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Author Topic: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?  (Read 5583 times)

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javeryh

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Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« on: April 08, 2021, 10:10:42 am »
I've been playing a lot of Pac-Man recently and I stink at it.  I've always known about patterns but never took the time to memorize them so today I started looking for tips online and I noticed that all of the patterns get you to a certain point and then say "improvise" to finish the level.  They aren't going for ghosts, just trying to clear levels. 

I had thought that the WR score meant eating all ghosts, fruits and dots on all 255 levels but the patterns do not account for this.  Am I missing something?  Have any of you gone for Pac-Man high scores?

Vigo

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2021, 10:35:11 am »
Not a competitive player by any means, but I have had competitions with friends for high scores. If I did well, I generally got a HS edge by going for ghosts when there is enough time to get all 4 on the board, that multiplier makes a difference. Pretty quickly the pellets become useless for more than a ghost or two, and at that point I always felt it was more of a risk than a benefit baiting them in to try to eat them and clearing more boards would net a better score.

Phreakwars

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2021, 03:52:06 pm »
Patterns are really the key up until around the 9th or 10th key. My son can flip it (999,990) and play till he just gets bored.



I would also recommend playing the speed up version to improve reflexes, here's my boy back when he was like 12, you'll kind of notice his pattern if you watch close, but he does deviate a bit.



Gilrock

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2021, 04:02:23 pm »
Whenever I've tried the "patterns" I've found online they did not work in Mame.  I figured it was because if the emulation isn't exact it will mess up any patterns.

negative1

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2021, 05:25:07 pm »
there are patterns where you eat ghosts, look on youtube for 'perfect' patterns.
most are from david race or jamey pittman.

you might also want to learn to group ghosts, to get the maximum points per level:


i've hit the killscreen several times (not perfect games), using 2 basic patterns,
apple pattern and 9th key pattern.

i've played to 7.1 million on the xbox 360, which is the highest recorded score for any pac-man,
(since they fixed the killscreen). the arcade one tops out at 3.3 million. theres a 12 million point
score, but its by a hacker.

there's nothing wrong with Pac-man in MAME, all the patterns work just fine there also.

good luck.

later
-1


pbj

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2021, 05:45:19 pm »
I’m just saying.... if you get flown to Japan.... and miss a ghost or two.... I really doubt you’re gonna admit it to the crowd standing around....

I’ve watched a couple of Twitch streams and remain unconvinced anyone’s gotten a perfect game.


Haze

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2021, 06:50:16 pm »
Whenever I've tried the "patterns" I've found online they did not work in Mame.  I figured it was because if the emulation isn't exact it will mess up any patterns.

the arcade patterns work, and have worked since 1996/97

the emulation improvements in Pac-Man have been significant, but they're not ones to affect game logic, unlike many Taito games for example.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2021, 07:29:55 pm »
Well I'd be glad to look at a comparison video.  I don't usually just go on word of mouth.  Anyways I just bought a real Pacman so when I fix the main board I'll be able to do my own comparisons.

javeryh

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2021, 09:04:24 pm »
OK now I know for sure I’m really really really bad at Pac-Man.  Those grouping videos are crazy.  I found a site that has patterns but there is a lot to memorize...

bobbyb13

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2021, 09:56:35 pm »
I may be able to beat everybody in the house at all these old games I love but I REALLY suck at all of them.
Any score I get is from (dwindling) reflexes and luck.

I remember watching people play Pac-man BITD and thinking to myself...

"How many quarters has that guy burned through to figure those patterns out?!"

Now of course I want to look up these You-tube "hints" at looking like I know what the hell I am doing.
 >:D
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2021, 11:42:51 pm »
Don't forget to get that hiding spot down. I have that perfected. Back in the day it was great for bathroom breaks but of course now a days you just press the pause button. It still comes in handy though. Lets you rethink the board a little bit while the ghosts go through their programmed routine. That trick has always been in MAME as well, here I am performing it like 10 years ago:

P.S. Billy Mitchell can ---display unending love for my bottom---. First to get to the kill screen?? HE WISHES!!

« Last Edit: April 08, 2021, 11:47:28 pm by Phreakwars »

Phreakwars

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2021, 11:59:29 pm »
I’m just saying.... if you get flown to Japan.... and miss a ghost or two.... I really doubt you’re gonna admit it to the crowd standing around....

I’ve watched a couple of Twitch streams and remain unconvinced anyone’s gotten a perfect game.

A perfect game would take alot of breaks. I don't care what anybody says, nobody has the endurance to just keep playing and playing. Damn joystick gets sweaty, wrists start to hurt, even blisters if you're into slamming that stick. I've gotten perfect, but I sure as hell didn't do it in one sitting. I'd either pause for a while and come back, or just use the hiding spot and take a breather and shake the hand a bit to loosen it up.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #12 on: April 09, 2021, 03:32:02 am »
I’m just saying.... if you get flown to Japan.... and miss a ghost or two.... I really doubt you’re gonna admit it to the crowd standing around....

I’ve watched a couple of Twitch streams and remain unconvinced anyone’s gotten a perfect game.

I just never understood the golden age mentality of playing for a high score.   Why?   You are playing the same level over and over with an uptake in difficulty and minor deviations in item placement.  That's just not a fun time in my book.  Thank god Super Mario Bros. came to be and now we play games to either defeat a human opponent or get to an entirely new level to see what comes next.   Gaming isn't about high scores, it's about the narrative, be that the narrative of the game itself or the narrative you create while completing it.  I absolutely understand the concept of wanting to improve at a game but not to ridiculous levels to where it ceases being fun.   

negative1

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #13 on: April 09, 2021, 02:46:49 pm »
I’ve watched a couple of Twitch streams and remain unconvinced anyone’s gotten a perfect game.

i'm involved in the classic gaming community, there are plenty of complete videos on youtube
of people getting a perfect pac-man, some do it for charity every year. look up david race,
donald hayes, david cruz, and others. it's not that rare. most take about 4-5 hours to do it.

david race has the record for the fastest perfect pac-man.

OK now I know for sure I’m really really really bad at Pac-Man.  Those grouping videos are crazy.  I found a site that has patterns but there is a lot to memorize...

no there is not a lot to memorize. you only need 2 patterns. the 'apple' pattern will get you from
the 5th board, all the way until the 8th key (with a few changes near the end).


(sound is out of sync)

then you need the 9th key pattern for board 21-256. that's it. i used 'stacked'



grouping is also better, because you don't need to memorize anything, just the method on how to do it.






later
-1

« Last Edit: April 09, 2021, 02:55:06 pm by negative1 »

negative1

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #14 on: April 09, 2021, 02:50:41 pm »

A perfect game would take alot of breaks. I don't care what anybody says, nobody has the endurance to just keep playing and playing. Damn joystick gets sweaty, wrists start to hurt, even blisters if you're into slamming that stick. I've gotten perfect, but I sure as hell didn't do it in one sitting. I'd either pause for a while and come back, or just use the hiding spot and take a breather and shake the hand a bit to loosen it up.

not really, david race has perfected his patterns to do it in the fastest time possible with little to no breaks.

5 hours isn't much. i take longer than that to hit the killscreen, but i don't play perfectly, so that would take me
even longer.

for comparsion the 17 million joust score i got took 9 hours, no breaks. 7.1 million pac-man, about 9 hours no breaks.
centipede 1 million (and quit) takes about 6 hours no breaks, millipede 10 million 7 hours no breaks.

now, i am playing at home, in the comfort of my own house, using stools, chairs, or even lying down, so its not
really that tiring.

later
-1

javeryh

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #15 on: April 09, 2021, 03:00:37 pm »
no there is not a lot to memorize. you only need 2 patterns. the 'apple' pattern will get you from
the 5th board, all the way until the 8th key (with a few changes near the end).

then you need the 9th key pattern for board 21-256. that's it.

yeah but how do you get to the 5th board?

pbj

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #16 on: April 09, 2021, 03:19:38 pm »
i'm involved in the classic gaming community,

Like... where in the actual ---fudgesicle--- do you think you are right now? 

 :applaud:


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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #17 on: April 09, 2021, 03:24:45 pm »
i'm involved in the classic gaming community,

Like... where in the actual ---fudgesicle--- do you think you are right now? 

 :applaud:
Yeah, aren’t we all?


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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #18 on: April 09, 2021, 03:26:58 pm »
Yeah how can I get involved in the classic gaming community?  Does it require a minimum number of Arcade1Ups?

Vigo

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #19 on: April 09, 2021, 05:00:28 pm »
Yeah, but this site allows on unrefined plebs like me who attempt to play pac-man by dodging ghosts.

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Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #20 on: April 09, 2021, 05:15:24 pm »
Yeah, but this site allows on unrefined plebs like me who attempt to play pac-man by dodging ghosts.
Bruh, if you’re not chasing hi scorez, are you really classic bideo gaming?


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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #21 on: April 09, 2021, 07:51:53 pm »
i'm involved in the classic gaming community,

Like... where in the actual ---fudgesicle--- do you think you are right now? 

 :applaud:

this is a site where people argue about things that aren't important, and
make dumb jokes a lot about things that aren't related.

oh, and building arcade controls.

there's very little game playing going on here.

the high score table is dated, and not updated,
the high score challenges have stopped.

people don't really care about the games. they just want to show off what they built.

which is fine, and thats the purpose of this board too.

later
-1

negative1

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #22 on: April 09, 2021, 07:54:52 pm »
no there is not a lot to memorize. you only need 2 patterns. the 'apple' pattern will get you from
the 5th board, all the way until the 8th key (with a few changes near the end).

then you need the 9th key pattern for board 21-256. that's it.

yeah but how do you get to the 5th board?

you can easily clear the first 4 boards.

head to an energizer. clear out dots around area, and head
to another energizer (there are 4 total). repeat until board is cleared making
sure you eat all the dots near there. avoid eating any ghosts.

do that 4 times, and you will be on the 5th board.

later
-1

Howard_Casto

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #23 on: April 09, 2021, 08:06:09 pm »
i'm involved in the classic gaming community,

Like... where in the actual ---fudgesicle--- do you think you are right now? 

 :applaud:

this is a site where people argue about things that aren't important, and
make dumb jokes a lot about things that aren't related.

oh, and building arcade controls.

there's very little game playing going on here.

the high score table is dated, and not updated,
the high score challenges have stopped.

people don't really care about the games. they just want to show off what they built.

which is fine, and thats the purpose of this board too.

later
-1

I'm in contact with a lot of these guys on a daily basis and I assure you, everyone is playing games constantly.  We just play to enjoy ourselves though and a lot of us don't feel the need to advertise it.  Nothing wrong with doing so, I'm just saying don't assume you know things.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #24 on: April 09, 2021, 08:27:29 pm »
Imagine being so unpopular that you get pushed to your own sub forum.

Imagine that sub forum being so unpopular we wake up our asleep at the wheel site owner to install an “ignore sub forum” option.

 :applaud:

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #25 on: April 09, 2021, 08:53:26 pm »
Well I'm going to admit it if nobody else does. I find PacMan boring as hell after about 5 minutes.

Pacman is a metaphor for being trapped in modern life with themes of consumerism, avoiding problems rather than facing them, hopelessness and drug dependency. You run around a maze trying to eat as many pills as you can, while the ghosts chase you. Occasionally you get to eat a power-pill and then get your revenge on the ghosts, but they are never gone for very long.

There seems to be an opportunity for escape from this cycle by going off-screen, but you just come back in on the other side. You hope that by eating all the pills you can break out, but the pattern just repeats again. You spend most of your time running away and avoiding your problems, popping pills for short-term advantage, occasionally going aggro at everything in sight. Escape is impossible, you are trapped in modern life. "Despite all your rage you are still just a rat in a cage".

I'm not trying to make an argument, it is only a game, definitely a classic. Just one way of looking at it ;)
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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #26 on: April 09, 2021, 11:10:33 pm »
Pacman is a metaphor for being trapped in modern life with themes of consumerism, avoiding problems rather than facing them, hopelessness and drug dependency.

Quote
I'm not trying to make an argument, it is only a game

Hmm, seems you are making that argument to yourself. Makes me wonder what people do with their lives that they have to make a twisted cynical metaphor out of nothing.

It's pacman, I've played it for going on 40 years, played competitive in the 80's and passed the tips and tricks down to my son with Autism who has mastered the game to the point that it's no longer a challenge, it's a time consumer. Just like any other game really, it's a time consumer. I never understand how people get anything else out of it then that. Just like any game, you can either practice and get real good at it on the high score, or the screens cleared or both.

i'm involved in the classic gaming community,

Like... where in the actual ---fudgesicle--- do you think you are right now? 

 :applaud:
I KNOW, RIGHT!!
« Last Edit: April 09, 2021, 11:13:52 pm by Phreakwars »

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #27 on: April 09, 2021, 11:47:00 pm »
Pacman is a metaphor for being trapped in modern life with themes of consumerism, avoiding problems rather than facing them, hopelessness and drug dependency.

Quote
I'm not trying to make an argument, it is only a game

Hmm, seems you are making that argument to yourself. Makes me wonder what people do with their lives that they have to make a twisted cynical metaphor out of nothing.

Maybe you're right. Perhaps too much philosophy for breakfast. Still, I must think of something while soldering capacitors onto this latest batch of GreenAntz.

Pacman is much more than nothing. We talk about it and it creates shared experience, entwined relationships, quantum entanglement of a kind. You demonstrate your passion for the game. That is very real.

I don't hate Pacman, it will always have a place on my games list. I just won't play it myself that much.

okidoki, back to capacitors...
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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #28 on: April 10, 2021, 12:35:18 am »
pac-man is a great game... for about 10 minutes.... then it's time to play something else.   It doesn't mean that you can't go right back in tomorrow but short bursts seem to keep that game more fun.   Hey I'm not shaming people for playing it a lot though.... I don't understand it, but there's nothing wrong with it as long as you are having fun.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #29 on: April 10, 2021, 10:01:43 am »
no there is not a lot to memorize. you only need 2 patterns. the 'apple' pattern will get you from
the 5th board, all the way until the 8th key (with a few changes near the end).

then you need the 9th key pattern for board 21-256. that's it.

yeah but how do you get to the 5th board?

you can easily clear the first 4 boards.

head to an energizer. clear out dots around area, and head
to another energizer (there are 4 total). repeat until board is cleared making
sure you eat all the dots near there. avoid eating any ghosts.

do that 4 times, and you will be on the 5th board.

later
-1
I guess I need to practice.  I suppose if I didn’t try for ghosts it would be easier but then my score suffers.  I’m up to 53,000 now LOL


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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #30 on: April 10, 2021, 11:24:09 am »
I’m up to 53,000 now LOL

Makes you a bloody legend at the game in my books  :cheers:
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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #31 on: April 10, 2021, 09:04:35 pm »
no there is not a lot to memorize. you only need 2 patterns. the 'apple' pattern will get you from
the 5th board, all the way until the 8th key (with a few changes near the end).

then you need the 9th key pattern for board 21-256. that's it.

yeah but how do you get to the 5th board?

you can easily clear the first 4 boards.

head to an energizer. clear out dots around area, and head
to another energizer (there are 4 total). repeat until board is cleared making
sure you eat all the dots near there. avoid eating any ghosts.

do that 4 times, and you will be on the 5th board.

later
-1
I guess I need to practice.  I suppose if I didn’t try for ghosts it would be easier but then my score suffers.  I’m up to 53,000 now LOL


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very good, keep at it. if you notice, the ghosts will respond to you the same way as your movements dictate.
(When they are blue, they take random turns at intersections).

the thing is, the more boards you clear, the higher the fruit prizes are so that you make up for lost points, kind of.

yes, i still die on they cherry board, and strawberry board, i did that yesterday. sheesh.

also, set it to easy, 5 men, extra at 10,000 to give you a little more breathing room.

keep at it. you are getting there.

------------------------------------
to me, pac-man is more like a 'zen' thing, once you start doing the 9th key pattern, it's almost like
your mind subconsciously takes over, in doing the movements. or at least thats what it feels like to me.
or maybe it's muscle memory. repeating something hundreds of times.

it can be very relaxing once you get into a groove. boring to watch, but when you mess up the timing,
(which i do several times), it's always fun trying to recover.

later
-1
« Last Edit: April 10, 2021, 09:08:07 pm by negative1 »

bobbyb13

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #32 on: April 10, 2021, 11:28:28 pm »
I'll have to fire up the cocktail cab tonight and confirm that I am probably no better at it now than I was in 1980.

Probably the most time I spent playing it was at the roller skating rink during couples skate sessions when us plebes without chicks got kicked off the floor.

I recall my 10 year old brain thinking that learning a pattern to play it would take the fun out of it.

Couldn't even say what food bonus round I ever got to at the moment.
Still really fun to play- even when you suck.
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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #33 on: April 11, 2021, 01:57:03 am »
I recall my 10 year old brain thinking that learning a pattern to play it would take the fun out of it.

Friend of mine once said being good at arcade games is just learning patterns and I got all offended. But to at least some extent he was right. Some games are all about patterns. Other games might involve less patterns or more randomness, but the patterns are still there.
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bobbyb13

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #34 on: April 11, 2021, 02:58:33 am »
I recall my 10 year old brain thinking that learning a pattern to play it would take the fun out of it.

Friend of mine once said being good at arcade games is just learning patterns and I got all offended. But to at least some extent he was right. Some games are all about patterns. Other games might involve less patterns or more randomness, but the patterns are still there.

Good point.  Would be interesting to see what games involve enough random generation of stuff to have no discernible patterns.

I'm happy that I enjoying playing without being good at any of them!
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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #35 on: April 13, 2021, 11:09:49 am »
Pacman and the patterns with mame sent me down a hell of a rabbit hole.. The lack of consistency drove me nuts, well, it drove me to a MiSTer, which was a freaking godsend.. Then I started messing with 4 way sticks.. Then a monitor vs TV..  It got freaking expensive, but it has been a wild ride..

Gilrock, I would suggest if you want to use Mame, get the latest GroovyMAME with your favorite 4 way stick and a CRT if you can or an LCD with 1ms type of delay and compare it to the exact same setup with a MiSTer..

2 weeks ago I simply could not stand to play Pacman on my mame cab, it just pissed me off, that said I had it connected with KE72 keyboard encoder, running regular Mame on a slightly older TV via VGA, no matter what joystick I used, it simply did not compare to playing in on the MiSTer with a good 4 way stick, now however, I am using groovymame .227, good 4 way stick connected via a Jpac and a Asus ProArt PA248QV. It's a 24.1" IPS panel monitor I have rotated vertically and connect via HDMI, this setup is as close to the MiSTer as I could produce, I no longer hate playing Pacman on Mame..

I have not ever made it to a kill screen, but it is a goal now, I for sure want one day to have my MiSTer attached to a real CRT using the upcoming MiSTercade and making a run, in the meantime I can play pretty well on 3 different setups, the previously described Mame setup and a MiSTer attached via HDMI to a I-INC 28" rotated vertically and I can also grab the MiSTer and attach it to the Mame setup and play like that.. The 4th way, which will happen in a few weeks will be using a BitKit and a CGAtoVGA board attached to the Asus monitor. When I rewired my arcade cabinet with a JPac, I set it up so I can use it on a computer or use it with an arcade power supply and the CGAtoVGA converter and a Jamma board, pretty happy with the results, it has taken a lot of time and effort but it has been worth it.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #36 on: April 23, 2021, 12:47:33 am »
a little more theory and strategy of why the ghosts behave the way they do:



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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #37 on: April 23, 2021, 09:12:45 am »
Watched that video.. It is helpful for sure.. I put up 650k yesterday, new high for me.. The MiSTer had an update for that core which added the ability to pause the game, was able to play during the day when I took a break, kind of relaxing..

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #38 on: April 23, 2021, 10:30:09 am »
The lack of consistency drove me nuts, well, it drove me to a MiSTer, which was a freaking godsend.. Then I started messing with 4 way sticks.. Then a monitor vs TV..  It got freaking expensive, but it has been a wild ride..

I think this is why I stopped.  My set up is MAME and I am doing the patterns exactly like they should be done - cornering properly, etc. but sometimes I'm off and sometimes I get the desired result where the ghosts line up, etc.  There's no rhyme or reason to it and the only think I can think of is that my refresh rate is slightly off so it makes the game play slightly off too.

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Re: Pac-Man Strategy: Just Eat Dots or Ghosts too?
« Reply #39 on: April 23, 2021, 09:09:29 pm »
There was a book published ages ago on how to play the game.

Google for "break a million at pacman" and you can get the pdf.

I'm not a great player, I don't have the concentration for it. But the first 4 levels are pretty easy, not much of a challenge.