points.

The game randomly selects a total number of ships that will appear during the game with max points being anywhere from 9,000 to 9,900 points. Most of the time you can either max out at 9,300, 9,400, 9,600, 9,700 or 9,900. It varies a little bit.

I switched the game to 70 sec to try it out and found out that the score turns over to "zero" at 10K points. So if you scored 10,600 points your final score that appears on the screen is only 600.

You can't tell me the programmers allowed more than a possibility of 9,900 points for the factory recommended time setting of 60 seconds. This would just cause some anger and confusion at the arcade for players. It makes sense that the game would max out at 9,900...being that 10K rolls over to zero.

Here's my problem. Twin Galaxies says the WR on the game is 10,800. At the moment I personally do not think this is possible on a 60 sec game. On 70 sec, yes. I've scored 11K on 70 sec no problem.

Anyone who owns a Sea Wolf play a game on 60 sec settings and let me know what you score. Count the ships you miss and add it all up for a "possible" ending score. If it adds up to more than 9,900 I will be shocked.

If I could talk to a programmer I could solve this mystery. I certainly believe that in as many games as I've played on 60 sec, that if there was a random program in there that allowed more than 9,900 points I would've seen it by now. We're talking about 1976 technology here, not 2009 playstation 3 deep programming.

Someone help me out and give me your opinions. I'm about ready to challenge the WR on this game; that I think maybe a mistake has been made...
 
Here's my question. How would I go about trying to find out who programmed Sea Wolf and then track them down to get some answers about the game? Is this even feasible?

I have a question that I'd be willing to bet only original programmer(s) could answer.

Anyone out there that owns a Sea Wolf can certainly try to figure this out with me.

1976? I can't remember code, no matter how complex, that I coded just 5 years ago, without having access to the source (and even then, it would take some relearning). The original coder probably doesn't have the source after 33 years, so I don't think that's the way to go.

MAME debugging is your friend here. If there's no such thing as a "ship counter" in the code, then it would seem to indicate the number of ships would be random. Then you're simply at the mercy of whatever pseudo-random number generator is used. It's possible the current high-score holder just got lucky with the rolls of the dice, so to say.

How would you find said "ship counter"? Do memory dumps from the RAM region after each ship is launched and look for a decrementing value(s). Do traces to find "boat launch" code and see what's going on.

I could probably give you a definitive answer in a few weeks, but right now I'm in the middle of working on high-score saves for Sega XY games.

If it turns out it is just a matter of random-number-luck, then get your cam-corder setup and be prepared to play a couple hundred games.

However, since you've had a rather large sample, it's doubtful that TG ref happened to be standing nearby when the statistical anomoly occurred, which does point to the fact that either the game was either set at 70 seconds, or the guy is just that much better than you :).
 
However, since you've had a rather large sample, it's doubtful that TG ref happened to be standing nearby when the statistical anomoly occurred, which does point to the fact that either the game was either set at 70 seconds, or the guy is just that much better than you :).

Could just be that someone got lucky and got all high-value deep ships too...

It'd take some significant code hacking to determine what choose when and where ships are launched...
 
1976?I could probably give you a definitive answer in a few weeks, but right now I'm in the middle of working on high-score saves for Sega XY games.

Is this something you are plaining to share with other G-80 owners? :)
I am still trying to talk Clay into finishing his G-80 multi game with a multi- sound board. Hi-score save would be great. Keep us informed on your progress. :D
 
1976? I can't remember code, no matter how complex, that I coded just 5 years ago, without having access to the source (and even then, it would take some relearning). The original coder probably doesn't have the source after 33 years, so I don't think that's the way to go.

MAME debugging is your friend here. If there's no such thing as a "ship counter" in the code, then it would seem to indicate the number of ships would be random. Then you're simply at the mercy of whatever pseudo-random number generator is used. It's possible the current high-score holder just got lucky with the rolls of the dice, so to say.

How would you find said "ship counter"? Do memory dumps from the RAM region after each ship is launched and look for a decrementing value(s). Do traces to find "boat launch" code and see what's going on.

I could probably give you a definitive answer in a few weeks, but right now I'm in the middle of working on high-score saves for Sega XY games.

If it turns out it is just a matter of random-number-luck, then get your cam-corder setup and be prepared to play a couple hundred games.

However, since you've had a rather large sample, it's doubtful that TG ref happened to be standing nearby when the statistical anomoly occurred, which does point to the fact that either the game was either set at 70 seconds, or the guy is just that much better than you :).



That's one thing I forgot to mention; it has nothing to do with the guy being a much better player than myself. My several 9,900 point games I hit EVERY ship that came out. There's not enough time for any more ships to come out in the 60 sec + 20 sec bonus game. This was the whole point.

I guess I don't know enough(or anything at all for that matter) about programming or how they had this game play out when they made it, so I would have to rely on your help. I think its important so please help me, even if it takes a while for you to get to it.
 
Could just be that someone got lucky and got all high-value deep ships too...

It'd take some significant code hacking to determine what choose when and where ships are launched...


In my opinion there is no high value deep ships that would generate a score over 9,900. I've played too many games for that to appear now. There is a certain number of PT boats(700 points) that appear in any game. Let me clarify a little bit. When a game is started, after the first ship appears, I can tell you what ship is going to appear next, and from what side of the screen, EVERY SINGLE time. It makes no difference if you hit that ship as soon as it comes out or when it has traveled all the way to the other side of the screen, this will not dictate when the next ship comes out. Its the same every time. I can hit every ship maybe 1 in 10 games; and maybe 1 in 25 games a possibility of 9,900 points will appear. And I've got that score several times now. I just have never seen a possibility of more than 9,900 points on the 60 sec game.

One question I would have for the WR holder is "did you hit every ship in that game?" A yes answer wouldn't help my cause but a "no" answer would. That would mean even more points were possible in his game, making at least one more ship appearing in a 60 sec game which I say cannot happen...
 
That's one thing I forgot to mention; it has nothing to do with the guy being a much better player than myself. My several 9,900 point games I hit EVERY ship that came out. There's not enough time for any more ships to come out in the 60 sec + 20 sec bonus game. This was the whole point.

I guess I don't know enough(or anything at all for that matter) about programming or how they had this game play out when they made it, so I would have to rely on your help. I think its important so please help me, even if it takes a while for you to get to it.

I see what you're saying...even hitting every ship you can't get the record. Do they come out at set intervals (ie is there a constant to the number of ships deployed each game)? And are the types of point ships deployed each round also constant, or could you in one game have more high point ships than say another game? If these two things are constant, then I'd say the TG score could probably be dismissed. If the point ships deployed can be different each game, then HudsonArcade is correct that maybe he just got lucky with the number of high point ships deployed.

Another thing that bugs me about TG high scores is back in the day no one bothered with taking note of possible ROM revisions. I don't know if Sea Wolf had multiple, but that is definitely a factor on some of the other games TG has listed for high scores.

If no one has helped confirm this by the end of the week, I'll take a look at it in MAME to see what I find; should be done with this highscore save by end of week anyways (yes Sam, I'll let you know when it's done :))
 
I smell a King of Sea Wolf coming to a DVD near you! I hope you get your answers John, curious to see how this comes out too!
 
I see what you're saying...even hitting every ship you can't get the record. Do they come out at set intervals (ie is there a constant to the number of ships deployed each game)? And are the types of point ships deployed each round also constant, or could you in one game have more high point ships than say another game? If these two things are constant, then I'd say the TG score could probably be dismissed. If the point ships deployed can be different each game, then HudsonArcade is correct that maybe he just got lucky with the number of high point ships deployed.

Another thing that bugs me about TG high scores is back in the day no one bothered with taking note of possible ROM revisions. I don't know if Sea Wolf had multiple, but that is definitely a factor on some of the other games TG has listed for high scores.

If no one has helped confirm this by the end of the week, I'll take a look at it in MAME to see what I find; should be done with this highscore save by end of week anyways (yes Sam, I'll let you know when it's done :))


Yes, the ships come out at SET intervals. Makes no difference when you hit it, that won't trigger the next ship to come early. I'm a good enough shot where I have tried this, and there is a huge pause for the next ship if you hit the previous one right away. I've done this many, many times.

The STARTING ship is really the only random thing I have seen so far. This is why scores of 9,900 and lower are a possibility every game. Let's just say the player hits every ship for argument's sake. You may only score 9,200 points because the opening ship was a freighter(100 points) and not a PT boat. IF the PT boat shows up first, it may then very well show up again at the very end, making it possible to get 9,900.

The type of ships is also constant in the game(in the 300-500 games I've played). You will NEVER get 2 PT boats in a row. Like I said before, once the very first ship comes out, I can tell you exactly what ship is next and from what side of the screen it will deploy. Every single time. It doesn't change.

You could very well be right about the ROM revisions, I never thought of that. But somehow I find it hard to believe that there were any revisions, as there is really no way to cheat(like saucer hunting on Asteroids); and most people find the game fairly difficult as-is. But I could be wrong. I could be wrong about the whole thing; but the game is so predictable and I've played SO MANY games that I just don't see a higher point random game appearing.
 
John, I think you are onto something here. There are a lot of TG high scores that are suspect, especially when they allow some scores from *before* the strict submission rules were put into place. They should start a new HS list from the day the main rule set was established if you ask me. I also want to see you on top of ALL high score lists, not just Gorf, which I have *never* played. You'll always be top seaman/ torpedoman to me, on Seawolf or otherwise.
 
Just a guess, but is it possible that skipping a certain ship will make extra ships appear?


I've tried that also. Makes no difference at all. I've tried skipping the first ship, random middle ships and everything inbetween to see if it would maybe trigger an extra PT boat or something with a higher value; nope. Doesn't make any difference. You just end up with a lower score and the same program passes you by....
 
John, I think you are onto something here. There are a lot of TG high scores that are suspect, especially when they allow some scores from *before* the strict submission rules were put into place. They should start a new HS list from the day the main rule set was established if you ask me. I also want to see you on top of ALL high score lists, not just Gorf, which I have *never* played. You'll always be top seaman/ torpedoman to me, on Seawolf or otherwise.


You simply NEED to play a few games of Gorf. I just have a feeling that the WR score was set on 70 seconds. Its not really an old score(I believe 2001 it was set). I'm trying to get someone to go to Funspot and check the Sea Wolf settings. This really won't prove anything; the game could have been set on any # of settings before and since 2001; but I'm almost willing to bet its set on 70 seconds. I wish I was good enough to top all scores, I'm lucky to have the ones I do.
 
I have brought this subject up with one TG ref(he's viewed all my stuff); but I have not challenged it officially with TG yet. I'm not calling anyone a cheater or saying one of the refs fixed a game or anything. I think someone just made a simple mistake is all. In no way am I pointing fingers. I just want to know the truth...
 
For what it's worth ROM Nation and ROM Hustler only has one set of ROMs for Sea Wolf.
 
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