High score competition #156 Barrier (1st Competition of 2015)

[HanoiBoi]

Previous winners:


#001 thru #099 - For list of winners for those competitions  please refer to this link
#100: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Winner - Gray_Area, Second - Tafoid
#101: Marvin's Maze: Winner - Kixfan, Second - Hammerfist
#102: Rally-X:  Winner - Tafoid, Second  djm858
#103: Lock 'N Chase:  Winner - Kixfan, Second - Jasonbar
#104: Space Fury: Winner - Gray_Area, Second - kixfan
#105: Pig Out: Winner - Kixfan, Second - Gray_Area
#106: Carnival: Winner - rick6668, Second - Kixfan
#107: Rastan: Winner - popsicle, Second - rick6668
#108: Peguin-Kun Wars Winner-dancawar, Second - Popsicle
#109: Blood Bros.* Winner - harveybirdman, Second - Jasonbar *scores reflect use of game features considered cheats
#110: Rabbit Punch: Winner - jasonbar, Second - mimic
#111: Alien Syndrome: Winner - mimic, Second Comtek
#112: Block Hole: Winner - Comtek, Second - idsane
#113: Pepper II: Winner - Comtek, Second - Kixfan
#114: Break Thru: Winner - jasonbar, Second - mimic
#115: Ninja Baseball Bat Man: Winner - mimic, Second - Tafoid
#116: Shao-lin's Road: Winner - mimic, Second - Kixfan
#117: Scramble: Winner - Kixfan, Second - jasonbar
#118: Lost Tomb: Winner: Jasonbar, Second: mimic
#119: Green Beret: Winner: LeapinLew, Second: popsicle
#120: Lady Killer: Winner: Comtek Second: Mimic
#121: Qix: Winner: Comtek Second: sorhp
#122: Halley's Comet: Winner: Jasonbar Second: Mimic
#123: Cyber-Lip: Winner: Jasonbar Second: epetti
#124: Lode Runner: Winner: JDFan Second: kixfan
#125: Snow Bros. - Nick & Tom: Winner: Comtek Second: JDFan
#126: Bosconian: Winner: Cynicaster Second: kixfan
#127: Eggs: Winner: Cynicaster Second: kixfan
#128: Eyes: Winner: kixfan Second: Comtek
#129: Galaga '88: Winner: jasonbar, Second: opt2not
#130: Final Fight: Winner: opt2not, Second: Comtek
#131: Hammerin' Harry: Winner: lettuce, Second: kixfan
#132: Battle Circuit: Winner: lettuce, Second: jasonbar
#133: Giga Wing: Winner: edekoning, Second: spoot
#134: Osman: Winner: edekoning, Second: lettuce
#135: Surprise Attack: Winner: Comtek, Second: edekoning
#136: Anteater: Winner: Kixfan, Second: Comtek
#137: Jr. Pac man: Winner: Kixfan, Second: Popsicle
#138: Chelnov: Winner: Popsicle: Second: Comtek
#139: Berzerk: Winner: Popsicle: Second: Kixfan
#140: Mystic Marathon: Winner: Popsicle: Second: JDFan
#141: Moon Cresta: Winner: Kixfan: Second: Jasonbar
#142: Star Force: Winner: big10p: Second: Jasonbar
#143: Armored Car:  Winner: Popsicle:  Second: Kixfan
#144: Pinball Action:  Winner: JDFan:  Second: popsicle
#145: Mr. TNT:  Winner: Kixfan:  Second: Comtek
#146: The End: Winner: Popsicle  Second: Kixfan
#147: Land, Sea, Air Squad:  Winner: Popsicle   Second: big10p
#148: Armor Attack:  Winner: HanoiBoi   Second: Popsicle
#149: Pooyan:  Winner: HanoiBoi   Second: kixfan
#150: Thief:  Winner: HanoiBoi   Second: kixfan
#151: Navarone:  Winner: HanoiBoi   Second: kixfan
#152: Mr. Do's Castle:  Winner: kixfan  Second: HanoiBoi
#153: Journey:  Winner: Popsicle   Second: Kixfan
#154: Star Trek: Winner: Popsicle  Second: HanoiBoi
#155: Frenzy: Winner: HanoiBoi  Second: Popsicle

Game Name: Barrier
ROM Name= barrier

Settings:
   Lives: 3

Controls:   
    Up, Down, Right, Left







From Wikipedia:

Description

Barrier is a maze arcade game using vector graphics released by Vectorbeam in 1979. In this very basic game, players move a small triangle around on the grid, while attempting to avoid the diamonds that are also moving around on the grid. Reaching the end of the grid teleports the player back to the front of the grid to gain points. The game is played on a 3x9 grid that is displayed at angle to make it appear to be in 3-D. The game was sold to Vectorbeam by Cinematronics.

Last day: Sunday, Jan. 11 2015 midnight Pacific
--------------------------------------------

General Rules:
- One Credit, No Continues.
- Highest score wins.
- No savestates, savestate practices, etc. during the round.
- MAME INP recordings are encouraged but optional.
- A screenshot is required to enter a score (press F12 to save screenshot showing your final score) or take a photo of the game screen.
- If you're a MARP competitor on this title, keep in mind this is just a friendly competition among forum members, so maybe you shouldn't enter. However, if you're a forum member and this is a game you're good at and nobody knows about it, this is your time to shine!
- Even if you don't have a competitive score or if you don't *think* that you have a competitive score, please post it anyway to keep the thread fun & to give everybody a good sense of score ranges.
- Please make sure your scores are from games that take place during the competition period (no posting your best score from last year, etc.).
- Use of autofire or other non-standard hacks within MAME or your PC's OS are not allowed.  No program or other person or entity of any sort may manipulate your controls during your game.  Coaching & back-seat driving is fine as long as the party doesn't directly influence the game or controls.
- If you can beat any of the high scores from the previous competitions, you can submit your score to the BYOAC High Game Scoreboard.



- Quest for the Bronze Joystick! The most successful competitor of each calendar year will possess & display the BYOAC Bronze Joystick Trophy. See this thread for details:The BYOAC Bronze Joystick.
Happy Gaming!


Scoring Updates:

[HanoiBoi]

I don't recall ever seeing Barrier in the wild as I'm guessing it's pretty obscure to the masses by title, but familiar in game play.

If you asked for a handheld Mattel Football for Christmas but didn't get it, here's your chance to relive some memories.  Rotate your screen if you really want your fix.

I know, nothing spectacular... but something that can be as competitive as you want it to be.

[bfauska]

Somebody's gotta post the first "high" score. I'm playing on a pc keyboard right now so I don't konw if that's even allowed but if it's not I'll have to find some time to play on my mame cab. 148 to get us started.

[popsicle]

Happy New Year!

I can't for sure tell if hitting A, B, or C either before or in-game actually changes the difficulty.  Is C the default (and easiest)?

[HanoiBoi]

Yes, Happy New Year.  Although I posted this a little late, we've still got the standard 2 week competition.

I have no idea on the difficulty settings.  I don't even have color or sound on my version.  Haha.

And on the controls, I don't think it matters.  Keyboard, joystick, buttons - whichever works.

If you haven't noticed, you can move backwards through the screen too, which can be helpful at times.

[JDFan]

Does bring back memoried of the old hand held football game - took me awhile to figure out how to get any points ( HINT : didn't know you could move backward at the start to get them to move to clear a path  ! )

After a few tries - 239

[jasonbar]

133 for me.

Best bezel ever.

Worst game ever.

No sound on my 115u2. I hummed the Coleco Touchdown Football tune after each pass up the screen.

-Jason

[jasonbar]

PS--popsicle, please note that I am bequeathing all bronze joystick powers to you. Please decide on how you want to set up scoring for 2015. We have either my simple top-2 scores, the more interesting normalized score system, or some other scheme. It's all you, buddy. That's what you get for winning! 

Thanks,
-Jason

[popsicle]

I hereby decree that Jasonbar will maintain his elegant, yet fair previous scoring system for the year 2015.

 

Actually, I do have an idea.  If people edit their original scoring posts when getting a better score it would be easier to track who was in what place. A minor detail, but would help when keeping the scoring table at the top of the thread up to date.

I was thinking of cleaning up the first post in each competition too, like just providing a link to the rules and previous winners instead of copying them each time.   

If anyone has any other ideas to make the competition better, speak up.  How do we get more people to enter, for one?

[JDFan]

If anyone has any other ideas to make the competition better, speak up.  How do we get more people to enter, for one?

Perhaps move the links etc. to a second thread that gets updated after each competition with the winners of the last weeks competition and has the various rules etc. and a link to the newest competition thread which just has the info on the game for that week and the posted scores from players (that way there is not 100 links to past competitions at the top of every thread.) and then post a link to the rules and past scores and link thread at the top of each weekly game thread rather than the wall of links !

Also might be time to think about letting some of the oldest games be reused as it's getting harder to find a selection that keeps everyone interested in competing since most of the well known games have already been used. (though it's nice to find some games that you haven't played before it's also easy to keep newer players from joining if all the comps are unknown selections.

Actually, I do have an idea.  If people edit their original scoring posts when getting a better score it would be easier to track who was in what place. A minor detail, but would help when keeping the scoring table at the top of the thread up to date.

Only problem I see with that is it also keeps the thread from being bumped to the top where people might find it and join in the comp. as edits do not bump the thread so it may get lost by the end of the 2 weeks if everyone is just editing their first post.

[popsicle]

Perhaps move the links etc. to a second thread that gets updated after each competition with the winners of the last weeks competition and has the various rules etc. and a link to the newest competition thread which just has the info on the game for that week and the posted scores from players (that way there is not 100 links to past competitions at the top of every thread.) and then post a link to the rules and past scores and link thread at the top of each weekly game thread rather than the wall of links !

Yes, this is exactly what I was trying to say^   

I hadn't thought about edits not bumping posts to the top.  Personally, I like committing to a game I don't know to learn it, but you're correct in that it may deter a lot of people from playing.

[JDFan]

Yes, this is exactly what I was trying to say^   

I hadn't thought about edits not bumping posts to the top.  Personally, I like committing to a game I don't know to learn it, but you're correct in that it may deter a lot of people from playing.

I thought so and was agreeing with you - the wall of links gets a bit daunting and not many people are going back to previous comps to review the scores etc. anyway so seems a waste of space to copy to every thread. Just a single link to the info for rules and previous threads would clean it up considerably (but then we need someone to commit to updating the rules and previous comp thread every 2 weeks since the thread creator is the only one that can update it (unless a mod volunteers to help out !)

Also agree with you about enjoying the obscure games and committing to 2 weeks to learn it but I think it also needs some familiar games every few comps to get the casual gamers involved.

Might as well also post my updated High score for this comp. while I'm posting -- 315

[PL1]

It might be a good idea to have a layout like below to keep track of whose turn it is to pick next: (minimum of last two comps)
* Link to list of all previous comps.
* Three comps ago with winners (#153)
* Two comps ago with winners (#154)
* Last comp with winners (#155)
* Current comp (#156)

When the next comp starts:
- Copy/paste to the new thread
- Delete the #153 link
- Add a #156 link with winners
- Update the current comp info (#157)
- Update the thread with the list of all previous comps with the #156 winners. (would need to be done by OP or convince some moderator to do it UNLESS we make it a wiki page so anyone with a wiki login can edit it -- this seems like the only weak point to the revised format plan  )


Scott

[jasonbar]

My only input is to not repeat games ever ever ever. We're at #156, & I have ~2200 unique titles on my cab, which is a relatively stripped down & cleaned set.

Just sayin'...

-Jason

[popsicle]

Agreed.  To further deter rule changes to allow repeats, I vow that my next pick will again be Mystic Marathon. 

[HanoiBoi]

I like the no repeats, which essentially introduces people to new games and hidden gems, but I would.suggest that we try to collectively build a list of remaining options. 

I have a hard time picking new games, and I've asked for suggestions before.  I don't feel that I can pick any that allow 99 credirs and continues, or anything that has controls beyond a joystick and buttons.

Something else to consider, which might attract more competitors would be points for 3rd place too., so maybe 3 for 1st, 2 for 2nd and 1 for 3rd. 

[popsicle]

I like the idea of points for 3rd place too.

Here are a few joystick/button only games that haven't been picked yet that I think would be good candidates:

Ripoff (co-op, but can be 1 player)
Wizard of Wor (same)
Demon (same)
Kicker
Kangaroo
Kamikaze
Space Zap
Road Fighter
Dream Shopper
Venture
Blue Print
Sky Diver
10-Yard Fight
Super Basketball

[kixfan]

I like the idea of points for 3rd place too.

Here are a few joystick/button only games that haven't been picked yet that I think would be good candidates:

Ripoff (co-op, but can be 1 player)
Wizard of Wor (same)
Demon (same)
Kicker
Kangaroo
Kamikaze
Space Zap
Road Fighter
Dream Shopper
Venture
Blue Print
Sky Diver
10-Yard Fight
Super Basketball

I thought somebody already picked space zap.   

Since you mentioned sky diver, don't forget about depth charge and Hustle.

Lots of games that haven't been picked yet!

[epetti]

I always thought not using coins or continues  was on the honor system. I don't think it should limit game choice. I do agree on just joystick and buttons for maximum accessibility. Also agree on adding a third  place. And maybe it would be handy to have a link at the top to a master  list of not picked good game choices. No, Space Zap is often spoken of but never picked. Just a few suggestions would be:

88 Games
1943
Action Hollywood
Asteroids
Battle Garegga
Boulderdash
Dodonpachi
Donkey Kong Jr
Galaxian
Head-on
Mars Matrix
Pac-mania
Pitfall II
R-Type
Raiden Fighters
Rainbow Islands
Space Invaders
The New Zealand Story
Zaxxon

[popsicle]

Really? Space Invaders, Galaxian, and Asteroids haven't been picked yet?   

[harveybirdman]

I have plenty of obscure game suggestions, but I am NEVER good enough to win these things 

[popsicle]

How about this : third place in each competition picks the next game.   

[HanoiBoi]

Space Invaders and Kangaroo were almost picked for this competition.

Asteroids scoring 'turns over', so pretty tough.

I'd be good with 3rd place picking next, BUT there's a risk that you end up with a casual member taking 3rd and would need to rely on them to post. 

Also, I wouldn't choose this in lieu of '1pt for 3rd' as that point is what might keep more people in the competitions through the year.

[popsicle]

Yes, keep the point for third also.  I thought maybe getting to pick as 3rd place might get more involved.  Maybe it doesn't matter.

We could also just say the third place winner chooses the next game and I could start each new thread. It will be easier without all the gobblygook on the page to copy.   I'll work on getting a high score competition rules/scoreboard thread started today.

[popsicle]

Perhaps there was a more covert way to get a consensus before I posted the new thread, but I did it anyway.  Let me know what you all think
High score competition rules/scoreboard

For one, it'll be easier to ctrl-f game titles in one place when picking a new one 

Jasonbar, you may wish to edit the Bronze Joystick thread to reflect the new scoring.

[epetti]

Looks good. I wonder if we can get that thread stickied. I assume if someone gets this twice in a row they keep picking? Otherwise we should make that clear in the rules.

[popsicle]

284

[popsicle]

I think since 3rd place picks instead of the winner, the same person picking twice in a row won't hurt anything.

[PL1]

I wonder if we can get that thread stickied.

Done.   


Scott

[jasonbar]

Jasonbar, you may wish to edit the Bronze Joystick thread to reflect the new scoring.

Done

[JDFan]

Anyone still trying this one ?? Haven't seen the comp thread fall to the second page in a while - So figured I'd bump it back up by updating with a new score --- 461

[kixfan]

177

[Comtek]

228

[kixfan]

265

[JDFan]

Figured since the first post doesn't have any score updates and we're on the final day Here's a standings update (If I missed any let me know) :

JDFan        461
popsicle      284
kixfan         265
Comtek      228
bfauska       148
jasonbar      133

[JDFan]

Just a suggestion - while discussing Rule changes for this year -- we might want to also ensure that the person who selects the game for each competition (Guess it is now the third place finisher in the previous competition) be responsible to check into the thread every few days during the 2 week period to update the score standings (since they are the only ones that can modify the first post !)  and also at the end of that two week competition post the Final standings in the first post and mention who's turn it is to select the next game ( And also send them a PM to notify them it is their turn to pick for the next competition) - so that we can get the next game selected rather than wait a few days to decide who is going to pick it and then a few more days to post the next competition 

[kixfan]

So I guess it's my turn.   So that others can start, my pick is SPACE ZAP, really, no backing out this time!   So, what do I need to do to start a competition thread now?    Also, maybe there could be a hard limit on the wait, so that if someone does not pick something within say 48 hours it moves to 2nd position?

[popsicle]

1. Start a new thread in the main section called 'Hi score competition #157 : Space Zap'.
2. Add this link to the High Score Competition Rules and Scoreboard somewhere near the top.
3. Cut and paste a short description of the game, it's controls, some screen shots of gameplay and perhaps a cabinet pic from online.

Geez, I think that's it actually.  I'll add a link to it on the rules thread when you get it set up. 

[HanoiBoi]

Hey, sorry I wasn't active in the competition and delinquent in updating scores.  Just a bunch going on in the real life.  Time certainly flew in the past few weeks.

Some really super scores there guys.  Congrats to the top 3 scorers!

[JDFan]

Hey, sorry I wasn't active in the competition and delinquent in updating scores.  Just a bunch going on in the real life.  Time certainly flew in the past few weeks.

Some really super scores there guys.  Congrats to the top 3 scorers!

No problem -- I meant to post some along the way also but kept forgetting - just figured we might want to put something in the rules to mention it so it might get done on some of them and figured having the person posting the competition E-mail the 3rd place finisher might get the new game posted quicker than waiting for them to notice on their own !