Manic Miner finishers

[Alessandro]

I remember playing Manic Miner extensively for the 2001 Speccy Tour. Rules for that edition stated that the game could be completed only once.

I managed to reach the Solar Power Generator, then I got bored and concentrated myself on other games, which was a wise move - I eventually reached the second place after Aleksandar "Alex Lux" Lukic Paul French was the top player for the game with 51,123 points.

Since then I have not attempted to complete Manic Miner anymore!

[R-Tape]

Rules for that edition stated that the game could be completed only once.

That sounds sensible. It's surprising that something so arduous (or monotonous once you are match fit) has that 'just once more round the block' feel to it!

[Morkin]

Following swiftly from [mention]PROSM[/mention]'s post in the other thread...



Seriously though - everything about this screen is ridiculous. I keep going back to it, but I'm just playing this screen over and over; it seems pointless to play any of the others when you know this one is waiting for you...

...I know it's been said before but... that air drain, the horrendous colour scheme, and exactly-how-many pixel perfect jumps???

Unless I've missed a trick, I'm picking up the key in the bottom right first of all, then having to do two full zig-zags through the screen - the first to get that key high up on the left, then another one to reach the exit.

Out of interest, how do people collect the key in the top right? Which platforms do you use?

[R-Tape]

Unless I've missed a trick, I'm picking up the key in the bottom right first of all, then having to do two full zig-zags through the screen - the first to get that key high up on the left, then another one to reach the exit.

Out of interest, how do people collect the key in the top right? Which platforms do you use?

Aha - I'd definitely go for the top right first. I basically do what the RZX archive playthrough does - with the only difference that I jump back and forth over the top yellow chopper a few times while waiting safely behind the solar beam, and wait for things to align.

I'd take an RZX myself to demonstrate, but I can't face going through that again.

[Mpk]

I get top-right first, and hang around there for a bit ( jump the yellow thing there 3 times in all ), so I'm not getting lasered while waiting for the round blue thing to get out of the way as I head for top left.

I use the three middle platforms to get up there, jumping over/under ol' blue-round.

There's only 3 keys, how hard could it be?

[Morkin]

Oh, flippin' eck...

[spider]

Great topic

The only caveat with the "cheat" enabled is the code prevents you seeing the ending, this is the SoftwareProjects version (not yet commented fully apart from me with my silly comments) but the BB version is the same (almost) and fully documented by "SkoolKid"

Spoiler

Code: Select all

ORG 36915 ; this routine deals with moving to a new cavern aka MW has reached the portal alive with all the items in that cavern collected
36915: LD A, (33799) ; grab the current cavern number
36918: INC A ; increase it
36919: CP 20 ; is it now 20 ? (as caverns are numbered 0 to 19 and last time I checked 19+1 = 20)
36921: JR NZ, 37020 ; if its not 20 jump and cycle the colours / decrease the air etc and then start the next cavern
36923: LD A, (33882) ; check for demo mode indicator
36926: OR A ;  are we in demo mode then ?
36927: JP NZ, 37019 ; jump if we are bypassing the score increment for air remaining etc
36930: LD A, (33885) ; check the teleport cheat key counter
36933: CP 10 ; is it 10 and valid (Software Projects uses "TYPEWRITER" not "6031769" hence 10 chars)
36935: JR Z, 37019 ; jump if it is
36937: Code here to display MW outside the Final Barrier etc etc

^ Sorry if there's any errors in that, its how I 'read' it.

I've managed the whole game once without any cheating many years ago now, I can usually get these days about 6 or 8 caverns in before I start to struggle and then unless I'm lucky I tend to run out of lives due to silly mistakes.

EDIT... There is the MM HSC game which allows one to practise the same cavern over and over again but probably not too relevant to this

[Morkin]

Had a couple more goes today. I haven't given up..!

Got to the Bank before losing my first life (through carelessness).

Lost the rest on the Warehouse. At least I know what I should be practising

Still got a sub 50% success rate for SPG, but I figure if I can get a decent run up to it then I'll have a couple of extra lives. I guess it might be possible to get there with 3 extra lives, I'm normally close to 30,000 but tend to prioritise care over speed and I'm not sure I'll quite get to the 30k point by then.

[Morkin]

Swordfish!!! Fish knife!!! Dagger trout!!!



In fact in the same game I clocked it 3 times, finally succumbing to the SPG on the 4th loop:



That was on emulation so I'm going to dig out the Speccy later this week and give it a proper go.

Am feeling a lot better about the screens leading up to the SPG now, and feel confident I should be able to get there with a couple of extra lives in reserve.

[Mpk]

Congrats!

You can quit video games now.

[Morkin]

Ta-daaa...! There we go.



For the sake of closure - finally got the swordy and fishy playing it on a real Speccy. And it's only taken 38 years...

Successful run score was 34430 after air bonus. The high score on screen was my previous try where I succumbed to the the Solar Power Generator. I almost mucked it up this time too but managed to salvage at least one missed jump.

You can lock the thread now... (jk)

[cmal]

Ta-daaa...! There we go.



For the sake of closure - finally got the swordy and fishy playing it on a real Speccy. And it's only taken 38 years...

Successful run score was 34430 after air bonus. The high score on screen was my previous try where I succumbed to the the Solar Power Generator. I almost mucked it up this time too but managed to salvage at least one missed jump.

You can lock the thread now... (jk)

Well bloody done, Morkin!
I still plan to complete this game before I die, but it'll probably be when the Speccy turns 50 or somewhere out there!

[clebin]

Well done Morkin! Time to tackle Jet Set Willy...

[R-Tape]

Ta-daaa...! There we go.

Well done! I missed your previous post. Of the top 3 feelings in the world, where would you rank finishing MM?

[Morkin]

Of the top 3 feelings in the world, where would you rank finishing MM?

"Well Bob, I'd have to say it's up there"

I think it's a great game for the average player - you think you've got a chance with it if you keep going, and you're always making some progress as long as you don't leave it toooo long between plays.

Also there aren't really any unfair bits. If you die, it's on you as there are no random elements (Monty Mole crushers I'm looking at you), and once you start learning a few screen routes, it gets easier and easier. I like that you can work out your own routes rather than there always being a single correct one for each screen.

Well done Morkin! Time to tackle Jet Set Willy...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhh...!!

I'm not sure I've got the time or patience to attempt that one...

[clebin]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrghhhh...!!

I'm not sure I've got the time or patience to attempt that one...

Yeah, I foolishly tried a similar thread on it and found out most people feel the same as you!

To be fair, I thought JSW was impossible at the time, but now I'm not sure it's any harder than Manic Miner. I don't think there's anything nearly as difficult as Solar Power Generator in the whole game, or probably even the Warehouse for that matter. Manic Miner is rock-hard in places.

[Mpk]

now I'm not sure it's any harder than Manic Miner

The first two proper rooms in JSW, heading west, are The Nightmare Room and Banyan Tree, which are both absolute killers. And there are multiple spots where one mistake will eat all your lives as you repeatedly fall to your doom.

But anyway, that's defeatist talk. Is there a 'preferred' version of JSW that is completable / bug-fixed etc? There's 3 pages of hits on the search.

[Morkin]

I think because I'd probably need to learn the route from the .rzx, it'd take a bit of the interest out of the game as I'd basically just be following a specific map route, rather than trying to work a few things out myself.

I know it'd still take a LOT of playing skill to complete (the aforementioned Banyan Tree still makes me shudder), but I'm not sure I want to do it right now. Perhaps in a few years I might try it. Or when I'm retired...

[clebin]

now I'm not sure it's any harder than Manic Miner

The first two proper rooms in JSW, heading west, are The Nightmare Room and Banyan Tree, which are both absolute killers. And there are multiple spots where one mistake will eat all your lives as you repeatedly fall to your doom.

The Nightmare Room is surprisingly easy when you know the timings - honest. I'll have to check the walkthrough to see if they do it the same way as me, or record a walkthrough myself.

With you on the infinite death loops - The Priests' Hole is worst culprit for that. That's one of the worst rooms in the game. The others are the Forgotten Abbey (although it's easier when you learn the technique) and Under The Drive. That room is and always will be a complete Bas**rd. No amount of practice guarantees I won't lose a life or two on that conveyer jump...

But anyway, that's defeatist talk. Is there a 'preferred' version of JSW that is completable / bug-fixed etc? There's 3 pages of hits on the search.

That's the spirit! This is the version I used: JSW 2015 Bug-Fixed Version. Among other things, this applies the official Software Projects fix for the Banyan Tree. There's still a tricky little moment where you have to turn and slot yourself between two moving enemies. I like to get the fiddly stuff like this out of the way early so I can always restart and have a decent run against the easier bits.

[clebin]

I think because I'd probably need to learn the route from the .rzx, it'd take a bit of the interest out of the game as I'd basically just be following a specific map route, rather than trying to work a few things out myself.

I know it'd still take a LOT of playing skill to complete (the aforementioned Banyan Tree still makes me shudder), but I'm not sure I want to do it right now. Perhaps in a few years I might try it. Or when I'm retired...

There's quite a few routes you could choose depending on whether you want to go for speed or tackle the worst stuff first. Like I said above, I prefer to get the harder stuff out of the way as quickly as I can. Not sure how the RZX does it, but I start with the Nightmare Room and up from Banyan Tree. Then I do the Wine Cellar (actually that's another hard room) and Under The Drive to get that out of the way.

If I make it up the East Wall after that, I'm pretty confident I'll clear the rest. <- note the hubris - this is the point where I start to get complacent, make stupid mistakes and often lose the game unnecessarily.

[Mpk]

I did figure out a route through the nightmare room that worked - but there's a lot of precision and I could only actually do it 1 out of 3 tries, maybe. I've gotten past Banyan Tree a few times, but I couldn't say how.

Good that they're both early though, so you can restart if it goes bad. And not, say, level 19 of 20.

I finally learned how to solve a Rubik's Cube last week, maybe it's time to take on JSW.

[Alessandro]

Did anyone try Norman Sword's 2019 remix?

More information and downloads at the JSW Central: https://jswcentral.org/other-a_norman.html

Notice that, although there is a mention of an updated 17.11.2019 build, it is nowhere to be found. At least I could not find it anywhere...

[R-Tape]

Just bumping this. Anyone yet to join the club? Come on you know you want to...

[spider]

Did anyone try Norman Sword's 2019 remix?

More information and downloads at the JSW Central: https://jswcentral.org/other-a_norman.html

Notice that, although there is a mention of an updated 17.11.2019 build, it is nowhere to be found. At least I could not find it anywhere...

I'll send you a PM about that, I am not sure if I am permitted to put the link here.

Just bumping this. Anyone yet to join the club? Come on you know you want to...

hehe

[spider]

That's the spirit! This is the version I used: JSW 2015 Bug-Fixed Version. Among other things, this applies the official Software Projects fix for the Banyan Tree. There's still a tricky little moment where you have to turn and slot yourself between two moving enemies. I like to get the fiddly stuff like this out of the way early so I can always restart and have a decent run against the easier bits.

I would say if I did it again, I'd do it slightly differently as I can code a (bit) better now. MJSW is probably nearer the "original" even if you ignore the MM component of it.

Was mention of Priest's Hole, its not that bad in JSW1 in JSWFF (JSW2) because Willy moves forward when you press direction+jump if you are on the very edge of tte platform, he will fall off. JSW2+ does not have this.

I agree Under The Drive is very difficult its pixel perfect to get him to land on the platform. Nightmare Room is either very easy or very difficult depending on timing, its quite easy to make a mess of it, same as Forgotten Abbey (there's a very easy way to get the item here, took me years to figure it out) bottom row is hard but the trick I learned to help myself (no one told me this) watch the guardians on the bottom row and memorise how far they move, you can use the room name to do this, for instance the guardian might only move as far right as a letter "g" or such.

Back to MM , the automated version is quite fun given its two modes of operation, and it does have human play as well as block mode (interesting) , I think Warehouse is probably quite hard, followed by Solar Power but that screen its about having enough air left.