VGS Thanksgiving Contest 2022 [ENDED]

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

@Aguy @spacepup @Gloves @drxandy @TDIRunner @Mega Tank @Splain @nesmaster14 @RegularGuyGamer @Gaia Gensouki @JamesRobot @Jicsan @ZeldaFan042 @darkchylde28 @DefaultGen @RH @Brickman @Red @NESfiend
@the_wizard_666 @Bearcat-Doug @FireHazard51 @DoctorEncore @SuperJimtendo @Dr. Morbis @mideast @Deadeye @JVOSS @koifish @acromite53 @KokiriChild @Jeevan @G-type
 

1ST PLACE WINNER
DARKCHYLDE28 - 4,670,000

2ND PLACE WINNER
RH - 469,300

3RD PLACE WINNER
BONANZA125 - 464,800

------------------------

(If any of you would like to be removed from this ping list for future events, please let me know and I'll take your name off the list! Or, likewise, if you'd like to be added to the list, let me know as well! For these events, I ping people who have participated in previous events, and/or people who I think would be generally interested in future events.)

Heya there everyone, happy almost-Thanksgiving! To prepare for this year's Thanksgiving feast, we're going to need to get quite a bit of food. In particular... well... I was HOPING we could all hunt some turkey, but... well, I couldn't quite get the right hunting permits, and... sorry to say, we're gonna have to settle for hunting duck this year instead. But hey, turkey, duck... close enough, right?

For this year's Thanksgiving contest, we're going to be playing some Duck Hunt on NES! The rules for this contest are very simple: Boot up Duck Hunt, select Game B (Two Ducks,) try to get the highest score you can, then submit your score! Prizes will be dealt out to those who end up with the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd highest scores, respectively. As per usual, the prizes up for grabs are as follows:

1st place:  $25 amazon gift card or cash equivalent
2nd place:  $20 amazon gift card or cash equivalent
3rd place:  $15 amazon gift card or cash equivalent

The only further stipulations to the contest are as follows:

1. Make sure to play the actual NES version of Duck Hunt, as only submissions for that particular version of the game will be accepted. Any of the multi-game carts that include Duck Hunt on them (IE Super Mario Bros. + Duck Hunt) would count as well, so long as it is specifically the NES version of Duck Hunt you're playing.
2. As you would expect, no save states, cheat codes, slow motion, turbo controllers, etc. are allowed. Anything that would give you any kind of advantage over playing the base game on real hardware is not allowed. If it feels like cheating, consider it not allowed.
3. When you submit your score, make sure it is either an actual photo, or a screenshot of the score (if using an emulator) with your VGS username somewhere within view of the photo/screenshot. It could be a slip of paper with your VGS username written down on it, or if emulating, a text document displaying your VGS username. Use whatever method you like, so long as your username is clearly visible alongside your score.
4. In the event you roll the score over, take a pic of your score once you hit around 900k, before the score rolls over. Continue as normal until you game over, then take a pic of your final score as well, and submit both pics. If you roll the score over multiple times, take pics every 900k or so until you game over, then submit all of those pics in addition to your final score pic. The best time to take these pics would be in between rounds, when you have a bit of downtime.
5. If playing on real hardware, try to stay at least 2 ft. away from the TV screen (roughly) as you play.
6. If you've already submitted a score, and you end up getting a better score, you may of course submit the better score, and it will simply replace your previous score.

Also, I know that playing Duck Hunt on real hardware can be a bit of a pain, since you not only need a Zapper, but a CRT TV specifically, otherwise it won't work. For those of you who would prefer to emulate the game, here's a quick little tutorial on how I got it set up and working properly on an emulator. I used FCEUX personally, but this same general process should work with any emulator:

Spoiler

1. Open up the emulator

2. Go to Config > Input


3. In the Input Configuration menu that pops up, click on the drop-down menu under Port 2, and select Zapper


4. Done! Now, you should be able to use your keyboard/controller to navigate the main menu, then once you start the game, your mouse should now function the same way the Zapper does on real hardware, just aim with the cursor, and left click to shoot!

This event will last from now until 11/26/2022 at 12 AM EST, a little over 1 week from now. Once we make it past that deadline, that'll be the cutoff point for new score submissions. I'll tally everyone's final scores up, and deal out prizes accordingly!

Good luck, and I hope you all have fun! Remember that there are real prizes on the line here, so try your best!

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

• LEADERBOARD

1. darkchylde28 - 4,670,000
2. RH - 469,300
3. Bonanza125 - 464,800
4. nesmaster14 - 337,200
5. Bearcat-Doug - 332,100
6. Dr. Morbis - 325,400
7. PII - 322,600
8. DefaultGen - 279,300
9. TDIRunner - 202,400
10. JVOSS - 71,300

[Lago | 217]

Could you add me to the list for future events please.

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

What’s the minimum distance away from the screen?

[Johnnyboy113 | 75]

10 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

What’s the minimum distance away from the screen?

Lol I was thinking the same thing. Btw the turkey running from the sage mascot is stellar! Well done!

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

I'll be sure and put up a score for a great NES game

Also, you should try and avoid 12am deadlines as it's unclear which day it ends.  Your deadline is technically the first minute of Saturday the 26th, meaning Friday night, so if you meant for it to end on Saturday night rather than Friday night, you should make the deadline 11:59pm on the 26th, that way there is no confusion...

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

What happens if/when someone manages to roll the score over?  Would photos need to be taken beforehand, then of whatever the final score is, after the score rolls over?  Maybe a clock in-frame with the TV and a shot of the score near rollover, then the same with the final score?  I don't know that we'll necessarily need to address this, but I recall my dad and I rolling over the score on both Duck Hunt and Clay Shooting several times when I was a kid, so I figured I'd ask, just in case.

[JVOSS | 1,762]

yes i'm the first to set the bar high.  thank @ZeldaFreak

Edited November 19, 2022 by JVOSS

[PII | 1,884]

1 hour ago, docile tapeworm said:

What’s the minimum distance away from the screen?

This is the only thing I was looking for the whole time I was reading the rules.  

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 hours ago, Lago said:

Could you add me to the list for future events please.

1 hour ago, docile tapeworm said:

What’s the minimum distance away from the screen?

Oh yeah, didn't think of that, haha. I'll say... 2 feet away from the screen, I think that should be fine. I mean, roughly, don't have to be super exact about it, just try to keep around that distance. Looking back on it, I don't think I have ever actually played Duck Hunt on real hardware, so if there's any complaints about that distance then let me know as I wouldn't really know, haha.

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Also, you should try and avoid 12am deadlines as it's unclear which day it ends.  Your deadline is technically the first minute of Saturday the 26th, meaning Friday night, so if you meant for it to end on Saturday night rather than Friday night, you should make the deadline 11:59pm on the 26th, that way there is no confusion...

That's fair, there hasn't been any confusion about it in the past as far as I know, but yeah, I'll do that in the future. Either way, the intention is that the 25th is the last day for new submissions, once the clock rolls over to the 26th, no more new submissions will be accepted.

1 hour ago, darkchylde28 said:

What happens if/when someone manages to roll the score over?  Would photos need to be taken beforehand, then of whatever the final score is, after the score rolls over?  Maybe a clock in-frame with the TV and a shot of the score near rollover, then the same with the final score?  I don't know that we'll necessarily need to address this, but I recall my dad and I rolling over the score on both Duck Hunt and Clay Shooting several times when I was a kid, so I figured I'd ask, just in case.

Yeah I would be pretty impressed if you guys managed that. But I will say in the event any of you do roll the score over, just take a picture/screenshot of your score when you're at around, like, 900k while you're in between rounds, and then continue as normal until you game over, and take the last pic/screenshot of your final score and submit both pics. If you manage to roll the score over multiple times, just take a pic/screenshot every time you get up to about 900k and submit all those pics alongside your final score pic. I'll actually add that to the rules as that is a good question.

[nesmaster14 | 433]

Emulators, hmm.  I'm going to stretch my arms/back and bring up the CRT for this occasion (luckily they're both under 14")  

FYI, ~6 feet is the general accepted distance and what the manual says, but that also depends on size of TV.

 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

1 minute ago, nesmaster14 said:

Emulators, hmm.  I'm going to stretch my arms/back and bring up the CRT for this occasion (luckily they're both under 14")  

FYI, ~6 feet is the general accepted distance and what the manual says, but that also depends on size of TV.

Jeez, 6 feet? That seems a little far to me.

[Jeevan | 8,910]

1 minute ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Jeez, 6 feet? That seems a little far to me.

I mean, as long as they aren't right up on the screen lol.  

[nesmaster14 | 433]

Yeah, granted people had bigger CRTs back then, so it depends.  

[RH | 4,902]

469,300

Edited November 25, 2022 by RH

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

8 minutes ago, RH said:

I am all about this.

@ZeldaFreak, are the score posting rules the same here as they are for the NES comps where we are suppose to make just one score post and update it as we do better, or can we just post our improved scores on new posts?

Personally, I like keeping them in one post.

Totally up to you guys, whichever method you'd prefer. I won't be too picky about it.

[Jeevan | 8,910]

3 hours ago, RH said:

I am all about this.

@ZeldaFreak, are the score posting rules the same here as they are for the NES comps where we are suppose to make just one score post and update it as we do better, or can we just post our improved scores on new posts?

Personally, I like keeping them in one post.

now that u mention it, I had an easier time when people pinged me with the score updates in a new post.  might help and be easier to track.

[Link | 2,709]

Seems like this thing with the emulator is way too easy.

[Estil | 1,264]

Aren't you supposed to take a picture of both the TV/monitor and the NES at the same time to prove you're not using a cheating device?  Otherwise, nooooooo Nintendo Power Stamps for you!!

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

13 hours ago, nesmaster14 said:

Emulators, hmm.  I'm going to stretch my arms/back and bring up the CRT for this occasion (luckily they're both under 14")  

FYI, ~6 feet is the general accepted distance and what the manual says, but that also depends on size of TV.

 

I'd have to dig my CRT out of the closet and hope everything still works. I've gotten to the kill screen before, so I like my chances if I can get everything set up.

[TDIRunner | 2,731]

202,400

First time playing this in years.  I made it through the first 4 rounds perfect, but missed at least one each round after until 13.

I know the rules don't stipulate showing the NES at the same time, but I tried to get a pic. It's hard to do since my NES is about 10 feet away from my CRT.  I was playing with my childhood NES, Zapper and SMB/Duck Hunt cart.  

Thanks for giving me the excuse to bust the old classic out.

Edited November 21, 2022 by TDIRunner

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

332,100

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

On 11/19/2022 at 1:28 AM, ZeldaFreak said:

Oh yeah, didn't think of that, haha. I'll say... 2 feet away from the screen, I think that should be fine. I mean, roughly, don't have to be super exact about it, just try to keep around that distance. Looking back on it, I don't think I have ever actually played Duck Hunt on real hardware, so if there's any complaints about that distance then let me know as I wouldn't really know, haha.

That's fair, there hasn't been any confusion about it in the past as far as I know, but yeah, I'll do that in the future. Either way, the intention is that the 25th is the last day for new submissions, once the clock rolls over to the 26th, no more new submissions will be accepted.

Yeah I would be pretty impressed if you guys managed that. But I will say in the event any of you do roll the score over, just take a picture/screenshot of your score when you're at around, like, 900k while you're in between rounds, and then continue as normal until you game over, and take the last pic/screenshot of your final score and submit both pics. If you manage to roll the score over multiple times, just take a pic/screenshot every time you get up to about 900k and submit all those pics alongside your final score pic. I'll actually add that to the rules as that is a good question.

I was going to ask about the rollover too. The Twin Galaxies record for two ducks is 5.3 million, so that's a half dozen pictures.

[nesmaster14 | 433]

Thanksgiving morning attempt:

337,200

130,400

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by nesmaster14

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

On 11/19/2022 at 8:01 AM, RH said:

I’ll try to look it up but do you guys know the trick to getting the max points per duck? Some give 500 points, some give 3,000, but shooting the quick never seemed to be the reason.  The high scores seemed to happen at random times and placements.

I always thought the scores for all the ducks gradually increase as you progress, and beyond that it's based on what type of duck you shoot, with the orange ducks generally giving you the highest scores since they're the most erratic later on and are generally the ones that stay on-screen for the least amount of time of the 3 duck types. I could be wrong though, this was just always how I thought it worked, haha. But yeah, it's not about how quick you shoot them, I know that.