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ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 9:59 am
by akeley
Ladies and gents, welcome to Round 2 of the ZX High Score Club (Season 1). This week's randomly chosen games are:

PSSST (Ultimate Play The Game, 1986). Chosen by me (and a few others). Yet another early Spectrum classic.

Cannonball (MicroHobby, 1985). Chosen by clebin. Looks like a clone of one of these ancient arcade top down maze racers. Since you have played it recently on Hardest Difficulty, this is the one we choose for this round as well. Please remember to change the settings!

EXTRA GAME! Since Cannonball had a recent appearance, we throw a little bonus game in the mix (there still may or may not be one next Sunday too).

Flappy Bird ZX (Rafal Miazga,Aleksandr Rostunov, 2014) - chosen by R-Tape. Spectrum version of the smartphone one-button hit.

This round ends on Sunday the 16th of August, 00:00 GMT (Sunday midnight). Please submit your final score by then.

DEAR LURKERS! You can still join in at any time! Please do! There will be a chance to submit scores for previous rounds later in the season, but in any case competing in single rounds is fun too.

ZX HSC rules:

1) play fair: no cheating and no using of handicaps of any kind (eg hacked game versions, save states, etc)
2) no cheesing; ie abusing some inherent glitches in games allowing to maximize points
3) final score submitted must be a screenshot (you can submit scr$ for all your scores but it's not required)
4) some rule I can't think of now but might be added later
5) have FUN! we're not Twin Galaxies and this is meant to be a very easy-going, no-high-pressure "competition", meant mostly to generate friendly banter and celebrate ancient videogames. Competitive angle is of course also welcome, but hopefully without OCD ;)

As per 5), game-related thread-derails are most welcome. Talking about these games is most encouraged (share tricks, strategies, trivia, tell us why you love or can't stand the particular title, etc...) and is one of the main aims of this HSC.

Good luck!

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:42 pm
by Mousey
This is not meant to be a dramatic "I'm quitting" post, just an honest one.

I was waiting to see what games would be posted next, and I'm afraid I just don't have any motivation to play games that I have no interest in playing. I was beguiled by the thought of playing Bomb Jack in the first round, as I love it to bits, and in the spirit of the competition I had a good go of Penetrator and Nohzdyve, but ultimately I'd rather spend my limited amount of free time playing games I'm really excited to play.

If I'm brutally honest then seeing Flappy Bird ZX has made my decision easier. No disrespect is intended to the author of this game, nor anyone who enjoys it, but this type of game is not why I still play on the Speccy.

[mention]akeley[/mention] - please feel free to not count my round 1 scores in the leaderboard, as it seems a bit pointless. But thank you for organising the competition and sorry for wimping out at such an early stage. I just genuinely can't face putting the time into games that I don't get anything out of. It's my fault - I should have thought this through before jumping on board because of Bomb Jack!

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:59 pm
by akeley
[mention]Mousey[/mention] it's totally normal in these HSC affairs that people don't play all the games, skip entire rounds or just flitter in and out when they please (I do it myself in the other ones). And that's perfectly fine of course.

So if somebody wants to "win" the whole thing, yeah, it's probably advised to try and participate in all the rounds. Otherwise anybody is welcome to play any game the want when they want. Hope you will come back for at least some of the later rounds :)

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:02 pm
by Alessandro
[mention]Mousey[/mention] please don't quit the tournament, I was glad to see you here and compete with you again as we did for the Spectrum Regulation Play on HARP.

I had to force myself to play Nozhdyve, and was appalled at the thought of having to play Cannonball which is even more abhorent in my opinion. I already know I am a candidate for the wooden spoon for it and Flappy Birds - which I find strangely compelling although, just like for you, it is not one of those games I would normally enjoy playing. Why not having a go at them then? Even a "placeholder" score is better than nothing - and I think that in my case it will be so.

I hope you will reconsider your decision :)

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:29 pm
by Pegaz
PSSST is one of my favorite Spectrum games, but I think the scoring system is unusable for this competition.
It's enough to stay on the first level, carefully keep the flower from blooming and you can get a lot of points only by killing worms as the easiest enemy.
I already had 25,000 points in 15 minutes of play, which is completely unrealistic, because at later levels it's much harder to play and collect points.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:31 pm
by PeterJ
First of PSSST for over 35 years. I know its a hopeless score, but thought I would start things off.

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Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:35 pm
by Pegaz
PeterJ wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:31 pm First of PSSST for over 35 years. I know its a hopeless score, but thought I would start things off.
If you stay on the first level, you can have as many points as you want or until you give up due to exhaustion. ;)
I think we need another game, as a replacement.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:42 pm
by akeley
Pegaz wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:35 pm If you stay on the first level, you can have as many points as you want or until you give up due to exhaustion. ;)
I think we need another game, as a replacement.
One of the rules is "no cheesing" :) This is a perfect example of a game where it applies. So we need to play "normally" and make your flower bloom in shortest time.

Of course if somebody wanted to cheat it's entirely possible (in many other ways too) and there is no way of controlling it (ain't nobody got time to record/check videos etc). But, this whole compo is fun and trust based so I expect we'll all play fair.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:43 pm
by R-Tape
If this round's mix is too metronomic for some, especially following on from Nohzdyve, I'd be perfectly happy to defer or drop my flappy bird zx (or donate the choice to [mention]Mousey[/mention] if that made any difference?)

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:45 pm
by akeley
Alessandro wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:02 pm Why not having a go at them then? Even a "placeholder" score is better than nothing - and I think that in my case it will be so.

I hope you will reconsider your decision :)
Yeah, totally. No need to hammer it for two weeks, just give it a few spins and see what happens. You get points even for low scores and in the long run these count too. Most people have their favourites, so-so, and most-hated games during a season, so it all kinda balances out.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:54 pm
by Mousey
akeley wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:59 pmSo if somebody wants to "win" the whole thing, yeah, it's probably advised to try and participate in all the rounds. Otherwise anybody is welcome to play any game the want when they want. Hope you will come back for at least some of the later rounds :)
Good point akeley, and maybe I'm approaching this all wrong. Part of my problem is that I tend to be a bit of an "all or nothing" kind of guy, so if I'm playing a game to get a high score then I'll put a lot of effort into that endeavour, even if I'm not particularly enjoying it. I guess I'm guilty of not applying rule 5 and letting my competitive spirit get the better of me, rather than sticking to the fun part of it.
Alessandro wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:02 pmWhy not having a go at them then? Even a "placeholder" score is better than nothing
This also made me think, and you're right. If I don't like the game then it'll only take a few minutes to get a basic score and then I can focus my efforts on the games I do enjoy.

So thanks guys, you've made me reconsider and I'll still join in. But enough of my nonsense - I'm sorry to have slightly derailed this thread, so let's get some scores posted!

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:59 pm
by Mousey
R-Tape wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:43 pmIf this round's mix is too metronomic for some, especially following on from Nohzdyve, I'd be perfectly happy to defer or drop my flappy bird zx (or donate the choice to @Mousey if that made any difference?)
I really appreciate your post R-Tape (I also like your use of the word metronomic... I'll have to steal that for my future use!) but as I said in my last post I'm just being silly, so I'll adjust my attitude accordingly. :)

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:14 pm
by Pegaz
akeley wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:42 pm
Pegaz wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:35 pm If you stay on the first level, you can have as many points as you want or until you give up due to exhaustion. ;)
I think we need another game, as a replacement.
One of the rules is "no cheesing" :) This is a perfect example of a game where it applies. So we need to play "normally" and make your flower bloom in shortest time.

Of course if somebody wanted to cheat it's entirely possible (in many other ways too) and there is no way of controlling it (ain't nobody got time to record/check videos etc). But, this whole compo is fun and trust based so I expect we'll all play fair.
Well, I disagree here, because this is not about cheating, but a legitimate way of playing which leads to an unrealistic evaluation of the points scored.
Nowhere is it stated that the goal of the competition is to go to higher levels (which are btw, much harder), but to set the highest possible score.
I think that's why we should only choose games where skill is really or mostly the basis for a good result and PSSST is not one of them.
This is pretty much gray area, just imagine that we asked players not to collect sparkling Bomb in Bomb Jack.
Whatever skill you have, you couldn’t make a significant score without those bonus points.
I still think we need replacement...

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:16 pm
by Mousey
akeley wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 9:59 amCannonball (MicroHobby, 1985). Chosen by clebin. Looks like a clone of one of these ancient arcade top down maze racers. Since you have played it recently on Hardest Difficulty, this is the one we choose for this round as well. Please remember to change the settings!
In case other people are as thick as me, this is difficulty 1 "Muy dificil" (Very Difficult). I suspected Muy meant something like Very but not speaking a word of Spanish I had to look it up to be sure! I also learned that Facil means Easy - who said games aren't educational?

My very first go I immediately zoomed into a wall... twice... so I'm not counting that. But my first "proper" go I got 590. Boy does that little car move fast! I'll see how I get on but I already know that I want to at least clear the first screen!

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 2:35 pm
by TMD2003
Completely changing the subject (in a way)... Worm (Master Home Computers Group, 1998) uses the same music as Flappy Bird ZX. Is this game the original source of the music, or did it originate from a demo disc even earlier than that, and was it used anywhere else?

I ask on the off-chance anyone knows...

...and, given that it came from Russia, this is where I find out it's something along the lines of "the theme tune from Nu, Pogodi! / The Sandman / (insert Eastern Bloc children's TV show from the 1980s here)"...

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 3:03 pm
by Pegaz
Ok, I was playing PSSST totally offensively now, finishing the levels as fast as I could, without a joystick or redefined keys and after half an hour I reached the score of 23555.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 3:20 pm
by Alessandro
I think we should keep Pssst!. It's an old favorite of mine, plus I didn't know about the first screen cheat Pegaz wrote about. Not that I would need it by the way, I managed to break the 100,000 points barrier on my very first attempt, and that's something you would hardly be able to achieve by cheating ;)

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Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 3:31 pm
by Pegaz
Alessandro wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 3:20 pm I think we should keep Pssst!. It's an old favorite of mine, plus I didn't know about the first screen cheat Pegaz wrote about. Not that I would need it by the way, I managed to break the 100,000 points barrier on my very first attempt, and that's something you would hardly be able to achieve by cheating ;)

Image
Well, I wouldn't call it cheating, but an unfair way to get easy points.
Of course, we can keep PSSST, I love this game, but then we just need to agree, not to stay forever at the first level and that's it.
btw great score Alex, my current result is 34775, but its definitelly can be better with some training.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 4:02 pm
by Juan F. Ramirez
The cool thing about these kind of competitions is playing ganes that are even not our cup of tea...the challenge is in playing those games.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 5:12 pm
by Pegaz
Now we talking... :)
160790
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Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:09 pm
by Juan F. Ramirez
My first attempt at Psst: 7,570 (on a phone)

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:13 pm
by Pegaz
Wow, this Canonball is really tough.
I only managed to reach the second level once and my current score is 1655.
A very exhausting game, it requires super reflexes and nerves of steel, which I don't have. ;)
Addictive for sure, but I didn’t really enjoy it.
Playing on hardest level (1. Muy dificil) in menu.

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Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:15 pm
by Juan F. Ramirez
What are the keys in Flappy Bird, please?

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:24 pm
by Pegaz
I appreciate the idea and the execution, so don’t get me wrong, but for me Flappy Bird is a sick game and I have no desire to play it and torture myself.
So I'll skip it.

Re: ZX HSC Round 2 - Cannonball / PSSST / Flappy Bird ZX

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:38 pm
by Juan F. Ramirez
Juan F. Ramirez wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:15 pm What are the keys in Flappy Bird, please?
Ok, ok, now I get it! (Space)