Calling all Donkey Kong Masters!

[TheShanMan]

OK, so all my life Donkey Kong has been my favorite game, but all my life I have been able to reach the 3rd elevator stage (100m) and I get no further (except the rare lucky instance). I have just never been able to figure out the double springs. I've searched online for tips and the tips I find either don't specifically talk about the 100m elevator level or else the tip simply doesn't work (unless I don't know how to interpret). Here's an example that I just tried tonight for a while using the unlimited lives cheat, which for the life of me just seems to be wrong information. From arcade-history.com:

4) Climb the ladder onto the girder that Donkey Kong is standing on and don't move. Mario will be right on the edge of that girder. The Springs will get very close to Mario (basically shaving his nose) but they won't hit him.
5) When a Spring basically scrapes Mario's nose, take off running toward the ladder to the platform with Pauline. This trick will require some timing. Run a little past that ladder then immediately turn around and go up the ladder. If this trick is done correctly, Mario will follow the Spring that just bounced over him and beat the Spring right behind it. This trick works on the later levels even when the Springs are 'double-jumping'.

So, I'm sure there are plenty here in BYOAC who know the trick and can explain it well. I'm begging you to help me master this! Yes, I realize that my admission about my favorite game means I suck at arcade games (if I can't master my favorite, how good can I be at others!?!), but I'm on a quest to get better here.

Oh, and I wouldn't want to take without giving back, so I'll give a tip that I have never seen given, nor has anyone known that I've come across. I'm sure there are others out there that know it, but it at least seems to be one of the lesser known tips! It's a variant of the rivet level "jump over DK's toe for free points" tip, but it doesn't require you to get dangerously close to him. All you do is stand so that you're touching the thin post that holds up the girder above DK (the post on the right), jump, and while in mid-air, tap the joystick to the right. No danger yet you get pts for every jump.

EDIT: I went through this entire thread, extracted all tips and techniques, organized them, and posted them in the ning community that Jeff Rothe set up, in the DK group there. Become a Donkey Kong Master! - Tips and techniques for reaching 100,000 and beyond!

[CrazyKongFan]

You need to get the movie "King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters" They explain the 3rd elevators on there, with one of the guys (Steve Wiebe) even drawing the bouncing pattern on the monitor bezel and showing when to run. It's still a really tough move and I haven't been able to do it reliably.

[TOK]

This is where the MAME save state can help you. Get to that point with a couple of guys and do a save state. You can then practice the level all you want without playing through the game every time.

I never did this on DK, but I did it on a bootleg called Congorilla (its what the corner deli had!). There were two spots that were safe. You had to get to the first one, which is described in the text you attached, then count the springs while listening to the sound they made (they had an overlapping sound effect that was distinctive). When it got to the right point you ran inward toward Kong (Congorilla?), then counted the sounds/springs again before running out to the ladder.

Congorilla was WAY easier than DK though. I could get 160k on Congorilla regularly. Not sure I've ever broken 100k on DK.

[CrazyKongFan]

If Congorilla is the same as Crazy Kong (which I believe it is), the 3rd Elevator level is really easy, because only 2 springs ever appear at the same time. That gives you enough of a gap to make it up the ladder without too much difficulty. On DK, there's 3 springs on the screen at any given time (not counting the start of the level). Also, the 3rd elevator on DK (US version) is actually the equivalent of the 4th on CK, due to the way the levels are set up (if you play the Japanese version of DK, the levels are arranged the same as CK, so the 4th elevator is the really hard one)

[jilted]

have you watched any vids on youtube?

[TheShanMan]

Thanks guys!

You need to get the movie "King of Kong: A Fistfull of Quarters" They explain the 3rd elevators on there, with one of the guys (Steve Wiebe) even drawing the bouncing pattern on the monitor bezel and showing when to run. It's still a really tough move and I haven't been able to do it reliably.

I moved King of Kong to the top of my queue.

This is where the MAME save state can help you. Get to that point with a couple of guys and do a save state. You can then practice the level all you want without playing through the game every time.

Great idea.

have you watched any vids on youtube?

I'll have to watch that video a bunch of times (is it just me or is it missing sound?) - looks like it could be very helpful.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Try this, Steve Weibe of KING OF KONG recommends it!

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76983.0


My score is up to 122100 now.

Got up to the 4th elevator/springs stage, Died on it.   


Unlimited lives cheat ?   Im taking it,  That's a MAME feature ??

[Ginsu Victim]

Buckethead:
Look at that thread. ShanMan already knows about it...

[ediblegod]

Thanks Buckethead!!!
I've been looking for a copy of "How to win at Donkey Kong" forever!

[Donkey_Kong]

Sounds like the cheat.dat mixed with the save state TOK mentioned would be a good mix for conquering the harder stages.

I've done the mame cheat for infinite lives and it's good practice, but when you start out you have to go through all of the easy levels, not soo bad of a deal either I guess.

Oh, and by doing the cheat I was able to get good enough that when I turned the cheat off I could finally make it past the 3rd & 4th elevator stages playing a "factory setting" game. Starting with 3 lives etc...

I also used the hints in the book posted above and Steve Wiebe's tricks from the DVD K.O.K, which were very helpful.

 

[BUCKETHEAD]

Oh?  My bad!  Sorry Guys!

[Bender]

ShanMan,

I understand your frustration it has taken me quite a long time and a lot of experimentation to get past that board! (I wish I'd seen that video posted above, that's exactly how I do it)
I've gotten to 278,500 and can get past the elevator board now pretty easily now

here is an explanation of how get past the 4th and all subsequent elevator boards

1. climb the latter to where Donkey Kong is and move forward a few steps, practice this till you know how far you can go toward DK without getting hit by any spring
2. watch the springs hit the girder near DK's feet when the one that lands the farthest to left of the screen hits run toward DK and stop on top of the second elevator(the one closest to you, you are safe here)
3. turn and face away from DK and edge forward toward the latter and practice till you find out how far to you can go without getting hit by any spring
4. this is the tricky part (you cannot count springs they are random!!!) if you watch really closely you will see that the springs land not only short medium and long but there are quite a few variations, the trick is to be patient. One will hit the very far right edge of the first elevator top (the yellow thing) if you run towards the latter at that moment you can make it. That same spring should scrape your nose just as you get to the latter. Some times you will make it with some space sometimes the next spring scrapes your ass, but I can do about 90% of the time now and when I die it's cause my timing was off
id does take quite a bit of practice, but it's worth it not to dread that board any more!

Now does anyone know how to avoid the random barrels?
that's whats been killing me

let us know if it works for you
if it's not clear, maybe I' can make a video for you

good luck, and keep on climbin'

Bender

[TheShanMan]

More helpful advice. Thanks guys! I know I'll master it now.

BucketHead: If you're not already familiar with cheats, you download the cheats.dat database (google it), put it in your mame directory, enable cheats in mame (mameui has a checkbox for this in the game properties dialog), and then in the game you do the TAB menu and go to cheats. The cheats vary from game to game, like infinite lives, infinite credits, and invincibility (try invincibility on the elevator level! if you land on the bottom girder the elevators and springs stop, and then the elevators become intermittent after that - very strange!). I generally don't like to use cheats unless I'm trying to practice something specific. The only other game I've used a cheat for is marble madness to get infinite time, essentially making it a practice game.

Yeah, I had that book as a kid, but it says nothing helpful to say about 100m elevators though!

P.S. Anyone else try the tip I gave? Or already know about it?

[Bender]

P.S. Anyone else try the tip I gave? Or already know about it?

already knew that one, I couldn't figure it out, when I first saw Steve Wiebe do I though he had a bad CPU or something, then some kind and very clever soul (you know who you are) let me in on it. Pretty neat, not too useful past the 4th level as the time speeds up so it's equal to the points you make by doing that trick.
Oh yeah, I found that it works other places too, if your next to a fire ball that can't get you(like just the other side of a removed rivet) you can get some points while waiting for it to move

[TheShanMan]

Cool! I look forward to seeing him do it when we get the dvd. I've been doing that one since I was a kid.

[Farb]

I found a wired.com article that talks about Steve Wiebe's strategy for the third elevator stage. I archived it on my blog here:

http://www.farbish.com/forums/blog.php?b=60

I've found it to be pretty reliable.

->Dan

[BUCKETHEAD]

On The King of Kong DVD bonus features.

The director puts Steve Weibe and Billy Mitchell"s game play side by side.

For you to watch.

As impressive as Steve Weibe's game play is.

Billy Mitchell's was just an absolute pleasure to watch!

Despite what people think of him? He's an awesome gamer!

[Singapura]

Despite what people think of him? He's an awesome gamer!

Mitchell also makes me embarrassed to tell others that I like to play classic video games. Wiebe has at least a sense of normalcy and doesn't look like he has webbed feet and lives in a trailer park with his mom who is also his grandmother. 

[CrazyKongFan]

One thing to keep in mind, the people doing the movie edited the footage to make Billy look like the bad guy. Not to say one guy is bad and one guy is good, but the sequence that things happen in the movie isn't the same as they actually occurred on certain events. Walter Day talked about this during a presentation about Twin Galaxies at the Midwest Gaming Classic in Oconomowoc WI back in March.

Oh, and to keep this on topic of DK, I played one yesterday and had my best game. The thing was set to 6 men, so I was able to play a little longer due to that, but I got to level 8, and I successfully did 4 or 5 of the "3rd elevator" levels, without losing a life on any of them. (most of my deaths were on the barrel levels, with I think one  death on a rivet level). I don't remember my final score, but it was around 220-230K

[Spacejack]

While it's true that Mitchell's behavior was "enhanced" for the movie, nothing that came out of his mouth came from anywhere but him.

[Lutus]

My top score is 204,000 so I am not really a MASTER, more like an apprentice.  But here are some helpful hints of hours of playing this fun game.

Barrel stage -

If you are going for point pressing you are going to HAVE to get the bottom hammer.  Stand just to the left of the bottom hammer and jump barrels as they come down.  Once the screen is full of barrels, grab the hammer and run between the two left ladders on this platform.  "Control" the barrels to come down the right ladder of these two ladders and smash them from the left side.  But watch out that you don't stand DIRECTLY beneath Kong in case he throws a straight down wild barrel.  Make your way up the ladder (usually the RIGHT one) when the coast is clear.  Control barrels on the upper platforms to make it clear.  Now you are on the middle platform.  Climb up the center ladder.  Now you are on the platform with  the two ladders below Kong and a broken ladder on the right side.  Control the barrels to go down the broken ladder to make it clear for you to climb up either ladder.  While under Kong, don't stand directly beneath him.  Grab the hammer and make your way to the right side of the screen and stand on the right side of the top right ladder.  Eventually your hammer will run out.  Don't panic, keep controlling the barrels to go down the far right ladder and eventually the timing will be such that when you send a barrel down the ladder next to you, a barrel will go down the ladder right by Kong.  When this happens, climb the ladder (easily since Kong's barrel went right down the ladder next to him).



I wrote this particular stage since people were saying they died on this stage fairly often.

[CrazyKongFan]

Yeah, I definitely need to practice my barrel manipulation on the Barrel level. I feel pretty confident in the "3rd elevator" now after my last game, and usually can do pretty good on the Conveyorbelt level. The problem is, it can be so random (with him throwing them down on you), and you have to do that screen 3 times per level once you get past level 3.

[Lutus]

There are only like 4 or 5 wild barrel patterns.  After seeing enough of them you will know the danger spots.

Barrel manipulation is pretty easy, but not 100% by any means.

Remember, you can manipulate barrels while climbing ladders and while jumping.

When climbing a ladder (with a 4-way joystick) stop moving up and then press either right or left like you were walking and you can control barrels that way.  Also, will in the air jumping, press right or left like you were walking and you can control them that way.

Side note:

Sometimes when jumping straight up over a barrell the game will give you no points.  To combat that, jump straight up and press either right or left while in the air and you will get the points.  It is the same principle as jumping by Kong's foot and getting 100 points each jump.

[Spyridon]

"Control" the barrels to come down the right ladder of these two ladders and smash them from the left side. 

How do you "Control" the barrels?

[Lutus]

Barrel control 101-

Basically the gameboard looks at your current "Jumpman" position (which level girder you are on) and your direction of travel.

If a barrel is on the girder above you and you are walking toward a ladder (from either side) when the barrel rolls over the ladder it will go down that ladder.

That is a simple explanation.  Sometimes timing of when you begin walking towards the ladder matters.  Time it so that you make Jumpman walk towards the ladder JUST before the barrel makes it to the top of that ladder and it will come down it.

Have you noticed that when you are trying to run past a ladder it seems a barrel ALWAYS comes down that ladder?  This is why

If you watch any video of some of the high scoring players you will see Jumpman move left and right in rapid movements.  That is because they are controlling barrels sometimes 2 or 3 girders above their current position.  I hope that makes since.

[Spyridon]

Thanks for the barrel lesson.  I'll experiment tonight.

[TheShanMan]

BENDER!!! You are DA MAN! That youtube video helped too, but you provided all the necessary info. Following those steps it really isn't hard at all (you have to be good at timing if you can get to elevator 100m anyway). My high score in one shot went from around 88,000 to 106,100!

Next I'll have to learn to control barrels. Man, in the barrel stage following elevator 100m that fireball sure zips up to the top FAST. You can't dilly-dally on that level. He almost got me while I was waiting for a chance to go up the ladder next to the upper hammer.

[Bender]

BENDER!!! You are DA MAN! That youtube video helped too, but you provided all the necessary info. Following those steps it really isn't hard at all (you have to be good at timing if you can get to elevator 100m anyway). My high score in one shot went from around 88,000 to 106,100!

Next I'll have to learn to control barrels. Man, in the barrel stage following elevator 100m that fireball sure zips up to the top FAST. You can't dilly-dally on that level. He almost got me while I was waiting for a chance to go up the ladder next to the upper hammer.

Glad I could help!

That board was the bane of my existence for a long long time!

There are only like 4 or 5 wild barrel patterns.  After seeing enough of them you will know the danger spots.

My experience is a little different I find that there are many more random barrel paths and although it appears sometimes that it is a pattern I find that it is dependent on where jumpman is and where and when he's moving (the exception is the straight down barrel)

I made a drawing of where the barrels fell and it covered  the whole screen except the very top right hand corner (the only place where you are safe from random barrels)
what 'd like to figure out is exactly how to control the random barrels

[Spyridon]

Try this, Steve Weibe of KING OF KONG recommends it!

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=76983.0


My score is up to 122100 now.

Got up to the 4th elevator/springs stage, Died on it.   

I followed the pattern in the book on the rivit stage and it never works. 

[TheShanMan]

I followed the pattern in the book on the rivit stage and it never works. 

Yeah, I never followed the book's advice on the rivet stage (at least not fully). I first take care of the left side (I think this part is identical to the book IIRC). I go up the left side, get the bottom left rivet, jump back to the left, get the 2nd from the top, go up and get the top, then go down to get the lower hammer and finish off the rivets on the left side. And when you kill with the hammer, be sure to quickly get to the right half of the screen so the fireballs come out on the left (ultimately you want to trap them all on the left side). Then on the right side I get the 2nd from the bottom, go down and get the bottom, then get up to the upper hammer and (hopefully) kill whatever fireballs aren't trapped on the left. Get the rivet on that stage, then go up for the last rivet.

On earlier rivet levels when the bonus countdown is slower, you can use the free points trick I posted (or the DK foot trick) to get extra points until the bonus is down to 0, then clear the last rivet. Eventually that trick doesn't benefit you because the time counts down too quickly.

Hope that makes sense. I'm going off of memory since I'm at work, but I think I got it all right.

Note that the rivet levels are unpredictable. You will frequently need to deviate from it at least a little bit (always try to get back on track though).

[Spyridon]

Thanks for the barrel lesson.  I'll experiment tonight.

Thanks for the tips on barrel control.  I beat my high score twice last night.  I'm only up to 67,000 so I have a long way to go, but I'm getting there.

[Spyridon]

OK, so all my life Donkey Kong has been my favorite game, but all my life I have been able to reach the 3rd elevator stage

When you guys refer to the 3rd elevator stage, are you referring to the Level 3 elevators which is the second time you are on that screen, or do you mean the 3rd time you are on the elevator screen?

[Farb]

The third time you hit the elevator level (technically level 4 in the US version).

->Dan

[TheShanMan]

Yes, we're talking about 100m, which for the US version is the 3rd time you get there.

[massive88]

This is a great thread, last night I doubled my previous high with improved barrel control.  Still am a beginner though, but definitely am making headway.

Thanks for all the advice in here folks.

[Lutus]

There are only like 4 or 5 wild barrel patterns.  After seeing enough of them you will know the danger spots.


My experience is a little different I find that there are many more random barrel paths and although it appears sometimes that it is a pattern I find that it is dependent on where jumpman is and where and when he's moving (the exception is the straight down barrel)

I made a drawing of where the barrels fell and it covered  the whole screen except the very top right hand corner (the only place where you are safe from random barrels)
what 'd like to figure out is exactly how to control the random barrels

Yes, that is true and I should have specified it.  The direction and speed in which Kong throws the barrels is around 5 or 6 patterns BUT what you do after they bounce on the first girder will ultimately effect the outcome of the wild barrel pattern.

If a wild barrel makes it over, further right on the screen than jumpman currently is and jumpman begins to move to the left... the wild barrel will change course and try to follow jumpman.  I call these the CURVEBALLS.

BOMBS: when a barrel falls straight down from Kong, never bouncing and never slowing down.

ZIG-ZAG:   the MOST dangerous in my opinion.  This will bounce all OVER the place usually in a left to right, to left, to right pattern all the way down the screen.  If you plotted thier course, they would be a zigzag

WATERFALL:  this barrel pattern is almost always to the right of Kong.  He throws it most often when you are to the right of the top most ladder (by his foot) trying to get barrels to come down that ladder to smash with the top hammer.  They fly to the spot in between the two ladders on the top level (one by Kong's foot and the other ALL the way to the right).  They bounce here and continue down in an arc that rarely has its path coming back to the left like the CURVEBALLS do.

Those are the ones I see most often.   

[BUCKETHEAD]

With these great tips!

My score is now 129700

Thanks!  Lutus!   

[TheShanMan]

My score is now 129700

Ah! A challenge!

[CrazyKongFan]

Best I could do today was about 134K (134XXX...don't remember the hundreds digit). I've been having problems with my joystick though, sometimes it doesn't respond like it should, and of course, it always waits for the worst time for it to happen...I was on the level 5 rivet level when I lost my last life. (game is set to 3 men, 7000 extra man)

[Ummon]

I've gotten up to around 97000/level 4 elevators (getting it at the top of the ladder at just the swing-point in the springy's bounce down) without these tricks and that's where I've been stuck. I'll have to look more into these things.

[TheShanMan]

My score is now 129700

Ah! A challenge!

OK, BUCKETHEAD. My high score went from 106,100 to 204,300!!! In one shot (i.e. I broke my 106k record with my new 204k record directly)!

I was in a groove (and probably got a little luck to bounce my way)! I had 2 lives going into the 100m elevator level and I got another 110k on those 2 lives. I cleared either 3 or 4 elevator levels starting with the 100m one, and I don't think I lost any lives to the springs!

Now I need to learn the barrel control tips.

[Spyridon]

Went from 55,000 up to 80,600 today thanks to the barrel control tips.  Thanks.  Getting better every game so I expect to keep increasing this score.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Nah, I ain't looking for a challenge.

Just trying to improve my game.

I went from 129,700 to 173,300 today.

I'm getting the hang of the barrel control ! 

Glad to hear everyone is improving their scores!

[TheShanMan]

Yeah, I'm just messin' with you. It's all about the fun. Great job on jumping to 173k!

[BUCKETHEAD]

Yeah, I'm just messin' with you. It's all about the fun. Great job on jumping to 173k!

Thanks man!

Great Job on your score too!

I'm thinking if you beat the game/kill screen.

The points will be around 550,000 points?

I know Steve Weibe and Billy Mitchell milk the game for points.

Which is why they have such high scores.

But i think normal play. And that's the score you'll end up with.

[Ummon]

They milk for points because of the kill screen. Since this has been solved - at least think I have a fix somewhere that someone recently cranked out - I'm waiting for people to continue in fashion.

[Lutus]

Hey Shanman,

Nice score, I think we are tied!

BUT, just remember, those top scores games only come it seems like once every 50 games or so.  I wish the luck would happen every game but then everyone could set world records!

[BUCKETHEAD]

Yeah , It takes me awhile everytime to beat my previous score.

It's not something i can crank out everytime.

But i don't really have a problem getting a 100,000 everytime now.

Getting over that is still a problem!

[TheShanMan]

BUT, just remember, those top scores games only come it seems like once every 50 games or so.  I wish the luck would happen every game but then everyone could set world records!

I played some more this evening, and no question you're right about that! I only made it past the 3rd elevator stage once. I think I need to back off on seeing how far I can get for a moment and just work on honing my skills a bit. First of all, controlling barrels. Second, just timing in general (e.g. when to jump when there are 2 barrels closely spaced but not close enough to jump both in one shot).

[massive88]

I played some more this evening, and no question you're right about that! I only made it past the 3rd elevator stage once. I think I need to back off on seeing how far I can get for a moment and just work on honing my skills a bit. First of all, controlling barrels. Second, just timing in general (e.g. when to jump when there are 2 barrels closely spaced but not close enough to jump both in one shot).

Ive found save states invaluable for this.  When I couldnt get my jumps perfect or the spring timing down on the elevator stage, I just did the whole level over and over by reloading my save state until I was proficient enough to nail the stage the majority of the time. 

My attention span then demanded that perfection will come through full play throughs, but save states are great for working on problem levels.  It would have taken me 10x as long to get as good as I am now at DK if I had to do it on a real machine.  Not that Im any expert or anything, broke 100k finally though!   

[Lutus]

The luck part comes into play the most on the PIE FACTORY stages.  No question.

Secondary luck comes on the barrel stages IF you are one to get the bottom hammer.  If you only get the top hammer these stages become much easier.

[TheShanMan]

My problem isn't really with any particular thing, like making the big jump from the second spring, it's more with general skill things, which are a little harder to work on with save states (e.g. barrels that are spaced just far enough apart that you can't jump 'em both at the same time - how do you get a save state for working on that?).

Last night I tried practicing barrel control on the first level, but it wasn't quite as easy as I expected. Either I just haven't gotten the timing down yet, or perhaps barrels are harder to control earlier in the game? Of course barrels don't tend to go down the ladders as often early in the game so I wonder if that translates into less ability to control them? If so, I'll have to do a save state on a later level (or better yet - turn on invincibility).

[Lutus]

Some say you cannot control barrels on the first stage.  I say, unheard of.

BUT the only ones that consistently be controlled are the TOP TWO ladders.  Just get the bottom hammer on the first barrel screen and try to milk some points.  Don't even worry about barrel control on the first stage.  I just try to make sure I score over 6000 points when going for a big score.

And if you die, no problem.  Start a new game!

[massive88]

Yeah I would just work totally on barrel control to try to limit that situation from happening.  If you are thinking far enough ahead (2-3 levels), you can prevent impossible or difficult barrel jumps most of the time.

I would save state at a later ramp level for that though, so you get the faster "more difficult" barrels.  And just playing that one stage over and over will get your basic skills for it down faster than if you only play it every one in so many screens..   

[TheShanMan]

OK, that helps. Not that I want to control barrels on the first level (it's easy enough without it). It was just a convenient way to practice, but I'll just wait until I get a little further along. The invincibility cheat will be helpful so you can focus on controlling rather than avoiding. For that reason, save state not necessary.

[massive88]

Up to you I guess.  Personally I wouldn't want invincibility, Id rather have the game mechanics operating the exact same way as when I play it for reals, so while you are working on controlling, you also are mastering your jump timing, and actually dealing with the situations that will arise in an applicable manner.

[TheShanMan]

Yeah, but first I have to figure out how to consistently control them! I was only able to do it very infrequently last night, although maybe that's due to the level 1 thing - maybe on a later level the invincibility wouldn't be necessary. But I will at least start with it, and once I am pretty good at controlling then I can go from there.

[CrazyKongFan]

I don't have too much of a problem with the pie factory level, even with 4 or 5 fireballs, although once in awhile, I do get cornered. My biggest problem is starting about level 3 or 4 on the barrel level, when you go to the 2 ladders under Kong. Either the barrels are coming at me the wrong spacing, or he drops one on me. I don't know how to prevent the latter situation, as you have to go that way, since the only other ladder on that row (at the right side of the screen) is broken.

[Ummon]

There was once I used savestates to try to get past the third elevator level...and then just the other night for a special maneuver on the elevator level....but generally I think two things: that it's cooler if you can play the game through, and that practicing is too much like work and takes away from the fun of the game.

In any case, and I don't know if the doc says this because I haven't read it yet, who knows that you can jump the distance from the second elevator to the second platform (thereby not having to go down then back up)?...who knows that you can actually make the jump to the FIRST platform?

[TheShanMan]

I used to jump to the 1st platform every the time. But I missed about 20% of the time, so just recently I tried for the first time jumping to the 2nd, and found it to be easier. I've only missed once in about 25 tries. I lose a little bit of bonus, but my life is worth it.

[CrazyKongFan]

I've always jumped to the 2nd platform. I almost always make it. The instruction card on the machine says Jumpman can only jump the equivalent of 2 beam sections, but he can actually do 3 (it's 3 from the right elevator to that 2nd platform). To get to the first one, you have to time it just right, when Jumpman lands on it, he doesn't really do the "land on his butt" move like he normally does when you jump. Of course, if you play Crazy Kong (which I do frequently ), or the Japanese DK, you get the Elevator level on level 01, and they're moving really slow, so it's real easy to make it to the first platform on level 01.

[massive88]

There was once I used savestates to try to get past the third elevator level...and then just the other night for a special maneuver on the elevator level....but generally I think two things: that it's cooler if you can play the game through, and that practicing is too much like work and takes away from the fun of the game.

In any case, and I don't know if the doc says this because I haven't read it yet, who knows that you can jump the distance from the second elevator to the second platform (thereby not having to go down then back up)?...who knows that you can actually make the jump to the FIRST platform?

I only mean to suggest that savestates have their place.  I dont use them anymore, because general skills is what I need.

If theres one specific thing that is constantly killing you, practicing that one specific thing will yield a greater reward than muddling through the whole game to get back there.

I also found the timing too difficult to hit the first platform consistently, and many times Im in a rush due to the fireball coming up the ladders, so I too use the second platform, where I dont miss anymore unless I do something stupid.

I used to jump to the 1st platform every the time. But I missed about 20% of the time, so just recently I tried for the first time jumping to the 2nd, and found it to be easier. I've only missed once in about 25 tries. I lose a little bit of bonus, but my life is worth it.

Exactly, if I ever get good enough to tease with kill screens, then Ill worry about shaving seconds off my clear times.  Until then, my point total is mostly limited by how far I can progress  =D

[Lutus]

I don't have too much of a problem with the pie factory level, even with 4 or 5 fireballs, although once in awhile, I do get cornered. My biggest problem is starting about level 3 or 4 on the barrel level, when you go to the 2 ladders under Kong. Either the barrels are coming at me the wrong spacing, or he drops one on me. I don't know how to prevent the latter situation, as you have to go that way, since the only other ladder on that row (at the right side of the screen) is broken.

I don't know if you have seen the Steve Wiebe gameplay video or not (very helpful) but here is how to handle those 2 ladders.

After climbing 3 ladders (one platform below the top hammer) move to the RIGHT toward the broken ladder.  Try to control barrels to come down the broken ladder.  This will clear the platform above you.  Now start running to the left but make sure that you are NOT pressing left when KONG first releases a barrel.  So start running left until you see KONG release a barrel and then simply stop running.  This allows the barrel to go past that very top ladder and continue on to the right of the screen.

And remember to try to control barrels to go down the broken ladder this whole time.  Now you should be ALL the way to the left of the screen.  When it is clear above you (by controlling barrels to come down the ladders to your right (3 ladders total), make a dash up the far left ladder.  IF KONG throws a barrel straight down it will graze you but now kill you (thank god).  Now grab that hammer and go to work.

[CrazyKongFan]

I have the King of Kong DVD, if that's where the Steve Wiebe video is from (if not, then I haven't seen it). But I hadn't noticed that's how he was doing it, at least in the KoK video. Gonna have to try that tonight...that's about the only level that consistently kicks my  and since you get 3 of them per level starting at level 5...well, do the math 

[TheShanMan]

Tonight I proceeded to level 3 barrels, and attempted to control the barrels while on the platform below DK. I must be really dense because I couldn't seem to get it to happen even somewhat consistently - more like one out of every 5 times!

Is there anything more specific you can say that might turn on a light switch for me?

[Lutus]

Tonight I proceeded to level 3 barrels, and attempted to control the barrels while on the platform below DK. I must be really dense because I couldn't seem to get it to happen even somewhat consistently - more like one out of every 5 times!

Is there anything more specific you can say that might turn on a light switch for me?

I could make a short video of me playing a barrell stage and walk you through it but Steve's DVD will say it a million times over.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Thanks Lutus!

You are da MAN ! 

[Spyridon]

Went from 55,000 up to 80,600 today thanks to the barrel control tips.  Thanks.  Getting better every game so I expect to keep increasing this score.

Had my best run ever going yesterday.  I broke my old record without losing a single guy.  I made it to the 3rd elevator stage with all men in tact.  Unfortunately, I quickly lost them all on this board.  New high for me of 86,000 and I really thought I was going to break 100K for the first time.  I've watched the youtube videos of this board, now I just need to get back there and try again.

[TheShanMan]

Thanks Lutus!

Spyridon, I highly recommend doing a "save state" once you get to the upper platform of the elevator level. Then you can practice freely without worrying about getting it wrong.

[Ummon]

I didn't actually think you could jump all the way over to the second platform - and then I saw a youtube video. I didn't believe it. Sure enough it worked. I mentioned this on another forum and someone said, 'oh, but I do this', and I was all....noo. But sure enough I tried a few times and it's possible to get to the first platform. Tonight I thought I was going to get past the third elevators, but nope. Maybe a personal best of 87500, and if not then close to it. I don't think I'm in the same class as you guys. I just like to play the game.

[BUCKETHEAD]

I don't think I'm in the same class as you guys. I just like to play the game.

Don't give up!

Keep trying.

I thought i was going to get past my personal best of 173,300 the other night.

But i only ended up with 156,000.

I died by my own hand though!

I did something stupid, that i knew not to do.

But did it anyway!   

[massive88]

I died by my own hand though!

I did something stupid, that i knew not to do.

But did it anyway!   

Thats an adequate summary of the majority of my games.   

[Ummon]

I don't think I'm in the same class as you guys. I just like to play the game.

Don't give up!

Keep trying.

Heh. I need to replace my T-stick with something better, though. Short throw, but lousy directional response.

[Spyridon]

Spyridon, I highly recommend doing a "save state" once you get to the upper platform of the elevator level. Then you can practice freely without worrying about getting it wrong.

I've been playing on my dedicated DK machine, but I may switch over to my Mame cab for practice. 

I did set a high score this weekend.  I have finally broken 100,000!!!!!!  I hit 110,600 and cleared the 3rd elevator stage for the first time. 

[CrazyKongFan]

Not counting the machine I played the other day with 7 guys, just had my best game so far, with the standard settings (3 men + free at 7,000). Got to the 7th level, elevator, with 229,400. I was standing too far to the right waiting for the right spring to bounce past and one hit me in the face.

[fatfingers]

I've been playing on my dedicated DK machine, but I may switch over to my Mame cab for practice. 

I did set a high score this weekend.  I have finally broken 100,000!!!!!!  I hit 110,600 and cleared the 3rd elevator stage for the first time. 

LOL.  What am I doing wrong?  I've made it to level 4, but my score is around 49000!

[massive88]

Its all in your definition of level.

The 1st elevator stage for instance, is the 4th screen.

If you mean a level to be a screen, than the 3rd elevator stage would be something like the 16th level.  Whereas the 4th level would only be the first elevator stage.

Did that make sense?

[fatfingers]

Yeah, I mean Level 4, 1st barrel stage, if that means any sense.

[Lutus]

Clear the barrel stages quickly, but always get the top hammer and get 4-7 maybe 8 smashes each time.

Jump at Kong's foot on the first 2 or 3 girder stages.  Smash a lot of those firefox's on the that level and finish it quickly.

Pie factory, just finish as fast as possible.  Hopefully with 6000 in the bonus box.

Elevator stage.  Grab both prizes and finish the level quickly.


You may just be taking too much time on each level.

[fatfingers]

OK, I'll try that.  I usually race up for each level and skip hammers, etc.

What's this "jump at the foot business"?

[Lutus]

Have you seen King of Kong and looked at the extras with the side by side gameplay footage?

Basically, on the girder stages, Kong is on the top level.  Play the level like normal and then when you have only the top right girder left to finish the level, stand by Kong's foot and jump.  When in midair press right on the joystick.  This will give you a 100 points.  Now just continue to do this until time reaches 000 then jump the last girder.

Only press right while in midair.  If you are on the ground, do not press it or you will jump over the final girder and end the level prematurely.  You can also press left in midair, but why chance jumping into Kong?



-Jump
-immediately press right
-release right before landing

rinse, repeat



After the third girder stage do not even worry about this trick.  The timer moves to fast to make it worth your while.

[massive88]

OK, I'll try that.  I usually race up for each level and skip hammers, etc.

What's this "jump at the foot business"?

Watch at 1:07

[Spyridon]

When in midair press right on the joystick. 

I've only done this twice while playing, but I never pushed right on the joystick.  Just jumped straight up and got the points.

[Spyridon]

When in midair press right on the joystick. 

I've only done this twice while playing, but I never pushed right on the joystick.  Just jumped straight up and got the points.

I just watched the vidoe a few posts ago.  They are much further away from Kong than I was.  I guess you can be a little farther away if you push right on the joystick.  That's a better way, as getting as close as I was is dangerouse.  A few times I hit Kong and died.

[fatfingers]

Haha!  That's so sick and wrong!  I love it! 

King of Kong is on my NetFlicks list, but hasn't arrived yet.

Thanks for the tip!

[CrazyKongFan]

You don't have to press the direction after you jump if you are right next to his foot, but why chance it, when standing a ways away and pushing the joystick after you start jumping will yield the same results? This also works with all the other enemies too...fireballs, barrels, springs, etc.

[Ummon]

Yeah, I did it once, too, but it's easy to get killed trying to get that close. As for other baddies, I noticed this but though you actually had to jump away from them to get points.

@fatfingers: that sounds about right without extra points. I always try for the second hammer on the barrels screens, and for both prizes on girder. Sometimes, I'll get the bottom hammer on the pie factory but mostly skip extra points there and elevators. I figure bonus time points are more worth it. I think I average about 55-60k by the end of 4th level barrels. (Notice the 'level=* upper-right.)

[CrazyKongFan]

Yeah, I did it once, too, but it's easy to get killed trying to get that close. As for other baddies, I noticed this but though you actually had to jump away from them to get points.

I do it all the time on the rivet and elevator level. There's not much need to do it on the barrel level, although you can stand next to the ladder and do it as a barrel rolls down. The pie factory, there's not really any good places to do it. I think you're too far away on the level under the oil tank, but if you're close to the edge of the platform, you might be able to do it next to a fireball on the other side of the hole.

[Ummon]

Hey, I finally got through the fourth level elevators. Just in the nick 'o time, too! Then it was like things were kinda easy - until the next elevator board.

[TheShanMan]

It's no different than the 3rd - you follow the same pattern. I now consider the elevator levels to be the easiest - I usually don't lose lives on them.

Now I need to master barrel control. I am much better at anticipating them going down the ladders now that I understand what causes them to do that, but controlling I have yet to master (looking forward to seeing the video lutus mentioned).

How about fireball control ? I consider the rivet levels to be 2nd hardest, and once I master barrel control they will probably become the hardest.

[Lutus]

nm

[CrazyKongFan]

Another thing to watch out for on the 3rd elevator, which I noticed after dying a few times when I thought I had it timed right, and going back and watching the DVD. If you go when the spring is toward the right, and the next spring behind it is also to the right, you'll probably die. If you watch closely on the DVD, you can see Steve is paying attention to the next one when he starts to run to the ladder, and if it's toward the right, he runs back. If it's to the left, he keeps going.
I'm getting the barrel control down pretty good though. It's funny, all these years I noticed they would come down the broken ladder at the top if I ran toward the other ladder to go up, but never put 2 and 2 together to realize I could actually control that

[Ummon]

Yeah, the timing and all of the springies is still way fresh for me. I'm just surprised I made it with my T-stick. Decent sticks for combo use, but not optimal 4-ways. I think the overall hardest screen is rivets. So many times I've thought I had things zipped up and then they somehow get me cornered by one of the top-most rivets. Occasionally, I've been lucky to sneak in and jump over.

[CrazyKongFan]

Another thing I learned from watching the DVD (and a Mame replay file, which used the same pattern), on the rivet level, get the bottom left rivet, then back up the left ladder, skip the 2nd one, then clear the top 2 left side rivets, then back down the left ladders to the 3rd row (with the hammer on the left), grab the hammer and go across to the right side (it helps to wait for a couple of fireballs. This helps clear out the right side of the screen). Get the bottom rivet on the right side (and bonus prize, if possible), then back up the center and grab the hammer under Kong and clear out any more fireballs, and the last top 2 rivets on the right side. Sometimes I skip the top hammer, if it's quicker and safer to get the top 2 right side rivets from the right-side ladders. This seems to work pretty good for me. I'm just having a tough time with the conveyor belt level. Once you get 5 fireballs, it's pretty tough. I wish I had a better stick too. My 8 way works, but not as good as an original DK stick. I think my machine is possessed though, I had one really good game where I got to 229K. Since then, it always seems to do something to me to keep me from getting past level 5

(edit: reworded some of the strategy so it made more sense)

[Spyridon]

Most people have gotten thier DVD's.  If you don't get this week Shanman PM me and let me know.

Thanks to Lutus for sending these out!  Very informative stuff.

[Lutus]

No prob bob.  I can't horde all the technique!

CrazyKongFan, are you waiting on the left side of the oil barrel until all 5 firefoxes come out before you continue on?

I usually walk just to the left side of the center of the screen and as soon as I see that last firefox launch out of the oil barrel I try to high tail it up the right side of the screen to the top.  Screw the hammer, screw the prizes (except the umbrella that is really easy to get)

Course, knowing DK like we know him, this doesn't always work!   

[TheShanMan]

Ummon, that's my exact strategy on the rivet levels too. Works generally, but certainly not all the time. Ditto on Lutus' suggestion on the conveyor belt levels. 5 can often be tough, but I still consider the conveyor belt levels to be second easiest (elevator levels are easiest for me now). Patience is sometimes key here, and if one side is clogged with fireballs, try the other side (I always try first for the right side, but occasionally I see a better opportunity on the left).

[CrazyKongFan]

yeah, I always wait for the 5 fireballs to come out on the left side, but it seems there's always at least 2 of them already down on the platform under the oil barrel before I even get up there.

[Coin_Op]

Have you seen King of Kong and looked at the extras with the side by side gameplay footage?

Basically, on the girder stages, Kong is on the top level.  Play the level like normal and then when you have only the top right girder left to finish the level, stand by Kong's foot and jump.  When in midair press right on the joystick.  This will give you a 100 points.  Now just continue to do this until time reaches 000 then jump the last girder.

Only press right while in midair.  If you are on the ground, do not press it or you will jump over the final girder and end the level prematurely.  You can also press left in midair, but why chance jumping into Kong?



-Jump
-immediately press right
-release right before landing

rinse, repeat



After the third girder stage do not even worry about this trick.  The timer moves to fast to make it worth your while.

Crap! I missed out on these extras

I rented king of kong on cable on demand, and had no idea that it had Extras.

I liked the movie so I rented it a second time, cost me $8.00 for both viewings.


                                         Doh!

Guess I should have just bought the dang DVD.

Are the extras worth buying it?

AsI have already seen it twice.

[TheShanMan]

So I watched the first 200,000+ of the video Lutus sent me. What a joy to watch. I did pick up a number of tips, not the least of which is barrel control (I don't have it down pat yet, but I'm starting to pick it up! don't know why I had so much trouble with it before).

Back to the conveyor belt screen, what I saw him do on all levels is jump straight up immediately, then proceed to the right. All 3, 4, or 5 fireballs come out on the left side without a wasted moment (timing seems absolutely optimal).

On the elevator screens (3rd and beyond), I noticed that he seems to recognize another opportunity to go up the ladder. I always go after the one that bounces almost flush with the right edge of the elevator "mount", but I saw him go after one that wasn't even close to there. In other words, he has developed the ability to maximize points by not having to wait a while until that ideal spring comes along.

On the rivet screens, I have always waited at the bottom hammer until what seems like the ideal time to start getting the most fireballs. He never does - he just gets it immediately and gets whatever fireballs he can regardless. I did this tonight and perhaps it was just coincidence, but the rivet levels seemed easier to finish off than they normally do.

So I played one game to practice some of these techniques. I lost 3 men to practicing the tips I learned from the video but still got 138,000!!! The barrel stages seemed much easier now that I have the hang of barrel control a little bit.

The one thing that stood out to me with the video on the barrel stages... he really seems to have a strategy to avoiding the wild barrels - I sensed absolutely no panic in him, nor hesitation. This is my real downfall on these levels. I panic a bit, and apparently whatever the natural avoidance tendency is, Nintendo has masterfully programmed the barrel to seek you out! But clearly there is a winning strategy with regard to wild barrels. Not sure if it involves some degree of control or a strategy of avoidance or both. Anyone have a sense of what that strategy is?

[Spyridon]

Anyone have a sense of what that strategy is?

In order to beat the barrel, you must become the barrel.  Be the barrel TheShanMan...be the barrel.


Oh yeah, and on your death bed...you will receive total consciousness. 

[massive88]

Crap! I missed out on these extras

I rented king of kong on cable on demand, and had no idea that it had Extras.

Hah, yeah I "rented" it off the Xbox 360 and watched it twice.  I was thinking about going to blockbuster and renting it to just rip the extras.

ShanMan -

On the rivets stage, I noticed the same thing.  I usually wait at the first hammer until I'm sure I can hammer at least two, or I become in mortal danger from one, then I snag the hammer.  I tried just going all out like Steve seems to do, but it seemed less safe, and to not work as well.  Maybe I should give it another shot.

[Coin_Op]

On the rivets stage I make my way up the left side removing all the rivets minus the second rivet and I grab the umbrella.

once I am at the top left, I do the "Taunt" kong thing 'till the bonus timer is at around 3000.

Now I make my way down to the hammer on the left side, at this point I can usually get 3-4 of the fire- balls.

this method works best for me for the first two levels.

Anyone else use this method?

[Ummon]

My 8 way works, but not as good as an original DK stick. I think my machine is possessed though...it always seems to do something to me to keep me from getting past level 5

Isn't that weird? I've noticed this kind of thing in various games. For example, if I'm kickin ass in Strikers 1945, they throw more stuff at me into the third screen. Similar with DK, where if I'm just fakin 'em out, he'll throw a bunch more barrels, sometimes wild ones, etc. (Another one is Dragon's Lair: something about the black night in the palace scene - almost ALWAYS I'm on my last guy when I get there, like it's been cycling till that point just so it can kill me for good on that screen. I think maybe once I've happened to have one more guy left.)

[TheShanMan]

OK, I need to back off a bit from some of my comments I made last night based on the video and the one game I played afterward. He and I both had "one of those games" where everything seems to go right in terms of the rivet level. I have decided to go back to my "wait at the hammer until the time seems opportune" approach. Also my last game "one of those games" where everything works against you. I waited to try to get a bunch of fireballs and was having little luck on the follow through. Then I'd end up with 4 on the middle and right sides of the upper 2 levels, and time would run out as I'm trying to find an opportunity to get up there (just too crowded!!!). Grrr...

In situations like that I wonder if it's possible to coax most of them down by going to the bottom right of the screen? Anyone ever try doing this? There has to be a good way of dealing with that nightmare scenario! Maybe my strategy should shift after the 1st hammer if it looks like a bunch are going to congregate up there... just go straight up for the 2nd hammer, and get the bottom right rivet last. I think I'll try that strategy next time I'm in that situation.

Also, that single jump up on the conveyor screens doesn't always work - you still gotta keep your eyes on the fireballs as they are emerging because they don't always come out quickly enough for them to all end up on the left side.

ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, I'm really starting to master barrel control, and wow does it make the barrel screens easier. However, it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back because it is a dramatic change in approach that requires very different decision making, so it'll take a bit of practice to fully master this strategy.

ALSO, I have a hunch about controlling wild barrels that came to me near the end of my last game. Maybe others have observed this too. I think wild barrels can be controlled in a manner similar to regular barrel control. Specifically, if you're running away from it, it will tend to go toward you, but if you're running toward it, it will tend to go away from you. So right when it hits a girder (where direction can change), run toward it, and that will "push" it away from you, at which point you can turn back around and continue on your merry way. It will be fun to test that hunch.

[Lutus]

About the pie screen and the fireballs...

Since barrels and firefoxes (somewhat) respond to the direction you are moving, why not fireballs.

The next time you are stuck at the top right ladder (that one that moves up and down) on the pie factory, try pushing your joystick left for a few seconds, release and then press left again.  Over and over.  You will be sending the signal of movement to the gameboard and maybe the fireballs will try to "follow" your movement.

Something to try other than just sitting there waiting for an opportunity to advance!

[TheShanMan]

I finished watching the video Lutus shared, and every time on the pie screens he starts by jumping and then runs non-stop to the ladder. Only once did a fireball come out on the right side. When he jumped, there was always a sound that made me wonder if it was more than just a jump (i.e. hitting the joystick while in mid-air) and if that is why it always seems to work for him. Maybe doing that "pulls" the fireballs out quicker than they would otherwise come out. Or maybe it was just one of those magical games where everything seemed to work in his favor (there were plenty of times that I thought that while watching).

[TxGlenn]

As impressive as Steve Weibe's game play is.

Billy Mitchell's was just an absolute pleasure to watch!

Despite what people think of him? He's an awesome gamer!

buckethead -
Can you explain this?  I watched the DVD and some of the extras but didn't watch the side-by-side.  I was wondering if I should put it in the Blockbuster queue again.  Did Mitchell have alot of tricks that Weibe didn't?

[TheShanMan]

I've been practicing the barrel control technique for a while, which means I've been aggressive in my use of it and therefore I've placed myself in a lot of high risk situations as I first of all figure out what can be done with barrel control, and then how I want to incorporate it into my established approach to playing DK. Yesterday I made some conclusions about exactly how and when I want to use it, and when I don't want to use it. Tonight I put that new approach into practice. Result: 1 game played, new high score. 218,900!

To everyone who has contributed helpful information on improving skill at DK, thank you!

Now to work on 300,000!

[massive88]

Grats ShanMan, keep up the good work!

[Lutus]

ShanMan, what are these constraints on barrel control that you speak of?

I have been able to use barrel control to get three barrels on top of each other for "triple" jumps, but that takes quite a bit of time.  Almost more time than just getting the bonus for skipping it altogether.

Shanman, did you use the bottom hammer on this score attempt?


I played a game after a couple week break last night and got 164,000.  Not too bad for as rusty as I was.  Dumb deaths.  And none by way of springs!

[TheShanMan]

No, one of these day's I'll probably start using the bottom hammer. But right now I have enough changes to my ingrained strategy that I need to get used to first. Once I start stagnating, then I'll consider other changes like that.

I just meant stuff like being too fixated on getting as many barrels as possible to drop down the first ladder next to DK to maximize the number of hammered barrels. If one didn't drop I'd stay focused on continuing to make the next ones drop, then go get that one that didn't drop only to have my hammer run out at the last minute. And sometimes in my attempt to get it before the hammer runs out, I'd stupidly not stop running and the barrel would sneak in while my hammer was up in the air and kill me. Yeah, ultimately I should be able to handle situations like that, but right now these new techniques require too much thinking (i.e. I can't run on autopilot), so I had to just back off a bit and say, "here's what I can handle that won't overload the synapses and therefore put me in a position to be killed".

Plus, getting past the 3rd elevator screen is still new enough to me that I start getting overloaded on adrenaline and become a bit jittery. After each level I have to take a couple of deep breaths. It took a while to calm down last night after finishing my game.

[Lutus]

Played one game tonight, while Dad was playing my pin, and I scored 175,000.

I try to only play one game a day, they take a long time to play when you don't die very much! 


If you think your hammer is about to run out, when you get into the "point of no return" when running at a barrel, start slammin on the jump button and if your hammer runs out you will jump.  That saved me on one death on my game today even.

[Ummon]

I don't have any trouble once I get to the second-to-last platform and under the hammer, top-left. However, what I do every time I come to a barrel is STOP...because too many times, though not recently, I've gotten hagged by a barrel coming under the hammer while I'm moving. I think it's something in the code that times them differently. Maybe intentionally for difficulty. I've been away from it for a couple days though due to a fixation with Joust.

[Lutus]

I think I have the elevator stage down cold now.  Here is the dealio.

Once you get to the upmost platform and run to the left, you are currently sitting on top of the right elevator waiting to make your mad dash to the last ladder all the while springs are whizzing past your face, mere millimeters from your death.

We can all get to the that point, it is the last dash that is the hardest part.  Here is what I did this game and it worked every time.

1.  Stand as far to the right as you can, basically, one little toe will be past the right edge of the yellow block.
2.  Watch the left yellow block on top of the left elevator.  When a spring lands fully on the yellow block you are going to go for it.
3.  On the second bounce, as soon as the spring contacts the girder you slam your joystick to the right.  The spring goes faster than you do, so you shouldn't run into the spring from behind.
4.  DO NOT watch mario as he runs.  You watch him out of the corner of your eye.  This is very difficult to keep yourself from doing, just practice it.  So what do you watch?
5.  Watch the left yellow brick and if the spring lands further to the left than the one your started your run on, keep going up the ladder and you will make it.  If the spring lands very close to the one you ran on, or if it is further to the right ABORT.  Run to the left, back to the right elevator yellow block and safety.  Rinse and repeat to beat the level.

If you can train yourself to watch the left yellow block and can control mario out of the corner of your eye, you should not fail.

I used this technique tonight and my hand slipped off the joystick when I was halfway up the ladder.  I pressed up again and still made it.  So you should have a good cushion if you do it right. 

sorry for the long post.

[Farb]

There's a nice visual for what Lutus is describing in the blog entry I posted back on page 1 of this thread.

->Dan

[Ummon]

I went back to this with a recent acquisition, a euro-type stick with really short throw, and the first game I got all the way to level 4/4. Then it was all down hill. The stick has too much play before it touches the microswitches, despite the short throw. Tried some new strategies on rivets, but nothing especially shining out. Am learning some barrel control.

[Lutus]

Even KNOWING what to do on this game doesn't mean at all that you will be able to do it.  This game is one of the funnest classic cabs simply because every single game is different.  Very few patterns to memorize (pacman).

[Ummon]

Even KNOWING what to do on this game doesn't mean at all that you will be able to do it.  This game is one of the funnest classic cabs simply because every single game is different.  Very few patterns to memorize (pacman).

Oh, I don't know about that. There are constants and there are variables.

[Lutus]

You can play with patterns on the rivet stage, that is true.  but the firefox's can be such a variable that it will never play out exactly the same whereas you can play pacman the same way every single time.

That is what I meant.  A different experience each time, but always fun!

[TheShanMan]

I've created a "PD" torrent of the Wiebe video Lutus mentioned. If you get it, please help seed it since it probably won't be a top 10 download or anything. I'm currently giving it all of my upload bandwidth, but would eventually like to back off from that somewhat. If you don't know where to look for it, don't ask here because of forum rules.

[CrazyKongFan]

Great description of waiting for the right spring Lutus. I believe that's what I was trying to describe that I noticed Steve was doing. Sometimes he'd take off for the ladder, then run back to the safe spot. I assume that's when he got 2 "rightmost" springs in a row. Incidently, I bought a DVD of one of his games from Mark Alpiger last weekend at Funspot. He sells several record breaking game videos, which I believe are legal copies (i.e. not bootlegs). One is him playing Crystal Castles (or Crystal, in Alpiger-speak ), he's also got a 20 Million Star Wars game, and an 8 hour Millipede game from Don Hayes. The latter 2 are amazing to watch. The Star Wars game is the tournament setting where you start with 6 shields and get no extras. I can't make it past level 5 on that game, even with more shields and some replenished after blowing up the Death Star. The DK one is a little better quality than the other one, and is Steve's first 1 million game submitted to Twin Galaxies.

[Lutus]

Great news.  I fired up the machine yesterday after work and had a great game.  My previous high score was 204,500.

My new high score is 281,900.  Quite a jump, and I had 2 DUMB deaths on the elevator screens.  One of them was trying to get the bottom prize, stupid.

So there is room for improvement for sure.  My play time was a little over a half hour.  Got 120,000 on my first man. 


Just thought somebody in this topic would be interested!!!

[Bender]

DAMN you Lutus!

Beat my hi score by 2,000 

Congratulations!

I had a game once that I got over 200,000 with my first guy then lost all 4 guys on ONE barrel board so so sad!

[Lutus]

Guess you better get crackin' then Bender!

[TheShanMan]

Awesome Lutus! Mine is 218k, so I gotta get practicing! I've been focused on finishing up some projects so I've taken a short break from playing. I'm hoping that a break will do me good when I return.

[Ummon]

I think I'm saturated. I've gone the other way and can't get above 40 grand. Didn't even break 200k last night on Robotron. Happens in cycles.

[Bender]

Guess you better get crackin' then Bender!

I'm Comin' for you Lutus!

I'm dying to break 300,000

[shiftybill]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips and strategies... I had an absolutely awesome game the other day, i had lost all my lives by around 150,000 then went on to score 260,600, which leads me to believe I can score higher, not once did i die on an elevator stage, i also recorded the game and have sent it to twin galaxies lol, number 15 in the world for mame lol 

[Ummon]

After some musical joysticks, now using a modified P360 set for 4-way, I'm getting back up in score for me. Accidentally got into some repeated barrel control.

[Ummon]

Hey, I've come back and got me a new high score of 109k. I lost my first guy at 3-4 and that was only because I panicked on the possibility of my hammer running out with a firefox coming down near me and tried to jump except the hammer didn't play out and I fell. Was the last rivet above me, and could've had the fox to boot! Ah well.

[Lutus]

I saw online somewhere someone had made a blank spreadsheet in excel where you could track your score as you progressed through the game.

Does anyone know where that is?

I think I would like to start tracking my scores per level and post a couple of my good runs on here to see where my weaknesses are and my possible improvements, etc...

It is either that or the kill screen!  HAHA

[Lutus]

Found it at a blog called Why can't I be Steve Wiebe

His version is one you fill out and it does some calculations to tell you what a perfect game would be if you hadn't died or something.

anyways, attached you will find an excel file of the modified for printing version via yours truly.  It is MUCH easier to read/print/use.

NOTE:  you can't upload .xcl files so i will add .txt to the end of the filename.  Just download the file then delete ".txt" on the end to turn it back into an excel file.

[TheShanMan]

Oh man. Played a game at lunch today and got 142k before my first death, and I had lost all my lives by 153k, which doesn't even qualify for my high score table. Talk about disappointment! I thought this game was destined to beat my high score of 218k.

My game is definitely improving, and I'm working on the most recent elevator technique Lutus mentioned (watching the second spring and retreating if necessary). At this point I consider a sub 100k game to be terrible (they're uncommon), 100k-125k to be poor, 125k-150k to be mildly disappointing, 150k-175k to be good, and 175k+ to be great (I have 3 200k+ games). I think I'm on the cusp of regularly getting 200k+ games though! My ability to get out of sticky situations is improving, and I'm panicking less in those situations.

[Lutus]

I just played 2 games and lost all my men on 1 stage.     I was at 181,000 when the problems started.

The next game I only got 133,000 or so because I started to rush stuff on the barrel stages.

Pissed off, so I got to put it down for a couple days...... maybe.   

[TheShanMan]

I always have to remind myself that 100 points doesn't matter, so don't take risks for such small rewards - life is precious! I also have a tendency of getting a little angry when I die, which subsequently either makes me sloppy or gives me a bigger sense of urgency, both of which cause me to take unnecessary risks. Emotion is NOT your friend when you're trying to top your high score! I have to continually talk to myself at the start of each level to keep me on track. I'm getting better at keeping emotion out of it, which is part of what I meant when I said my game is improving because it's clearly having a positive impact. I'm just not all the way there yet.

Pissed off, so I got to put it down for a couple days...... maybe.   

It's hard to do that when you're an addict like you and I! But it can help. Here's a suggestion: instead of playing for the next 2 days, spend the time watching the Wiebe video and see what you can pick up (inspiration if nothing else).

[Lutus]

HAHA, hey ShanMan, I think you missed this post about me....

I love Zelda II

That should make you chuckle for sure...   

[TheShanMan]

Oh yeah, I remember that thread. Please don't take a hammer to your cab!

[freon1200]

hey guys, im new here. came here from a link on klov.

just going to throw my tidbits on DK that seem to have been missed. for controlling the barrels. the first board is almost impossible, but sometimes towards the top of the screen you may be able to. the second barrel board is a little easier, but still not always. by the 3rd barrels it becomes pretty eazy. tho farther on occasionally youll lose control of them for like a stage or 2(of barrels)

on the rivets(and all other boards) theres about 5 seconds of free time after the timer hits 000. so when doing point pressing by DK, after the timer hits 000, you can still get 4-5 jump in. even on level 4 when your jumps arent gaining points due to bonus time going down too quick, if you dont miss any 100 point jumps, you can stil;l grab about 400-500 points at the end. tho if you miss any jumps its barely worth it.

also the foxfires are kind of arfraid of you, so if they are coming towards you and you dont want to run, push the joy back and forth, and theyll usually turn around.

also on this screen the backwards jump can be your greatest friend. as youll be going the other direction and the foxfires still think your going the opposite direction.(many usues for this)

al

[TheShanMan]

Thanks for adding your tips freon1200, and welcome. I've found that sometimes there is significant time after the timer hits 000, but not on all levels. I haven't bothered to figure out when there is and when there isn't though.

BTW, I've pretty much got the "watch the 2nd spring" technique down now. Not perfect at it yet, but usually I'll get it. I spent a couple of hours on saturday doing just that level with infinite lives (I would commit suicide instead of reaching pauline's platform). I found it quite difficult to train myself to watch the springs while operating mario. I also settled on a different object to fix my eyes on for judging what kind of spring it is. Just to the left of the yellow block I watch the red girder - the spot where you see "^" in the middle of the girder immediately to the left of that block. That was what finally got me success with this technique. If a spring bounces to the right of that ^, take off running. If the 2nd spring bounces to the left, keep going and if not, turn back. I even turn back if it's partially on the ^, though I imagine as I get better at the technique I may be able to optimize that decision a bit better.

[Lutus]

welcome freon1200, I posted that link at KLOV.

I think DK sometimes boils down to how nice the fireballs, firefox's, and wild barrels are to you.

That is why sometimes the pie factory is easy as...... pie, and sometimes it is not.

That is my technical opinion!

[freon1200]

hey thanks for the welcomes Lutus and Shanman. 
thats awsome with you finding out a good spot for keeping your eyes Shanman. leaning to do that can be rough. i always try not to start running up that ladder till im SURE the next spring is safe. because i NEVER look at mario while running. and if i start up the ladder and have to run back down while im still sorta looking away, i get killed sometimes.
 my biggest prob on DK is that if im not pretty far and my first guy dies, i always kill off all of my guys. tho ive have some of my best games where i died on level 4 and didnt kill my guys,  but i ALWAYS seem to die more on the earlier stages that later. im not sure if its b/c im in the zone, or if the game starts slow and its never a steady pace till about level 5 or so? so maybe the unevenss in the speed is my prob. 

[djruden]

ye freon, I got home after work yesterday and tested your theory about controlling the barrels and it does seem to be noticably easier when you get to level 3.  I think it has to do with the speed.  My consistency for high scores is getting better.  I've only broken 100k 2x now and I was able to get to 90k on my second game yesterday. 

My trouble spot is that darn 3rd elevator stage.  Those springs are brutal.  I've read about everything there is to find about it and have seen video too, I think it just comes down to practicing it enough to have the timing and placement down so I don't get hit.

The occasional rivet stage too when the foxfires aren't being cooperative.

[Ummon]

I have noticed there barrels aren't as often manipulated on the first stage; maybe 50% and seems to get easier when reaching the second-to-top girder. I'm thinking there's a similar, though a bit more complex, capacity with firefoxes and fireballs at the pie factory.

[freon1200]

hey djruden
nice scores =] man

yeah, im sure youve read it, but dont look at mario when running. theres 3 different springs. one bounces about 1/2 way off (left side) of the yellow thing. one almost on top of the yellow thing (but not quite) and one dead on the yellow thing. this one usually comes out onto the screen a little higher than the others. this is the one i start running on. while i wait for it, i stand half way on and halfway off the other yellow thing.(right side) it takes a few tries to get the timing down. but i start running before the spring is above my head. and when i get to the ladder i try to wait till i see the next spring. if all goes well you can make it up the ladder on ALL springs except the one that hits dead center (same spring you run on)(or same type) but the ones close to the center of the yelolow thing are tricky and i get them mixed up with the dead center ones sometimes. so i just keep running back and forth till i KNOW it the spring towards the left half of the yellow thing. then i run up.
but remember, dont watch mario watch the yellow thing the springs hit. after you do it a few times you should know how far to run so you are lined up with the ladder.  thers plenty of time to get it right. unless you take the long way around the board. if all goes well you should have roughly 50 seconds of time left when you get up there to get it right. if youve got mame. savestate and dont worry about getting up the ladder. just run right, as soon as you see what kind of spring it is (even if its a good one) run left. this will train you to dodge the bad ones, and at the same time train your eyes for recognizing which ones are good and which ones are bad.
hope this helps. tho i know this board is a pain in the butt till you get it. its kinda like backflips on a trampoline. you have almost a mental block and one day you pull it off. then it seems soooooo much easier.

[jeffsgames]

Thanks to these tips I broke 200K.  My high is now 234,600.  I can regularly get through the elevators, but I struggle on the later rivet levels.

[Lutus]

I classify the rivet levels in three different categories.

1-  Most of the firefox's spawn or congregate quickly to the top right corner of the board.

2- I can smash about 3 or 4 firefox's with the left hammer on the 2 level of the rivets

3- I get the AGGRESIVE firefox which doesn't allow me to complete the left hand side pattern of ladders/rivets quickly enough to get back down to the hammer.


Situation 2 is by far the easiest.  A normal smash and grab and usually leaves just 2 firefoxs to deal with in the top right hand corner.

Situation 1 happens fairly often.  In this situation I try to clear the left side rivets and stand directly below the left hammer.  I press "down" on the joystick over and over, and sometimes start moving down the ladder and get right back up.  I am trying to trick the firefoxs into moving down a level or two.  Once a couple of them move down, I grab the hammer and try to finish the level.

Situation 3 is the MOST annoying.  Either I cannot get to the top fast enough, or there is one right below ladder when going back down to get the hammer.  This is where you have to wing it.


I know there are no tips in this post.  Just general rambling about rivet stages.

[massive88]

We have the same last two initials, and phonetically the same first name.  Weird.

As for rivets, I think it helps to not try and force your pattern, if its there for the taking, by all means, but if its not, you have to improvise.  Moving up and down the tower can help split the firefoxes up, and use the middle hammer when you can to make sure you can seal as many as possible on the left hand side of the screen.

[freon1200]

nice on beakin 200,000 JeffsGames

what i do on scenarios 3 Lutus is. usually the firefox will come to the level the hammer is on while im on the 2nd from the top. i jump over the rivet space, then jump back with a backwards jump. sometimes 2 or 3 times. as long as you continue the backwards jump, the firefox often gos to the right with enough space to grab the hammer. another thing for grabbing the hammer is if a firefox is REAL close. jump under the hammer as oppsed to jumping to the left. because it takes a split second to bounce off the wall and bounce back and gives the firefox time to get in close.
another rivet tip not mentioned is this. you can bounce off of the invisable wall even on the top level. run to the edge and jump off. just make sure your feet are halfway off before pushing the jump button on the top level or youll die. it sometimes can save you if a firefox is coming at you. still not the safest way. but if you know the tecnique. itll come to you when you need it.

[Bender]

Guess you better get crackin' then Bender!

how's 292,800 sound Lutus

your move!


I didn't want to post till I broke 300,000 but man it's hard, almost made it and I lost a guy very early on like level 3 then had a great game after that

[freon1200]

nice score bender. =]

[Lutus]

You've got to be KIDDING me Bender!

I just picked up a Missile Command project cab today, but don't you fret.  I am crafty like Billy Mitchell.   

[TheShanMan]

how's 292,800 sound Lutus

I just took a week off of DK because I was burning myself out working on technique. Now I have to get cracking so I can catch up to you guys.

[Bender]

Finally!!!!!!!! over 300,000
yesterday was so heartbreaking coming so close I just had to try again today and after a few hours
317,600!!

Has any one made it to double digit levels?
I was one board away from level 10

I just took a week off of DK because I was burning myself out working on technique. Now I have to get cracking so I can catch up to you guys.

I'd taken some time off too, I think it's good every once in awhile to let it go
felt good to come back to it fresh, and it seemed to help

now on to 400,000

... don't you fret.  I am crafty like Billy Mitchell.  

That's what scares me so much about you Lutus! 

[freon1200]

i hit level 10 every once in a while, level 11 once, 13 once, and my best game ever was level 14. im thinking of setting my machine on 6 guys and try for the killscreen. but im too lazy to pull the machine away from the wall to get to the dips

[TheShanMan]

i hit level 10 every once in a while, level 11 once, 13 once, and my best game ever was level 14. im thinking of setting my machine on 6 guys and try for the killscreen. but im too lazy to pull the machine away from the wall to get to the dips

If you want to experience the killscreen, you could always play it in mame with the unlimited lives cheat. That's how I burned myself out last weekend - using the unlimited lives cheat to practice my modified technique for the elevator levels over and over and over and...

[Lutus]

Bender!!!

Sweet mercy, slow down with the high score updates.   

[Bender]

I Played trough all the way in Mame once (with unlimited guys) and it was a good learning experience to see that after level 5 it's pretty much the same till the end and it was cool to see the kill screen, but just not satisfying because, you know, the cheat and all, and it's not quite the same as and actual machine

Freon1200,
level 14 my god! what was the score on that game?

Lutus,
I'm taking a rest for a while.....                I think!?!

[TheShanMan]

How long did your game last? I'm tempted to do that, but I spend long enough just playing a normal game these days, so I'm reluctant to "waste" it on a game that doesn't count.

[Ummon]

I had taken a break, too, and then the evening after a new personal record on DK3 (162,000), I got my new DK score - 142,000. A decent increase from 116k.

[Bender]

How long did your game last? I'm tempted to do that, but I spend long enough just playing a normal game these days, so I'm reluctant to "waste" it on a game that doesn't count.

I think it was 2 plus hours
but i think it was worth it it gave me a little confidence knowing that if I could get past level 6 I could also get past level 21 (if I ever make it there in a real game)

[freon1200]

i played thru dk once on mame with savestates. i cant figure out how to get the cheats to work. i want to do the invincible and get more practice with the barrels getting crazy. i want to do it with 6 guys on the arcade cab b/c i think i can when i get in the zone. a LOT of times youre kicking butt, and donkey kong throws a wild barrel in your face. so if i get in the zone with 6 guys i may have a chance. tho does it start with 6 and 1 extra? or start with 5 and 1 extra?

heres a shot of my screen after that game. im glad i took it when i did. the monitor got distorted about 3 min after i snapped the pic.

[fatfingers]

It starts with 6 and you get a free man at the free man settings.

Nice photoshop work on those high scores! 

[freon1200]

id like to see you do photshop getting the curves of the monitor. i got more photos of other games. 

7 guys then?......nice!!!
i think i can do it

[fatfingers]

id like to see you do photshop getting the curves of the monitor.

 

[TheShanMan]

i cant figure out how to get the cheats to work.

Download cheat.dat and put it in your mame directory. Then enable cheats in mame. Not sure how it's done on the command line, but mameui has a game option for it. Then when you're in the game go to the TAB menu and there will be a cheat menu item.

[freon1200]

thx ShanMan
i dl'd the cheat .ini a few days ago. i didnt know how to enable cheats. i found i could do it in the command line buy typing -cheat at the end. but when i hit tab it would give me a bunch of numbers and letters when i went to the cheats option. ill try it in wolfmame or a newer version of mame tommorrow on the laptop =]

[Bender]

533,800 

[Loafmeister]

i played thru dk once on mame with savestates. i cant figure out how to get the cheats to work. i want to do the invincible and get more practice with the barrels getting crazy. i want to do it with 6 guys on the arcade cab b/c i think i can when i get in the zone. a LOT of times youre kicking butt, and donkey kong throws a wild barrel in your face. so if i get in the zone with 6 guys i may have a chance. tho does it start with 6 and 1 extra? or start with 5 and 1 extra?

heres a shot of my screen after that game. im glad i took it when i did. the monitor got distorted about 3 min after i snapped the pic.

I'm not sure I understand... that 500k+ game was not with the save states/cheats and you just got in the zone?  If not, looking at your high scores, you're the fastest learning DK player in history!

[djruden]

You do realize when you turn off the machine you will lose all your high scores unless you've installed a high score save kit ?

I don't have one either and I don't leave my machine on all the time to avoid screen burn so whenever I get a high score it's usually 1 of only a few games I played and if I die or do something stupid early, I just kill off my other few lives to start fresh.

Looks kinda like what happened here.

[Lutus]

I turned the machine on for "just one game" last night when some company came over.

I got a score of 208,400 or something like that.  Not bad for as rusty as I was.

Oh, and I lost a man on the THIRD screen.   

So I think over this three day weekend, Bender is going down.

[massive88]

Unless my reading comprehension is off, (it was!)

[Lutus]

That 500,000 game was only to Level 14.

I believe that game was on Mame with 6 starting guys.

[freon1200]

no, my high score on mame was only about 250,000. ive been playin on the arcade only pretty much since around christmas, when i got my dk board. ive never set the dips up to 6 guys. never changed the dips on mame either. ive been a diehard fan since a child. and ive been maming dk since about 98 or 99 or so. my avg game is about 250,000 ive hit 300,000 about 3 times. hit 400 something once, and got that 500k game once.

[freon1200]

o, and i NEVER grab the bottom hammer except in emergencies. bottom hammers are for people that can already get the killscreen. i dont worry about points thatll get me killed.

[Bender]

nice work! freon1200

I have the same philosophy about the hammer
after I make it to the kill screen I'll learn how to use the bottom hammer

[freon1200]

thx bender.
i need to go to bed soon. but i think ill fire my DK up and try a few games --BINGO! Either that, or I was attempting to say "before" but it was too many letters to type-- i go to bed. or mebbe ill get lucky and have one LONG game. tho you never know when thats going to happen. its like once out of ever 50-100 games. heheh

[Ummon]

I notice no one is mentioning using the kill screen fix.....

[freon1200]

well 2 things. if you use the killscreen fix, you need to be good enough to be able to get to the killscreen in the fist place to take advantage of it. plus if you ARE good enough, then a high score without the killscreen isnt anything to shoot for, since the killscreen makes you play harder to get points, therefore more of a challenge.
at least thats what i think....

[Lutus]

No need to worry about fixing the kill screen unless you have mad skills.

-Reach kill screen
-Grab bottom hammer on every barrel screen


That should keep you very busy before you ever try to fix the kill screen.

[CrazyKongFan]

Here's another interesting challenge. The no-hammer challenge (twin galaxies has a score page for that). I've gotten exactly 125,000 twice. The rest of the game isn't much more difficult (I don't usually get the hammer on the conveyor belt level anyway), but the rivet stage really gets hard at level 4.

[freon1200]

ive seen that challenge, but never tried it. i think ill suck at it. i KNOW the rivet stage would be rough, especially after level 4. maybe ill try a few times today.

heres 2 more interesting challenges. they can be done. beat thje mudpies with 61 seconds left (3-2) and beat the rivets without jumping. i was only able to do that once.

[Bender]

beat the mudpies with 61 seconds left (3-2)

I had set that same challenge for myself and did it once while getting the umbrella as well!
I'm assuming you mean 6100 left on the clock

[freon1200]

nice Bender. thats what i meant, tho i couldnt get the umbrella. thats awsome.

well i just tried the no hammer 3 times. the first attempt i got under 10,000 and my 3rd guy died, i suicided the last. my second game was goin about 50,000 on level 4 mudpies my last guy, and i acidentilly grabbed the hammer. so i killed him too. third guy was about the same as the first. lol i gotta learn to play a game all the way thru evenm if im doing bad. thats the only advantagew with putting quarters in machines that you ARENT getting back.

[freon1200]

heres one more fun challenge, ive never pulled it off. first board or any barrel board. stay on the 3rd level or around there, 2nd or 4th occasionally is acceptable. and stay alive till time runs out.

i basically try this as barrel training.tho i just learned to jump barrels yesterday that were farther apart than i thought was possible to jump. tho you gotta practically be touching the barrel when you jump

[Ummon]

Sure, most people can't reach the killscreen, but there's a limit on things for those who do, and I'm waiting for those folks to go for it.

hammer challenge: I've thought of that before...a long time ago I think. I usually get the hammers for extra points. Sure they can be helpful/saving, but I'm going to try that out.

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

98,000

a new personal best.  movin' awn up!

[freon1200]

ArtsNFartsNCrafts nice!!!!

a few more games and youll be in the 100,000 club 

[freon1200]

how could this be real?

copied from Twin Galaxies

Kill-Screen on Donkey Kong
Scott Kessler, of North Carolina, started playing Donkey Kong less than a year ago. However, at Funspot X, he reached the "kill-screen" and scored 895,400 points to take over third place on the all-time Donkey Kong leaderboard.

Here's a quote from Scott Kessler: "I'm from Monroe, North Carolina. I had only played Donkey Kong a few times in arcades before I started playing seriously on August 27th of 2007. I reached the kill screen for the first time on November 10th of 2007. At that point, I took a break and worked on other things for a few months. I started playing again on March 10th of 2008 and played pretty regularly right up until Funspot X. During this time, I worked on point pressing techniques and my consistency to ensure that I could put up a 3rd place kill screen score live at the event."

[Paul Olson]

In reality, any of us who have made it to level 5 or so could make it to the kill screen if we were consistent. There is nothing really different during the rest of the game. Billy Mitchell put up close to 800,000 (I think) when he was a kid, so this should be possible.

I played a new DK/ DK Jr/ Mario combo machine friday night. It is a very uncomfortable machine to play. I had to duck down a bit to be able to see the whole screen; was the original DK cab short like this one? I haven't played a real one in so long, I can't remember.  Does anyone know what joystick these machines use? It doesn't feel like the old nintendo stick, but it works very well. It might be a great  universal 4-way for a mame cab.

I died twice screwing around getting used to the ridiculously large monitor. 25" vertical makes DK look very wrong. I ended up with 129, 900, which wasn't good enough to get on the high score table. The game gave me the option to continue, but I didn't have time to try it since I was getting late for the movie. I will have to go back there one of these days to test it.

I need to go out and find a dedicated DK here in Reno, I have no idea where one is around here.

[freon1200]

yeah pcolson

the nintendo cabs are small. i hate playing standing b/c the light from the marquee bothers my eyes. but i need that running, b/c thats part of the experience. i always sit down now. i dont know if i could (if i could get to the killscreen) stand for a whole game. the thing is, level 5 and up is pretty much the same. tho if you can do it a lot. then your doing something better than we are. billy mitchel almost always get 800,000 on his first guy?!?!
theres more technique to avoiding (or controlling) wild barrels. so if we get a GOOD game, maybe its because the game didnt give us wild junk? or maybe we WERE in the zone. but if you do it ALL the time. it means youve got skillz.
in king of kong weibe's mom says when he was young they thought he was autistic. well autistic kids sometime excell really well in certain areas. like maybe math, or im guessing reflexes, etc. maybe being able to recognize enemy patterns that noone else can recognize.
so maybe the greats are great b/c of they way their minds work??
weibe had the record for dkjr too. mitchel has the dkjr record. and perfect game on pacman.  Almost all i play is DK and im decent at it. but some peeps pick this stuff up quick and dont lose any of it.

[Paul Olson]

I played a lot as a kid, and I never figured out that you could control the barrels. I remember thinking I had some kind of control by my position, but I never bothered to figure it out. I watched steve's video yesterday, and I think he just learned most of the possible barrel positions. He also is way more patient than I am. I think that also comes with experience. I usually know I screwed up before a barrel kills me, but of course it is too late at that point.

My games are usually between 70,000 and 130,000, and I have probably played 40 games since the 80s. If I spent a year practicing, I imagine I would be pretty good when I was finished.

Barrel control is so simple, I almost want to kick myself for not figuring it out on my own. Now I need to try to learn how to use it strategically. Getting the second hammer is a lot easier when you can dump the barrels down before they get there.

I am not suggesting that everyone can reach the kill screen with a years practice, but it seems that at least a few should be able to. There are a lot of people here that never would have thought that they would reach 100,000, now some of you are at or near 300,000.

DK has been my favorite game since I first played it in 81, and this is the first time I have ever talked to other players. As a kid, it seemed like I was the only person that liked the game. This is kinda fun being able to discuss it now.

And yes, my scores suck today. I am spending way more time looking at the barrels above me than the ones that are killing me. 

[freon1200]

70-130k is actually SUPER good in about 40 games. i probably played over 1000 games before i beat 100,000.

[Lutus]

I played 2 or 3 games over the holiday weekend, and may play another one today.

Top score for the weekend was 216,000.

I lost both of my last men walking right into a spring.  On the first run from the top of the ladder to "safety".

I couldn't believe it, not sure what the deal was.

[Ummon]

how could this be real?

copied from Twin Galaxies

Kill-Screen on Donkey Kong
Scott Kessler, of North Carolina, started playing Donkey Kong less than a year ago. However, at Funspot X, he reached the "kill-screen" and scored 895,400 points to take over third place on the all-time Donkey Kong leaderboard.

Here's a quote from Scott Kessler: "I'm from Monroe, North Carolina. I had only played Donkey Kong a few times in arcades before I started playing seriously on August 27th of 2007. I reached the kill screen for the first time on November 10th of 2007. At that point, I took a break and worked on other things for a few months. I started playing again on March 10th of 2008 and played pretty regularly right up until Funspot X. During this time, I worked on point pressing techniques and my consistency to ensure that I could put up a 3rd place kill screen score live at the event."

There's a reason there are 'pros' in things. Looking back, as in since I've been playing Mame, I remember occasionally seeing a barrel drop when I went a certain way, but never connected it. I never played the game more than a few times a year until this year, and probably played it perhaps twenty times before Mame. Just before I knew of barrel control from this thread, I did notice a tendency of the barrel to drop down the ladder just after Kong, when I was positioned to the right of the top-upper-right ladder and started back left and up it.

[freon1200]

i believe it, but it just doesnt seem possible.

[Lutus]

Just got done playing a game and scored 252,900.

So frustrating, because two of the deaths were simply a lack of concentration.  One of them was crossing a rivet with a hammer, then walking back over the hole the rivet was in.  I even pressed the jump button, but I had the hammer, so down I went.

To recap, by high score, 282,900.  Going for 300,000 and beyond.

[freon1200]

i just played a game at 251,400. 1st death was on the elevators level 4. i started climbing up the ladder by accident. pushed left and it wouldnt work. lol. then level5 elevators....i start see the spring comin and say thats gonna kill me, but i push up the ladder anyways!!!! aghhhhh!!!! i hate speed thinking lol. then i lost a guy on the barrels when i lost control of the barrels (I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!!) the last guy was on the mudpies with a hammer. ive been dying a lot on those lately. the conveyer moves me too fast and the flames go under my hammer =[
lol

[Lutus]

Just finished a game.....

358,900   

I was on my last man starting at 162,000.  Never give up.

Hey bender, told you I was crafty!


Also, I have learned that patience takes you a long ways in this game.  You have LOTS of time on the clock on both the pie factory and the rivets stage.  I lost ZERO men on either the pie stage or the rivets stage.

I lost 2 men on spring stages and 2 men on barrels (one wild, and one fast fireball coming up ladder).

If you rush it you will die.  "That gorilla is cunning"

[freon1200]

I was on my last man starting at 162,000

you got from 162.000 to 358,900 in one guy?!?!?!

that is sooooo friggin sweet!
way to go Lutus 

[Ummon]

the last guy was on the mudpies with a hammer. ive been dying a lot on those lately. the conveyer moves me too fast and the flames go under my hammer =[
lol

Ah, I hadn't thought about that happening, as it does with barrels. I ALWAYS stop just before hitting a barrel. I generally don't get the hammer on pies anymore (unless the fireballs come down too fast) as even on early levels the points don't make up for the time wasted in letting more fireballs come out.

[TheShanMan]

Awesome Lutus! Man, you guys are leaving me in the dust! I'm still at 218,900. Seems like forever since I got that, but then again I haven't played much lately.

[Bender]

  Cheers Lutus! Nice Work!


Oh, I knew you were crafty Lutus
man, that is gonna be a tough score to beat

[Lutus]

Forgot to mention that I was on the second barrel screen of level 11.  So basically, I was halfway through the game.  I think the kill screen is an obtainable goal. 

I have learned numerous techniques from Steve's gameplay to learn where the "safe haven" areas of the barrel stage are.

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is, do not go up the ladder underneath of Kong until Kong commits (turns) to release the barrel.  All the wild barrels come from betwen Kong's legs.  Once he turns and commits to release, run up the short ladder.  This way, if the next barrel is a wild one, you won't be stuck on the ladder.  This technique saved me TWICE.

freon1200, getting that many points on one man is what gives me hope that the kill screen is possible.  Only problem was that the game took me over 50 minutes!!

[djruden]

I'm starting to get to that point where time is now a factor when I play DK.  My high is 178,500 so far.  I used to throw a steak on the grill and play a game or 2 before going outside to flip it over, but now I get worried when I'm doing something like that and I get pre-occupied that it's gonna get burnt because I'm doing well and my game is taking long.

It's the gamers plight I suppose.  Gone are the games I could get in quick before heading to work. 

[Lutus]

Does anyone have a video of Billy Mitchell gameplay other than the extras on King of Kong?

I hear he is amazing at point pressing the barrel boards.

[toomuch45]

Forgot to mention that I was on the second barrel screen of level 11.  So basically, I was halfway through the game.  I think the kill screen is an obtainable goal. 

I have learned numerous techniques from Steve's gameplay to learn where the "safe haven" areas of the barrel stage are.

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is, do not go up the ladder underneath of Kong until Kong commits (turns) to release the barrel.  All the wild barrels come from betwen Kong's legs.  Once he turns and commits to release, run up the short ladder.  This way, if the next barrel is a wild one, you won't be stuck on the ladder.  This technique saved me TWICE.

freon1200, getting that many points on one man is what gives me hope that the kill screen is possible.  Only problem was that the game took me over 50 minutes!!

aaahh haaaa so no wonder why them barrels be killin me so much on that stage i could never get pass it

[extendedplayarcade]

I saw this post and noticed someone embedded my buddies youtube.com video  Richie rocks it at DK.  He has a video game store in Flemington, NJ www.knucklesandwich.com will bring ya to his site.  Tell him the guy from What Exit Movies sent ya.

Richie on live TV got to the kill screen NBC live morning show.  That Billy guy was there too but he didn't play.

Richie was also the lead singer in the band Knuckle Sandwich.  They rock but are on a break right now.  I hope they get back together.

anyways here is that video i saw posted on the 2nd post
Thanks
Brent
www.extendedplayarcade.com

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[CrazyKongFan]

I was at Funspot X, but unfortunately, I didn't get to see the kill screen. (and Brian Kuh wasn't running around saying Donkey Kong kill screen coming up ) He may have done it before I showed up (it started Thursday, I didn't get there until late Friday afternoon). I did get to see a couple of Ms Pac-Man kill screens though. They were strange looking. It was the "chase" board (3rd board), upside down, with no inner maze drawn, some random garbage on the screen, and the outline of the Pac-Man maze.

Also, haven't gotten any higher DK scores, but I'm starting to do the point pressing with the bottom hammer. My brother and I both played on a real machine the other day, he beat me by about 2K, but he was 4 or 5 screens farther than I was, due to my point pressing

[TheShanMan]

OK guys, it's time to up the ante. I went from a slump of not getting anywhere near my prior high of 218,900 to getting 399,200! Previously I had never reached level 8; this time I got to level 11!

What do I credit this improvement to? Certainly some of it was luck of the draw - I didn't have a ton of wild barrels to deal with. But my last game was setting it for infinite lives and playing all the way to the kill screen. Honestly, I was really getting sick of playing that game since it took so long, but I think that helped to not only boost my skills, but boost my confidence as well. It seemed to me that the game simply doesn't get any harder after some low level number like 5 or something. It helps mentally knowing that the next level isn't going to be harder than prior levels. Also, I think I've finally made it over the hump of mastering the "new" approach to the elevator levels. I wouldn't say that I can do it in my sleep or anything, but I didn't lose a single life on elevators.

So if you're ever in a slump, I suggest playing with the infinite lives cheat and play all the way to the kill screen (be sure you have 2 hours to spend!). Try your best to play as if you didn't have infinite lives (it's hard to play exactly the same, but after all, you're trying to improve your skills here). I would say this approach is probably only effective if you've already mastered barrel control and are at least pretty good at getting past the elevator levels (not counting the 1st 2 of course). After all, you want to boost your confidence and skills, not get bogged down on an elevator screen, dying a dozen times trying to get past the springs!

[Jdurg]

I figured it was time for myself to give it a go.  Granted, compared to the massive skills being shown by other participants here my scores are a joke, but still, it is an accomplishment.     I hooked up my finished Control Panel to my laptop which was hooked up to my 42" TV in my living room.  DK never looked so good.   

So I fired up DK and played it for basically the second time in my entire life using arcade controls.  I've only played before using control pads.

My first game was a pathetic 5600 points.  Let's just say my skills are pretty bad.  After a short while though, I was rountinely putting up around 12,000.  Also keep in mind that this is with the dipswitches set at 6 lives and an extra one at 7,000 points.  So with that in mind, my top score is now 35600.  I got to the second rivets stage and couldn't get past yet.  Still, I was getting better and will keep going at it.  This game is freaking addicting.

Now back to he real scores.   

[TheShanMan]

Hey, that's great Jdurg! You gotta start somewhere. Keep in mind that most if not all of us with the high scores have been playing all of our lives (well, probably not continously, but you know what I mean). This was my favorite game as a kid and I couldn't begin to estimate how much money I spent on it (and if you include playing it in MAME? oh man!).

So keep it up! It's a great game. And benefit from all the tips provided here. Probably the best starting point for you though would be to read that DK book that was published way back when DK came out. I think the pdf (which contains the whole book) is mentioned early on in this thread, and it was originally introduced to the forums here by buckethead in a thread in misc arcade I believe. Great book, but don't take everything as gospel. I had it as a kid and there were a couple of suggestions that I've always thought were wrong. But overall it should help you A LOT. Once you master the tips and tricks mentioned there, come back and scan for tips mentioned here. You'll be in the six figures in no time!

[Jdurg]

Yeah, those books have helped as I flew right through the elevator stage the first time I got there.     It's the barrel control that I'm working on and having some difficulty at first.

[TheShanMan]

Well keep in mind that in the first couple of barrel stages especially, barrel control is not as easy. If you're wanting to work on barrel control I wouldn't focus much on it until you get to at least the 3rd barrel stage.

BTW, the second elevator stage is twice as hard as the first, and the 3rd (and subsequent) is at least twice as hard as the 2nd.

[Jdurg]

Well keep in mind that in the first couple of barrel stages especially, barrel control is not as easy. If you're wanting to work on barrel control I wouldn't focus much on it until you get to at least the 3rd barrel stage.

BTW, the second elevator stage is twice as hard as the first, and the 3rd (and subsequent) is at least twice as hard as the 2nd.

Lol.  I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse!   

[djruden]

All right!  I've owned my DK machine for just short of a month now and having only really played an official DK machine a few times before in my life ( I did have DK on atari 2600 and since the release of the Wii, purchased the NES version on Virtual Console but those are a little different )  but I have finally broke the 200k barrier. 
Barely...

** cell phone pic

Onward and Upward!

[Jdurg]

Awesome!  I've never seen such positive reinforcement with regards to a videogame in my life until I came across this thread.  Soon, this thread will house the best of the DK world ever!  (Good god I need a life.  :p )   

[Lutus]

TheShanMan, seems like every weekend for the past three weeks, someone in this topic ups the high score.

Great score. 

I only have the dedicated DK, but I have been thinking of changing my settings to 6 men and see how far I can get.  I guess that is when I have an hour and a half or so to devote to the game!

[TheShanMan]

Thanks Lutus. I would love to have a DK cab one day. Heck, you know a dedicated DK would get plenty of play in my household! No mame cab though? You're missing out!

[Lutus]

I had a MAME cab in a Space Invaders cabinet, but dismantled it to restore the SI cab.  I also have a dedicated Dig Dug and a pinball machine.  I also have a Ms Pac that has a 48-in-1 in it.

I will be making another MAME cabinet, but not soon enough!!!

I LOVE my dedicated DK.

[Lutus]

Also, it may have gotten missed because of TheShanMan's amazing display but,

I am still looking for some gameplay footage of Billy Mitchell playing DK, other than on the extras of KoK dvd.

Thanks.

[Ummon]

When I got into Mame, I set many games to six/five guys/ships/whatever - DK, Pac series, etc - but have long since switched back to default. I don't think barrel control is hard, now I know about it and have started using it.

[djruden]

I'm a bit of a purist so I've only been playing DK on a real dedicated cabinet with the official DIP switch settings of 3 guys to start and a free guy at 7000 pts. 

I agree tho, the barrel control is pretty easy for me at this point.  Altho my barrel board style is a bit detrimental to getting points.  I pretty much just try to run up to the level below Kong by having all the barrels fall behind me so I don't have to deal with them (missing out on the points for jumping and the first hammer)  and then I grab the hammer under DK to be safe while I walk under him and across the final ramp.  Once it runs out I have the next barrel he throws go down the ladder immediately in front of him so I have time to climb up, jump a barrel and rescue the chic. 

I think maybe soon I'll try point pressing more on the barrel boards and see how I do.  Maybe itll help my score.

[Lutus]

djruden, I have been playing my games exactly the same way on the barrel stage.

Until yesterday.

I was thinking about DK in the car ride home from work and was figuring up how many barrel stages there are total in the game.  I was playing the barrel stages exactly as djruden described each time.

Now, I took stock of how many times I die on girder and pie stages.  I have found that most of the time, my deaths come from unwelcoming girders and pies and wild barrels.

THEREFORE, at some point I have to start maximizing my points for the eventual death on a girder or pie stage.

Long story short I start using the bottom hammer and it is BRUTALLY HARD at first.  I ended up playing around 6 games, point pressing every bottom hammer.

My highest score before this was 382,900 with my last man dying on 11-2.

Yesterday I had 163,300 going into 6-1, on my second man.  I had to stop playing to leave but I think I should have a new high score relatively soon, which is exciting.

[Jdurg]

Would it be possible to gain points by jumping barrells on the top girder right before heading up the ladder at the end?  I just wonder if that would be worth while and it shouldn't be too troubling.

[massive88]

Would it be possible to gain points by jumping barrells on the top girder right before heading up the ladder at the end?  I just wonder if that would be worth while and it shouldn't be too troubling.

No, at that point, you get more points by finishing as fast as possible.

[freon1200]

wow!!! ive had my pc disconnected for about a week. it looks like some nice scores were made while i was away. snamas, thats is a SWEET score.=]

btw the DK book, it shows the spring pattern on the elevator stage. tho what it tells you about the springs is wrong. unless i read it wrong. ill have to dig it out and check so i can correct its error. tho with the scores popping up now, id say i dont need too 

way to go djruden too
thats a decent score also. i havent played for a few days. i just got AC in my room. so maybe ill get some more games in. tho im sure ill be rusty. and im not touching that bottom hammer till i reach the kill screen...lol

[Ummon]

I agree tho, the barrel control is pretty easy for me at this point.  Altho my barrel board style is a bit detrimental to getting points.  I pretty much just try to run up to the level below Kong by having all the barrels fall behind me so I don't have to deal with them (missing out on the points for jumping and the first hammer)  and then I grab the hammer under DK to be safe while I walk under him and across the final ramp.  Once it runs out I have the next barrel he throws go down the ladder immediately in front of him so I have time to climb up, jump a barrel and rescue the chic.

Yeah, me, too. I'm not concerned with score but level-screen. Still, I might take Lutus' approach. I'm still having stick troubles, so there are times when I die cos it was the stick's fault. I have to get some better kind of dedicated 4-way. I dunno about this game for me, though. It's fun to play, but any game that isn't fairly easy for me I just end up spinning out and eventually burning out on if I play too much.

[Bender]

djruden, I have been playing my games exactly the same way on the barrel stage.

Until yesterday.

I was thinking about DK in the car ride home from work and was figuring up how many barrel stages there are total in the game.  I was playing the barrel stages exactly as djruden described each time.

Now, I took stock of how many times I die on girder and pie stages.  I have found that most of the time, my deaths come from unwelcoming girders and pies and wild barrels.

THEREFORE, at some point I have to start maximizing my points for the eventual death on a girder or pie stage.

Long story short I start using the bottom hammer and it is BRUTALLY HARD at first.  I ended up playing around 6 games, point pressing every bottom hammer.

My highest score before this was 382,900 with my last man dying on 11-2.

Yesterday I had 163,300 going into 6-1, on my second man.  I had to stop playing to leave but I think I should have a new high score relatively soon, which is exciting.

Hi Lutus,

it's a little scary, but I had the exact same thought about a week ago and have been trying the bottom hammer as well,
man is it hard!
I think it really forces you to pay attention and be able to get out of any barrel conbination that rolls at you
I'm just practicing now, I haven't been able to get over 150,000
Haven't had much time to play either

Hey ShanMan Congradulation! that is one sick score!

[Lutus]

Well, I played a game yesterday and got a little over 200,000 point pressing every barrel screen.

2 deaths on pie stage, 1 death on elevator (my fault), and 1 death on barrel screen by way of fireball.

For those who would like to discuss bottom hammer technique, these are the tidbits I have found in the 2 whole days I have been using this technique.

-Wait till the blue barrel is at least on the girder system somewhere before grabbing the bottom hammer.
-Watch the fireball that comes out of the oil barrel.  Sometimes he will go straight up the very first ladder with no hesitation.  I have both waited and smashed him right away, I would suggest grabbing the hammer as soon as he starts coming up the ladder to smash him.
-Watch the fireball as he bounces along the bottom girder.  If he even gets CLOSE to the right side ladder, move Mario to stand underneath the hammer.  The ladder is so short, you have very little time to grab the hammer to smash the fireball.

Other than that, just use barrel control to get barrels down as fast as possible.


This method makes the games feel longer because you have to use so much more concentration.

That's all I got.

[Ummon]

A small thing here, but I'm curious if anyone noticed how to jump right after landing? I saw a video of Wiebe doing it, and then figured it out, at least once in a row. Maybe it's just a matter of very tight timing, but I've found I have to double (or sometimes triple) tap the button. This also works when you're coming up a ladder trying to outrun the barrel that is coming down the girder above you and double/triple tapping the button right before or as you've gotten to the top. It's a close shave, too.

[Jdurg]

Today I managed to get up to 40,000 but then got "wild barrel hell" as it seemed like there were nothing but wild barells coming after me and taking my lives.  Haven't had too much time lately to play due to work and the fact that I'm building a poker table right now.  (Got the paying surface built and the foam padding put on top, but can't decide if I want to put pine or poplar for the chip trays, as well as what color I want to stain it.  I just have to state that the plywood/lumber combo to build the middle part weighs a TON!).

[djruden]

My strategies with wild barrels now is to just stay the course.  I used to try to turn around but then the barrel would almost sure enough take a weird jump and nail me.  Now if I just stay focused and continue on it seems my random barrel death is less frequent.

I tried playing some games last night and it seemed like the 3rd incarnation of the spring stage is my achilles heal.  I could sometimes pass it, probably out of luck when I would get the right combination of springs. 

Otherwise I'm pretty good on most of the other levels now.  Just the occasional Pie factory level can get me, I think if it's when I hesitate too long letting the flames jump out before I take off running.  I hate having to deal with them when I'm on a conveyor belt, especially cuz that thing seems to change directions at the worst time!

[freon1200]

know what my achilles heal has been lately? level 4-1 or 4-3, i seem to ALWAYS get a wild barrel either right by the bottom hammer that goes wherever i go. but when i grab the bottom hammer i seem to always get killed before i get to the top. or sometimes i get hit climbing up the ladder to the beam below the top hamer beam. its driving me crazy.  i probably die on one of those boards 80% of the time.
its driving me crazy

[Lutus]

I got too frustrated on the last couple of games.  I need to take a break a couple days.  Probably go back to dig dug or missile command.

Definently stick with the bottom hammer though.  I rarely die on barrel stages.

Levels 3 and 4 are the hardest I believe.

[freon1200]

Levels 3 and 4 are the hardest I believe.

tru dat Lutus

[freon1200]

i just had a pretty decent game compared to how ive been playin lately. i thought i was going to beat my old hi. level 7 i was over 200,000 on my first guy which doesnt happen. i was getting nervous. i ran up the ladder on the elevators knowing too well the next spring was death. level 10 mudpies, i died with the hammer running out with a flame about 1/4" from me, and same board lost a life jumping over ledges as a flame came up behind me faster than i could jump. last guy died on level 12 barrels. i dont remember which 12-1, 12-3, or 12-5. when i get in the zone 1/2 the time i cant remember which board is next. its like my mind goes blank and i just play. wasnt a wild barrel or anything. barrels rolling down ladders. double...single, then another double. i think it couldve been done. but it was too fast for me.

overall tho, ill take it.
445,400

[TheShanMan]

Great score freon! One day I'll catch up to you!

Well no new high score to report, but I played 2 games this weekend. The first was 154k, and as much as a score like that would not long ago felt like a very good score, it only felt mediocre this time. Then the second was 240k, my second highest score ever. That one felt like a very good score, but definitely doesn't feel like a score.

I believe while not long ago 200k+ scores were rare for me, they will now be commonplace. My skills have unquestionably improved, and I think playing an infinite lives game all the way to the kill screen had a lot to do with that. I am much better at handling wild barrels than I used to be, I rarely die on the elevator screens now, and rivet screens are a piece of cake 90% of the time. Pie factory is always the wild card - sometimes it is simple as can be, and other times it is pretty tough - mostly when the fireballs get down to the conveyor belt before you're able to get above it.

And during my 240k game I had one of those oh so close moments - I got to the upper ladder just a fraction of a second too late, and the ladder moved down. It started going back up but before I could get to the top a fireball got me from below.

I pretty much don't play during the week anymore. I can't tie up the arcade machine for 45 minutes while I play because the kids are always dying to play, and I don't have the time for it anyway! So I'm down to playing 2 or 3 games on the weekend and that's it.

[freon1200]

Great score freon! One day I'll catch up to you!

thx ShanMan

but youve done some SERIOUS kicking butt!!!!

may 07

My high score in one shot went from around 88,000 to 106,100!

and now july 20 only about 2 1/2 months your at 399,200. thats an insane learning curve. i DO believe you probably will beat my hi if you keep playing like that.

i was hitting around 200,000 around Christmas. now given my high is in the 500k range, thats still about 5 months to get a 300,000 lead on my score. (btw ive only made 500k range once)

[TheShanMan]

may 07

My high score in one shot went from around 88,000 to 106,100!

and now july 20 only about 2 1/2 months your at 399,200. thats an insane learning curve. i DO believe you probably will beat my hi if you keep playing like that.

Now I'd consider 106k to be a terrible score while 2 or 3 months ago it was awesome. Funny how things change like that. Today I'd have to score over 203k just to make it onto the high score table.

[djruden]

To go back to barrel control- PhantonDJ in the Twin Galaxies forums posted a great article he grabbed from:
http://donhodges.com/Controlling_the_barrels_in_Donkey_Kong.htm

It basically disects the Assembler code that is written and explains pretty indepthly exacly when and why a barrel will go down a ladder and the probability you have at controlling the action. 

It's a pretty quick read and pretty interesting.  I figured you guys would like to see it considering we've been on this topic a while 

DJ

[TheShanMan]

GREAT post. Thanks djruden! I posted a comment there suggesting that a similar analysis of wild barrels (in regard to predicting their path and/or controlling their path) would also be awesome.

[freon1200]

man i read that, it was interesting, tho a lot of it didnt make sense as i dont know ANY programming stuff. tho if you understand that....i wish i could find the link i had. jeffs romhack had a page telling about how the randomization for the hammer smashes (300, 500, 800) worked. and it can be figured out. i heard an interview with billy mitchel claiming that he played a perfect game of 800 pt hammer smashes. i was experimenting a lot with this. i always hit the jump button when smashing barrels, and often pull back on the joystick. it seems to give me more 800's tho its purely experimental. and maybe my imagination.i still do have bad games that seem to opnly give me 300's. also i try pushing the start button at different times after inserting coins. theres a few things that seem to make a difference for me. tho like i said it may just be my imagination.

try different things and if you get an 800 try it again a few times. if it doesnt help. try other things. i also noticed i get 800's more often when the timer ends in 700-900 second range. thinking maybe like super mario on nes with the fireworks after grabbing the flag

[TheShanMan]

Interesting! Please do post that link if you can find it. It didn't occur to me that you could control hammer points. I don't think I care enough to spend a lot of time experimenting right now, but if I could read an analysis of the machine code I'd love to put the tips into practice!

[freon1200]

im looking for that hammer smash page right now. i stumbled upon this little 1 page thread. its interesting. read the first post. something i never noticed.
http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11375

[freon1200]

ok here it is. this page has a lot of interesting coding info on donkey kong. at the VERY bottom of the page is a link to the barrel smash coding

http://www.jeffsromhack.com/products/donkeykong_tech.htm

[djruden]

That site is awesome for some nitty gritty DK info!  I've been playing a game or two now each day when I get off work and still haven't upped my score but I'm finding sometimes I can get a really frustrating Rivet stage.

Does anyone have a good strategy?  I use something similar to the DK book diagram posted very early in this thread -- run up the left side getting the rivets and get the hammer one last so I can run across and take out some foxfires - hopefully trapping them on the left now.  Occasionally they do not cooperate and will avoid that level and I can only get 1 or two.  Depending where the fires are now, I either get the rivets on the top or bottom.  It seems like occasionally they get smart tho and block all my paths - even going so far as to just stop above the ladders and block them..

It doesn't always happen like this, and it seems if I can take off right away on my pattern I can usually get around most of it.  How about you?

[freon1200]

yeah, speed is the key. also dont turn and run till they are CLOSE. they often get afraid when you near and retreat. if they stop above the ladder, just shake the control left and right and randomize it. it will eventually cause them to move. also if you can do the backwards jump. jump over the rivet to the right. then back jump. sometimes i do this 3 or 4 times. it often makes them go to the right. you can get the top right rivets first if you want. just on levels 1 thru 3 its best to get the top last. that way you can leech off of donkey kong. also you can jump off of every level and bonce off the wall and back. its good for escaping. the top ledge you have to be halfway off before doing this or youll die. experiment.

[djruden]

I knew about the inviso wall jump, that is always my last resort if I get stuck in a corner.  I usually try to avoid the foxfires at all costs tho as they are such a pain.  Jumping them never seems to pan out and they always turn mid jump and get me so running away is usually my option of choice.  They are just so hard to predict and impossible to control, at least with my experience. 

[TheShanMan]

Hey guys! Getting kinda quiet! Any new high scores or anything? I played a little again this weekend and got 2 upper 200k scores. I no longer think my skills have improved due to playing infinite lives all the way to the kill screen; I know they have. Situations where I would say "oh man, I got lucky there!" seem to happen so much more often that it occurred to me that it's no longer luck - it's being more skillful at handling difficult situations.

How about some of you other 200k+ guys post your top 5 scores in your signature the way I decided to? I figured that is a more interesting thing to keep up on than just what your top score is. For instance, my 399k score might lead people to believe that 300k scores are more common for me than they really are. But they will become common soon! I played 4 games this weekend and 3 of them ended with scores of 289k, 206k, and 279k. So while just a few weeks ago a 200k score was rare, now it's the norm. That means I should be getting 300k scores more often and I'm hoping 500k will not be too far off!

[Paul Olson]

I played through to the kill screen yesterday, and I think it will really help my game. By the time I got to around level 15, I was pulling off some pretty tough barrel jumps. I was playing 2 player with my 12 year old nephew, and he made it to the 3rd elevators. A couple of days ago he couldn't get past the 1st screen, now he usually gets to the 3rd screen or better on a regular game.

I think I died more on the pie factory levels than anywhere else, so I really need to work on some strategy there.

I will start posting my scores soon. I haven't gone past 100k in a while though. I am experimenting a lot with barrel control.

How do you guys get time to play so much. I think I almost wore out my pause button  getting to the kill screen. Constant interuptions all day long, including a 250 mile road trip. It seems like as soon as I start playing, everyone I have ever met needs me to do something. 

[TheShanMan]

Cool! I don't generally play during the week any more because games usually take too long now (generally 30 minutes plus). On the weekends I usually try to sneak up when the family is watching a movie or playing outside or something.

Here's my approach to pie factory... first make all fireballs come out on the left side by staying left of center (time it so that you move right of center when the last fireball comes out). Then hopefully you can make it all the way up the right side of the screen to the top without any fireball conflict.

If not, hopefully you can at least make it to the girder above the conveyor belt with only 1 fireball on the upper conveyor belt. I then try to coax  the fireball down the leftmost ladder by pressing down on my joystick when he's near that ladder. When he goes down, shoot up to the top.

If you can't even make it above the conveyor belt without conflict, then be prepared to go back down to the bottom girder, and look for an opportunity to go up.

I usually avoid the hammers unless I'm in too much danger. Since the fireballs come out on the same side that you're on, killing fireballs usually doesn't help beyond getting you out of immediate danger.

Once you're to the point of waiting for an opportunity to go up the ladder to the topmost girder (i.e. finish the level), you need to know that fireballs NEVER come back down the ladder once they're up there, so you can safely wait on the moving part of the ladder (just don't get burned from below!). Also, they like to stay somewhat close to the ladder, making it hard to find opportunities to go up. If there's only one fireball near the ladder, no problem. If there are 2, you can probably find a good opportunity. If there are 3 or more near that ladder, you probably need to go down and work your way to the ladder on the opposite side of the screen. The fireballs will generally not switch sides, so those 3 or more will probably remain on that side, giving you more of an opportunity to get up on the opposite side.

Let me know if that helps you! I think that pretty thoroughly covers my strategy. Anyone else want to chime in with something I'm forgetting?

[Lutus]

If a fireball is guarding the top and won't let you up, I usually get almost to the top of the ladder and keep pushing the joystick away (left or right) toward KONG.  Almost trying to "push" the fireballs away from me.

Works most of the time.  Or maybe it is a mind game. 

[jeffsgames]

I got 298,200 this last week.  I lost two guys on one pie level, and I had to get past an elevator level to get 300K.  Pressure got to me and I mis-timed the springs.   

You guys are doing great!  Personally my goal is to beat the 568,400 on TG to pass Brian Kuh.

[freon1200]

on the conveyers, they almost always seem to go to the ri
+ght (fireballs) so even if there are a lot on the left side (top) they will still go to the right. i always aim for the right top. but if i cant and get an opening. i ALWAYS go to the left if possible. theres almost always an opening there.

[TheShanMan]

Good tip, freon. I think you're right on that one.

BTW, nice to see I'd make #4 on your high score table. I have my work cut out for me to move up the list though!

[freon1200]

thx TheShanMan
i need to start playing more. i played for a few minutes today and lost 2 guys on level 4 mudpies.(right after typing in the mudpie tip too) time was about 0 seconds left and had a flame behind me on the ladder, and a flame above me(top) then the second guy, i dont remember how, died. i just quit lol.

[Paul Olson]

I enjoy trying to improve my DK score, but not nearly as much as teaching the game to someone else. When my nephew got here last week, he could not pass the first board. He was frustrated, but he finally started listening and watching what I was doing. Today before I drove him to the airport, we had a chance to play 1 more game. He scored 45,200! Not bad for a 12 year old who has played the game for less than a week. 

[fatfingers]

I enjoy trying to improve my DK score, but not nearly as much as teaching the game to someone else. When my nephew got here last week, he could not pass the first board. He was frustrated, but he finally started listening and watching what I was doing. Today before I drove him to the airport, we had a chance to play 1 more game. He scored 45,200! Not bad for a 12 year old who has played the game for less than a week. 

 

[freon1200]

nice!!!
thats awsome pcolson

[TheShanMan]

I keep wondering what the pattern of levels is, so finally looked it up and found this. Figured others would be interested:

Code: [Select]

The levels in Donkey Kong are arranged in a specific order.  All levels after
Level 05 are the same.  Use this key to determine the order of playing fields
within a level:

          G  = GIRDER; R  = RIVET; E  = ELEVATOR; PF = PIE FACTORY

             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
             | HEIGHT   | 25m | 50m | 75m | 100m | 125m | 150m |
             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
             | LEVEL 01 |  G  |  R  |--------------------------|
             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
             | LEVEL 02 |  G  |  E  |  R  |--------------------|
             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
             | LEVEL 03 |  G  |  PF |  E  |   R  |-------------|
             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
             | LEVEL 04 |  G  |  PF |  G  |   E  |   R  |------|
             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+
             | LEVEL 05 |  G  |  PF |  G  |   E  |   G  |   R  |
             +----------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+

Also, one of these days I should tease out all the tips from this now massive thread and create a wiki page out of it.

[fatfingers]

 I am utterly amazed at the gaming skills of people here (and the patience)!  I've never been a great gamer, but OMG, I FINALLY passed 100,000 today.  102,300 to be exact.


And I know that's nothing to you big guns, but it's quite the achievement for me.  Even made it to level 6!
 

[TheShanMan]

That's great! It was only a few months ago (after I started this thread) that I got 100k for the first time.

[freon1200]

first time i hit 100,000 i was SOOOO nervouse i died within a few minutes. then 150,000. etc. whenever you get near a score you havent gotten before your nervs clamp up...hehe but after you get 100k a few times youll be calm, then start gettin nervouse around 200k. and the process goes on.  btw  fatfingers, nice on reachin 100k. welcome to the club!!! 

[fatfingers]

117,800 WOOT!

[Lutus]

careful fatfingers, sounds like you are starting to get hooked on high scores! 

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

I beat my personal record last night, and am sitting pretty on 124,300 as of 8/1 (I took camera phone pics because I don't have a freakin high score save kit installed yet!!!).  Before breaking 100g, my personal best was 98,400.

[shiftybill]

my strategy for the pie factory is

1. as soon as the level starts and mario appears wait half a second then jump straight up and as soon as you land run to the right, grab the item and climb up the ladder (this is just enough time so that all fireballs start on the left and so u just miss any pies that are coming on the conveyor (if any))
2. when u are on the conveyor belt do a quick jump to the right and up the next ladder (if fireballs are at the top of the ladder press left on the joystick a few times and they should move)
3. jump to the right side and up two ladders to the top

hope this helps

[Paul Olson]

OK guys, no more playing around in MAME for me. Today I played on an original cab for the first time in close to 20 years.

I finally own my own DK! Not bad for $150. It came with new side art and a cap kit. I installed the cap kit today, but the sideart will have to wait. you can see a hole in the back of the cab  . I saw it happen as I was pushing it into the truck, but by then it was too late. I am going to wait on the restore on this one. The fall semester is starting soon, and I already have a ton of projects to try to finish up before then. I need to replace a couple of buttons, then it will be time to try to catch up to you guys. 

[freon1200]

wow!!! pcolson
nice score 

where the heck did you find that fore $150 with a capkit and new sideart?!?!
they obviouslly knew the value if they had those things with it.
congratulations

[Paul Olson]

I got it from a new friend I buy my pinball parts from. I am doing some work on his DK3 so he can sell it; that helped drop the price a little. Now it turns out that my girlfriend likes the DK3.  I also got 4 untested boards in the deal. I can give back the boards and keep the DK3 for $200, so I am thinking about that now. It is kinda cool having her show interest in this hobby, so I may take the offer.

I have played probably 10 games on the DK and I still haven't passed 100k. 

It is a lot of fun playing on the real thing though. 

[Lutus]

well after a couple weeks of using the bottom hammer I am going back to try for the kill screen and skip the bottom hammer all together.

I was getting scores of 150 to 200 K when using the bottom hammer every time.  I think the reason I was struggling so much was that my rhythm in the game was getting thrown off when I would just stand there by the hammer.  I had much better success from just trying to press on through the levels.

Careful pcolson, when you plateau on this game, you are in for some stressful times!!!! 

[Paul Olson]

I used to get 100 - 120 almost every game. Since I started learning barrel control I've dropped about 30,000. It does get a little frustrating.

There are a lot of DK owners in this thread I think so I will ask here. I searched a lot for this last night and saw it mentioned, but never answered. When the game is powered on, I hear the starting sound then it cuts down to a really low volume and repeats indefinitely. Sounds like an echo. Has anyone found out what causes this?

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

OK guys, no more playing around in MAME for me. Today I played on an original cab for the first time in close to 20 years.

I finally own my own DK! Not bad for $150. It came with new side art and a cap kit. I installed the cap kit today, but the sideart will have to wait. you can see a hole in the back of the cab  . I saw it happen as I was pushing it into the truck, but by then it was too late. I am going to wait on the restore on this one. The fall semester is starting soon, and I already have a ton of projects to try to finish up before then. I need to replace a couple of buttons, then it will be time to try to catch up to you guys. 

Welcome to the "I paid $150 for a donkey kong cab in great condition" club!!

 

[freon1200]

pcolson
this may not fix your problem, but....
there are 2 volume controls. ones by the monitor on the board with about 5 knobs. then theres on on the actual pcb. not on the edge of the pcb, but on the board by the chips, etc. well there 2 pots(knobs) on the edge right by each other. dont touch those. then one solo about 3" or so down from the top of the board, and close to the center from both ends. try adjusting this. b\c there are different sounds going to each pot. the sounds being quiet are probably connected to the board pot. tho if this is the case. certain sounds would be louder like jumping barrels, etc.

[Paul Olson]

I'll check the pot. All of the game sounds are right. This is just a background noise that I don't think is supposed to be there.

[freon1200]

if you mean a humming, or slight buzz. thats common with ALL nintendo cabs with the  ez20 monitors. the audio amp is build in or close to the monitor circutry. and picks up from that.
if you mean it sounds like a bass like sound in the background all the time. or a rumbling. it means its time to do a capkit on the soundboard. this can be done without removing the monitor, monitor chassis or even discharging it. its the board behind the board with the 5 pots on it.
if your familiar with Bob Roberts, he sells the kit for about $4

http://homearcade.org/BBBB/

[Paul Olson]

It is like the jumping sound in a continuous loop, and at a very low volume compared to the game sounds.

[freon1200]

o, im not sure then. mine does that with dkjr sometimes, but only lasts about 2-3 seconds

[Jdurg]

Alrighty, a new high score for me!    49,500.  I finally got to the pie factory and beat it with no problems.  I'm just pissed because three times I lost a guy on the elevator stages because I didn't jump at the right spot off of the second elevator and plummetted to my death.  Still, I'm moving on up now! 

I still need to work on barrell control, however, since I always seem to lose too many lives on the first couple barrell stages.  The rivets stage is my best one thus far with maybe two lives lost TOTAL while I've been playing. 


Edit:  I guess I short changed myself as my high was actually 49,500. 

[freon1200]

nice going Jdurg

i wouldnt bother with the barrel control till level 03. it barely works on level 01, and 50/50 on level 02

[Jdurg]

nice going Jdurg

i wouldnt bother with the barrel control till level 03. it barely works on level 01, and 50/50 on level 02

That would explain my issues then.   

[Lutus]

I went back to the top hammer only style of play and scores my second highest score of 320,000 or so.

Only the second time to top 300,000.  For some reason I just feel more comfortable playing this way.


I even jumped a few fireballs and firefoxs that game.

[fatfingers]

There is no question that top-only hammer is much easier.  Lots fewer difficult barrel combinations to deal with.  Of course, with doing that comes fewer possible points.

[freon1200]

There is no question that top-only hammer is much easier.  Lots fewer difficult barrel combinations to deal with.  Of course, with doing that comes fewer possible points.

true, but if you live for 40 more boards, then its worth it in the end

[Paul Olson]

I got 155,700 last night, so I am back in the game now.  The neighbors came over at about 145k and the last 2 lives went really quick after that. I think I really lost my concentration.

To finish the DK story:
I paid $150 for the cab and the boards, and I had to fix the sound on the DK as part of the deal. Now, I am giving back 3 of the boards and my girlfriend is buying the DK3 for $200. I am keeping the DK Jr to either swap, or make a double DK. It has a bad rom, so I am pulling and cleaning the chips to see if it is an easy fix.

It is fun having her playing next to me out in the garage. She seems pretty excited about the purchase also.

[fatfingers]

There is no question that top-only hammer is much easier.  Lots fewer difficult barrel combinations to deal with.  Of course, with doing that comes fewer possible points.

true, but if you live for 40 more boards, then its worth it in the end

Oh, yes, I'm in complete agreement.  Just trying to say that in the long run we/you/they will have to learn how to do it to really score high.  That's all.


Grats pcolson!

[Paul Olson]

I had to stop trying the bottom hammer. I was really frustrated with 30k games. 

[Lutus]

My thinking was that if I can make it to the kill screen, then I will start using the bottom hammer.

I made it to level 11 or so in my 320,000 game.  So if I would have made it to the kill screen I would have been in the 600,000 to 800,000 range.

pcolson, you have GOT to get some white T-molding for the DK!! 

[massive88]

My thinking was that if I can make it to the kill screen, then I will start using the bottom hammer.

I agree.  Right now by far the biggest limiter is what screen I can make it to.  Once I get to a kill screen, just once, then Ill worry about the more dangerous jacking up of my points during the journey.

[freon1200]

hey Lutus, youd be about 800,000 points if you made it to the killscreen. thats the average for people that dont grab the bottom hammer. that 320,000 is with the first 4 levels.
lv01. 2 boards
lv02. 3 boards
lv03. 4 boards
lv04. 5 boards.

thats 14 boards on the first 4 levels to 24 boards on every 4 levels beyoind level 5 and up

so those first boards wouldnt equal the same score that you would have on 4 levels after level 4. plus the fist 2 levels the point for bonus items are 300, and 500, pts. 3 and up are 800. so when you add your score from halfway thru the game. level 11 isnt actually 1/2 way thru because of the first 4 levels. so your score will be higher. so 600,000 would be an impossibility, unless you were purposely trying to get the least amount of points possible.

*edit

[Paul Olson]

Yeah, I know the black t-molding is ugly. I need to try to find a new marquee bulb too. I didn't notice it was out until I took that picture.

[rlehm]

Does Donkey Kong keep a record of your high score in Mame after exiting the game? Sorry for the stupid question. I cannot access my mame cab right now because the room is being re textured, painted etc. My cab is wrapped in plastic to protect it.

[freon1200]

you need the high score save file. i think is highscore.dat or something like that. unless they did away with that? but normaly it runs like the arcade and doesnt save high scores

[Paul Olson]

You will need to compile a version with high score support. Check out this thread.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=64298.0

[rlehm]

oh, I use mame32ui 126 on my main cab right now. I'll have to look into getting it to save Donkey Kong high scores.

[rlehm]

This is nuts:

[Lutus]

hey Lutus, youd be about 800,000 points if you made it to the killscreen. thats the average for people that dont grab the bottom hammer. that 320,000 is with the first 4 levels.
lv01. 2 boards
lv02. 3 boards
lv03. 4 boards
lv04. 5 boards.

thats 14 boards on the first 4 levels to 24 boards on every 4 levels beyoind level 5 and up

so those first boards wouldnt equal the same score that you would have on 4 levels after level 4. plus the fist 2 levels the point for bonus items are 300, and 500, pts. 3 and up are 800. so when you add your score from halfway thru the game. level 11 isnt actually 1/2 way thru because of the first 4 levels. so your score will be higher. so 600,000 would be an impossibility, unless you were purposely trying to get the least amount of points possible.

*edit

Aha, I see your point, forgot about those first 4 boards being so short and not having as long a bonus timer.

I am noticing that almost ALL of my smashes with the hammer (firefoxs and barrels) I am only getting 300 points.  Is there any way to up your chances of getting a 500 or an 800 smash?

[rlehm]

hey Lutus, youd be about 800,000 points if you made it to the killscreen. thats the average for people that dont grab the bottom hammer. that 320,000 is with the first 4 levels.
lv01. 2 boards
lv02. 3 boards
lv03. 4 boards
lv04. 5 boards.

thats 14 boards on the first 4 levels to 24 boards on every 4 levels beyoind level 5 and up

so those first boards wouldnt equal the same score that you would have on 4 levels after level 4. plus the fist 2 levels the point for bonus items are 300, and 500, pts. 3 and up are 800. so when you add your score from halfway thru the game. level 11 isnt actually 1/2 way thru because of the first 4 levels. so your score will be higher. so 600,000 would be an impossibility, unless you were purposely trying to get the least amount of points possible.

*edit

Aha, I see your point, forgot about those first 4 boards being so short and not having as long a bonus timer.

I am noticing that almost ALL of my smashes with the hammer (firefoxs and barrels) I am only getting 300 points.  Is there any way to up your chances of getting a 500 or an 800 smash?

watch the video inserted right above your post, it will show you how to increase points.

[freon1200]

I am noticing that almost ALL of my smashes with the hammer (firefoxs and barrels) I am only getting 300 points.  Is there any way to up your chances of getting a 500 or an 800 smash?

Lutus, what i do about 99% of the time is push the jump button and hold it while smashing things. and push backwards( like the next to DK on the rivets) it often does nothing. but sometimes i find myself getting a LOT of 800's. also ive noticed it more often when the bonus timer is ending in the 700_900 seconds range. im thinking it may work kinda like the fireworks in super mario bros according to the clock. try pushing different directions and pushing and holding the button different lengths of time. and if you see 500 or 800 pts. try and replicate it.
i heard an interview with Billy saying he played a perfect game of 800 point smashes. (probably smashed the first barrel and killed off all his guys  )

rlehm
THANK YOU sooooo much for that video. i wasnt sure how to set up for those 800 pointers to keep walking down ladders. im sure i wont perfect it. but im going to try. that is friggin awsome.

[TheShanMan]

Glad to see people making progress while I've been away on vacation (and jealous of that DK purchase!).

For those of you who are putting your scores in your sig: I suggest mentioning that they're DK scores. Otherwise your posts in other threads will make people think "what the heck do those numbers mean?"

[fatfingers]

Well, 144,700 is now my high.  I could have done so much better too as I had 3 guys left on the last level and for some reason just choked it away on a barrel stage.  *sigh*

Oh well, still my best score.

 

[freon1200]

ive been trying that 3 barrel jump trick. its really hard with the minimal barrel control on 1-1. i pulled it on the cade 2-3 times in about 20 min of attempts. and on mame about 4 times in about 45 min of attempts. given itd be a LOT easier to pull off on the later barrel stages as far as control. tho youd have a LOT more wild barrels too. plus im sure trying this is a whoile lot hard that goin for the bottom hammer. lol. tho maybe ill savestate on 5-1 or something and work on that for a while.

[extendedplayarcade]

I got 155,700 last night, so I am back in the game now.  The neighbors came over at about 145k and the last 2 lives went really quick after that. I think I really lost my concentration.

To finish the DK story:
I paid $150 for the cab and the boards, and I had to fix the sound on the DK as part of the deal. Now, I am giving back 3 of the boards and my girlfriend is buying the DK3 for $200. I am keeping the DK Jr to either swap, or make a double DK. It has a bad rom, so I am pulling and cleaning the chips to see if it is an easy fix.

It is fun having her playing next to me out in the garage. She seems pretty excited about the purchase also.

Nice kong machines.  I wish to have one of those or both of them one day. 

Great score too.  I just scored the other nite 78,200.  On mame version one of DK.

My best score to date.  Not great but I am stoked about it.

Brent
www.extendedplayarcade.com

[djruden]

I've been in a major rut lately on DK.  I've experimented a bit with new tricks and I plan to maybe start point pressing a bit more now.  There's no particular spot that seems to be killing me but just bad luck on any board.  Sometimes its the springs on the elevator (the 3rd one and beyond always makes me nervous) or sometimes it's a wild fire in the pie factory -- those things move so quick it's hard to maneuver away when on the conveyor belts.  Sometimes it's even the barrel board that gets me which most of the time I can fly thru without problem. 

Anyway, I posted my second best score ever the other night so I think I'm finally getting back in the zone and hopefully can pull into the 300k range. 

My top 5
200,200
190,900
178,500
170,200
165,800

All scores were placed on a standard DK machine with original joystick and only modification being the high score save kit.  3 guys to start and free guy at 7000 pts.

[Paul Olson]

Hey guys,
I was looking for a repro instruction card for my DK, and I could not find one that looked right (due to copyright info or whatever). I did some copying and pasting to put one together.
Please check out http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=83305.0 and let me know what you think. Is it accurate?

Thanks,
Paul

Thanks, I am having a great time with the DK. Does any one know where I can find buttons that are the right color? I am waiting to do a full resto, but the CP needs to be redone now. The wrong buttons are driving me nuts. 

[Paul Olson]

I'm in the 200k club now. I just scored 207,500. It is weird what goes through your mind when you are having a good game. When I passed 170k, I wasn't thinking, "cool, new high score", or even " I'm going to break 200". I was thinking "I'm goin over 3!". Which, of course, broke my concentration and I started making stupid mistakes. Every time I died, I could have made it if I would have made a better decision. It sucks when you realize you screwed up, but there is nothing you can do but watch the outcome.

That was a fun game!

[fatfingers]

I'm in the 200k club now. I just scored 207,500.

Grats, pcolson!  A great achievement.  Hopefully I'll be there before too long as well.  Not long ago it was not thinkable, but now it is definitely within reach (with some luck).

[TheShanMan]

It's fun to see everyone getting so much better over time. Congrats on the score! It may not be long before you'll be disappointed to get that score.

BTW, since another thread (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=83345.0) was started for people who aren't as hardcore as some of us, I thought I'd state for the record that people who are addicted but have much lower high scores are welcome here too! Hey, my high score was around 90k when I started this thread, so don't feel intimidated by our scores. It's great to see people improving at DK whether you're over 100k or under! And feel free to post what you're having difficulty with - maybe we can help out and get you into the 100k club!

[TheShanMan]

This is nuts:

I missed this until today. AWESOME video. Never would have thought you could get 11k on the first screen! I've gotten over 10k on lvl1 50m (1st rivets) though.

[Lutus]

I would NEVER play that risky past the first level. 

But that is a FANTASTIC score.  I don't know how he controlled the barrels that well, maybe a fluke?  Or a modified ROM set where you could control barrels on the first screen.

I know over on the twingalaxies forum they were having a little competition to see who could get the hightest score on the first level.  If this is from that competition then it IS a legit ROM. 

Still impressive.

[freon1200]

hey Lutus
i dont think he had super good control over the barrels. he probably hit record, died, cancel (repeat about 20 times) till he got it right. and sometimes you DO get barrel ctrl on the first screen. i try out of habbit even tho i know it usually wont work.
   we should have a first guy, first board high score challenge here too. =] tho you gotta spend about 15-30 min --BINGO! Either that, or I was attempting to say "before" but it was too many letters to type-- you have a chance (learnin the pattern) also i tried it on higher levels. doesnt usually work. because sometimes the barrels are far apart when DK throws them, and sometimes theyre close. if i spent time studying it i might be able to figure when it'd work. but im not going to sice i dont even bother with the hammer. =]

[freon1200]

i died on the first mudpies the other day, so i was mad and just left it running. came back a minute later and there was still 1 guy left. i started counting. there about 6.5 seconds (on the bonus timer) between each switch in direction of the conveyer belts. im thinking of seeing if it falls on the same seconds every time. if soo  we could write them down and obviously we'd need to do up to level 5 mudpies. but that would improve the mudpies 10fold i think.

[Bender]

the conveyers switch every other time donkey kong hits the left side of the screen
I would have mentioned it before but assumed that that was common knowledge
hope that helps

[freon1200]

the conveyers switch every other time donkey kong hits the left side of the screen
I would have mentioned it before but assumed that that was common knowledge
hope that helps

never knew that. im sure itll help me a lot!

thx Bender =]

[TheShanMan]

Yeah, I've never paid a whole lot of attention to the pattern myself. It will certainly help with not getting caught off-guard!

[djruden]

I guess while we are talking about the pie factory -- does anyone know if there's any rhyme or reason to which sides the pies come out? 

Obviously the flames come out of the fire on the same side jumpman is standing but the pies have been a mystery to me.

[djruden]

Since this thread is one of the best for DK info I figured I would add something I found over on the KLOV msg board:

http://forums.klov.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=861522&page=2&fpart=1&vc=1&nt=7

Mikes Arcade website is now selling repro DK joysticks incase anyone is in need and can't find an original or doesn't want to go with a Wico or whatever.  Looks to be pretty similar.

Check em out and order here:
https://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=TKG-23-50

[fatfingers]

I've been on a cold streak lately -- not sure why.  And while I'm still not a master I did just break my high score by 2,100 -- which makes my current high score 165,000.

[Bender]

Since this thread is one of the best for DK info I figured I would add something I found over on the KLOV msg board:

http://forums.klov.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=861522&page=2&fpart=1&vc=1&nt=7

Mikes Arcade website is now selling repro DK joysticks incase anyone is in need and can't find an original or doesn't want to go with a Wico or whatever.  Looks to be pretty similar.

Check em out and order here:
https://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=TKG-23-50

I ordered one yesterday
I'll let you all know how it handles after i try it out for a few days

[CrazyKongFan]

I would NEVER play that risky past the first level. 

But that is a FANTASTIC score.  I don't know how he controlled the barrels that well, maybe a fluke?  Or a modified ROM set where you could control barrels on the first screen.

I know over on the twingalaxies forum they were having a little competition to see who could get the hightest score on the first level.  If this is from that competition then it IS a legit ROM. 

The top score for that competition was 11,300, so it's definitely possibly he's using a legit ROM (the one on youtube was 11,400, so it's not the same one). I like the choice of songs too. Another good one would be "roll out the barrell", but that'd get annoying quickly

Haven't posted in awhile, but got some great news. This weekend I bought a DK cocktail! It's in pretty good condition too, sound is great, had some discoloration on the monitor, just needed some degausing (which I was actually able to fix with a refrigerator magnet! )

[TheShanMan]

Sweet! DK is definitely at the top of my wish list so hopefully it won't be too long before I get one.

[CrazyKongFan]

the conveyers switch every other time donkey kong hits the left side of the screen
I would have mentioned it before but assumed that that was common knowledge
hope that helps

I never noticed that before, but you're correct (well, sort of). They switch when Kong hits the left side, not every other time (it would be every other time he switches directions, but the bottom belt switches whenever he hits the left side)
Anyway, got a new high score the other day on my cocktail, and it looked so good to me, I ended up leaving it on for a few days...couldn't bear to erase it Got 373,200 on level 10-4. I still have trouble sometimes with those darn 3rd elevator patterns. Beat my previous high by almost 150K! Was really in the grove there for awhile

[fatfingers]

Beat my previous high by almost 150K! Was really in the grove there for awhile

Whoa!!!!!  Nice Job!

[javeryh]

This is kind of related - does anyone know why you do not get 100 points EVERY TIME you jump over a barrel?  It is very frustrating to jump a barrel and not get any points... 

[fatfingers]

The zero points barrel jumping has to do with the algorithm for how barrel jumping detection works.

Short story: Always push the joystick left or right while in the air over the barrel, then you will get your points (always)

Long story (some details not quite right): The default barrel jump detection looks at the 5 (?) pixels below Mario, and if a barrel is in that range, the jump is detected.  However, if at the height of the jump the joystick is pressed left or right, then the jump detection expands the number of pixels checked to 15 (?).

Since reading this somewhere I have modified my game play to always, always be pushing the joystick left or right while in the air, and I always get the 100 points awarded.

Good luck!

[javeryh]

The zero points barrel jumping has to do with the algorithm for how barrel jumping detection works.

Short story: Always push the joystick left or right while in the air over the barrel, then you will get your points (always)

Long story (some details not quite right): The default barrel jump detection looks at the 5 (?) pixels below Mario, and if a barrel is in that range, the jump is detected.  However, if at the height of the jump the joystick is pressed left or right, then the jump detection expands the number of pixels checked to 15 (?).

Since reading this somewhere I have modified my game play to always, always be pushing the joystick left or right while in the air, and I always get the 100 points awarded.

Good luck!

Perfect answer.  I'm sure I can increase my 46,000 high score now!  Thanks!!!

Yes, I stink.   

[CrazyKongFan]

Sometimes I won't get points jumping them doing a moving jump. I've even jumped two and didn't get any...that's really frustrating to lose the 300 points you're expecting
Fatfingers is correct on his description. It's also why you can stand right next to Kong's foot and jump and get 100, but you only have to be within the vertical pole holding up the top row and jump and push the stick while Mario's in the air to also get the 100.

[fatfingers]

I suspect that if you're missing points when moving while jumping it's because you're releasing the joystick before jumpman reaches his peak.  If you do this, not enough pixels are being scanned for you to get your points.

[pupu]

Finally, after a week of being stuck in the high 90s, I finally got 113,500.  I can get to the 3rd elevator with 2 or three men, and would lose them all there, only getting though about 10% of the time, and I lose my life on the fist move on the springs, I am about 99% getting up the later, it is the first part that is killing me.  So today, I get there with 3 men plus my current man, end up making it on my last man, and then made it past the next elevator stage also.  I think I have it now, I had just been timing it wrong.  My heart was beating crazy fast.  After some 97k games and they dying on something stupid pisses you off something major.  This thread has been nice, now I got the controlling down pretty good so the barrel is not my bad level anymore, if I do die, it is one of those random crazy barrels.

I just let that be my last game for today, might as well end on a high note, lol

[TheShanMan]

Great progress, pupu!

After a long hiatus from playing DK, I decided to play some last night, and man do I have some rust to knock off. I was in the 80-100k range with 3 games! Once I lost my last life right before the 3rd elevator stage! Then I played some Galaga and sucked on that for a couple of games too, getting scores way below my average. So I'm writing it off as a bad gaming night, and plan to get myself back into the 200's this weekend. Gotta get on the high score table again!

[Paul Olson]

The other day I finally had a chance to play a little DK. I played 3 games: 70k's, 150k's, and 40k's. I don't know what happened on the last game. I died on the first screen! It didn't get much better after that. I usually get to the 100k range on my first life, and then rapidly burn through them at some point after that. Nothing hard, just stupid mistakes. I usually end up using all of my lives within a 10k spread. I don't know what the problem is, I guess I am just losing focus.

[pupu]

If i die on the first couple of screens, I just end it and start over.  I usually have a good game ( for me at least ) followed by some pretty bad games, but on average i am in the 80s to 90s.  For the most part, I am pretty solid till the third elevator, there has been a couple of times i dont trust my judgment and run out of time, lol.  and I get to the top with over 5000 points left, I just sit there.  I played a couple more games, but only got to the 90s.  I am content for now, I can only play a about 5 games, and my first or second game is usually the best.  After that, I tend to go downhill.  I seem to post better scores if I give it a break. 

The only bad part is that once you get better, the games start taking longer.  Mine are still only about 15 minutes, but once you get good, would suck to be playing for an hour or so and then just fall apart.

[Bender]

The only bad part is that once you get better, the games start taking longer.  Mine are still only about 15 minutes, but once you get good, would suck to be playing for an hour or so and then just fall apart.

Hallelujah! ain't that the truth!

[TheShanMan]

Well my major slump is over. Last night I played for probably 1 1/2 hours and the night ended in frustration. This morning as I was getting ready I saw a token on the floor, and I knew it was a sign. "This will be the game". I got 288k, which is my #3 score. A mere 1000 below my #2 score . So the good news is I got a great score and the slump is over! The bad news is that means I now have to get over 260k to get onto the high score table.

It meant running late this morning, but it made my morning!

[fatfingers]

Well my major slump is over. Last night I played for probably 1 1/2 hours and the night ended in frustration. This morning as I was getting ready I saw a token on the floor, and I knew it was a sign. "This will be the game". I got 288k, which is my #3 score. A mere 1000 below my #2 score . So the good news is I got a great score and the slump is over! The bad news is that means I now have to get over 260k to get onto the high score table.

It meant running late this morning, but it made my morning!

 

[TheShanMan]

I went through this entire thread, extracted all tips and techniques, organized them, and posted them in the ning community that Jeff Rothe set up, in the DK group there. Become a Donkey Kong Master! - Tips and techniques for reaching 100,000 and beyond!

[fatfingers]

Thanks!

 

[Ummon]

I went through this entire thread, extracted all tips and techniques, organized them, and posted them in the ning community that Jeff Rothe set up, in the DK group there. Become a Donkey Kong Master! - Tips and techniques for reaching 100,000 and beyond!

Lotta work, that.

[TheShanMan]

You're right about that, Ummon. Probably at least 3 hours. I see it as my way of contributing since I learned so much from other people in this thread, resulting in a huge increase in my high score.

[Lutus]

Hey strangers, it has been a LONG time.  Too long.  I have been super busy with wedding plans, work travel (overseas) and plain ol life.  I am ready to get back on the DK ban wagon.  Just letting everyone know that I am still alive and hope to post some scores on my road to DK recovery.

Cheers!


PS, weird new emoticon...... playing DK with the king!   

[Paul Olson]

Hey Lutus, join us in the DK group at coinopspace.com. We are starting to get quite a few people in there, and a lot of them are very good players.

[Ummon]

I'll ban ya, Lutus. Oh, you mean BANDwagon!

[Lutus]

I'll ban ya, Lutus. Oh, you mean BANDwagon!

HAHA, yes,   BAND wagon.

I have a high score to report..... kinda.

I set my starting guys to 6 on my come back game.  First game I got a score of 442,400.  Made it half way through level 12 I think.

Even if I would have set it for 3 men I would have still beat my old high score by 20,000.

I love this game.  I will see you at coinopspace as well pcolson.

[Ummon]

Well, I just hit a new record for myself, and quite a leap, too. Last high score was 141K. It was a strange game. Didn't lose my first guy till pies on level 4. Then I lost two more! But I managed to get past it, and then I had this idea that maybe I would just....keep going. Indefinitely, perhaps! Well, not quite. But still, from about 90k on, on my last dude. And really I should've gotten past here, but I sketched while going up the ladder and thought maybe I was gonna get his so went back down. I think I would've made it. Another interesting thing is that I hadn't been playing at all for a couple months maybe till recently, and then this was the last of only a handful of games.

[Lutus]

Sometimes that last man can be the best no doubt.

My new high scores.....

6-men start 630,000 range

3-men start 366,000 range

I can get to level 12 or 13 on 3-man setting and level 17 with 6-man setting.  Would love to hit that kill screen.

[audihere]

Does anyone have a link to a guide on jumping in Donkey Kong.  Such as, what can be jumped, what can't be jumped, when to jump straight up, jump and move, combinations of both, how to jump repetitively quickly etc.?

[javeryh]

you guys are insane.  I spent a few hours over the weekend playing DK and my high score now stands at 43,600.  I have only seen the pie level a few times and only beaten it once.  DK is probably my third favorite game (after Ms. Pac-Man and Mr. Do!) but man do I suck at it.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, I love this game, but man does it kick ---my bottom---.

[ghettodish]

I haven't played DK since King of Kong was on tv 

 

[Ginsu Victim]

I haven't played DK since King of Quarters was on tv 

 

Kong

[Ummon]

Hahah, king of quarters. I took a break from the game and can't break 90 grand without trying. Just not an ingrained game.

[renodakota]

hey everyone first time poster been lurking and reading as much as i can this thread is awesome and i learned a ton from it. thank you guys for sharing all this info about dk and everything else that goes on this website. i am finally breaking 100K with 13700 being my current high. i'm stuck in a rut of getting really unlucky on loops 3 and 4. the elevators don't phase me anymore thank god.i still struggle with barrel control but i'm learning. it's all about getting your technique down and getting that perfect game, you know the one no wild barrels, you can run right up the pie factory. does any one have a working link to the twin galaxies thread about the randomness of hammer points? again i understand this thread is dead but figured i would give it a shot and say thanks for all the great tips.
-eddie

[jacklance]

Looks like DK has this. He's just superior in every sense. (Bigger, faster, and stronger too, one might say.) Link doesn't have anything close to DK's strength and agility, or any means of restraining him. The Master Sword shouldn't really make a difference. Haven't played a Zelda game in a while, but isn't it made specifically to counter Evil? DK is morally dubious at his absolute worst.