**VideoGameSage NES Weekly Contest Leaderboard & Rules 2021**

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

Just now, the_wizard_666 said:

Unless it's a field of 16, then you're fine

I can't imagine it being that many, but I might be able to make the top 10 just in case.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

So I came across something in my travels.  Basically, there may be some underlying issues with the MMC1 conversion of Holy Diver, per the patch page on Romhacking.  Even though the current version has fixed some things and enhanced performance, the fact that it doesn't function like the actual cart using the original mapper, coupled with the only compatible donor board without the MMC1 patch being the original cart, I would suggest banning any repro that doesn't use the original board from being used in the tournament.  Note that this is only with regard to the mapper change - a translated original cart lacks these issues - as the issues are only present due to the mapper conversion.   Just thought that I'd mention it well in advance of Holy Diver being in the competition so people have a chance to find an alternative to using their repros

[docile tapeworm | 4,194]

i think im unofficially sole owner of 10th place now. top ten baby!

[BeaIank | 1,617]

Geral and genre scoreboards updated.

I will post about the genre races for the final round of games during the week.
And during the Nekketsu Street Basket week I will post details about the tournament.

[PII | 1,883]

@the_wizard_666 Sounds like you're lobbying for everyone to have to play something inferior?  What do I want with glitches, slowdown and magic upgrades that don't work?

I was looking forward to playing this one so I went and bought myself a copy a couple of months ago already.  I've never seen it on an emulator and I REALLY don't want to be hit with the obligation to go and spend $100+ on a famicom cart + an adaptor for a game I already own and then hope it works on my retron since I don't want to have to disable the lockout chip on my OG Nes.... 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

4 minutes ago, PII said:

@the_wizard_666 Sounds like you're lobbying for everyone to have to play something inferior?  What do I want with glitches, slowdown and magic upgrades that don't work?

I was looking forward to playing this one so I went and bought myself a copy a couple of months ago already.  I've never seen it on an emulator and I REALLY don't want to be hit with the obligation to go and spend $100+ on a famicom cart + an adaptor for a game I already own and then hope it works on my retron since I don't want to have to disable the lockout chip on my OG Nes.... 

The real question is: can a rule set be made that would nullify the differences or any advantages or disadvantages?  I only have the legit Famicom cart, so it would suck to be at a disadvantage for owning the actual real game when I'm out in the trenches gunning to win that platformer category... 

[PII | 1,883]

45 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

The real question is: can a rule set be made that would nullify the differences or any advantages or disadvantages?  I only have the legit Famicom cart, so it would suck to be at a disadvantage for owning the actual real game when I'm out in the trenches gunning to win that platformer category... 

Do the magic-powerup-abilities work w/your famicom cart?

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

4 minutes ago, PII said:

Do the magic-powerup-abilities work w/your famicom cart?

I'd assume so since I beat the game (with continues) a couple of years ago.  I don't remember there being anything wrong...

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

2 hours ago, PII said:

@the_wizard_666 Sounds like you're lobbying for everyone to have to play something inferior?  What do I want with glitches, slowdown and magic upgrades that don't work?

I was looking forward to playing this one so I went and bought myself a copy a couple of months ago already.  I've never seen it on an emulator and I REALLY don't want to be hit with the obligation to go and spend $100+ on a famicom cart + an adaptor for a game I already own and then hope it works on my retron since I don't want to have to disable the lockout chip on my OG Nes.... 

If by playing something "inferior" I mean playing something that is the way it was intended, then yes.  The new patch fixes bugs that were introduced by the mapper patch.  There are also slowdown issues that aren't present in the original game.  The reason a translation patch wouldn't affect the game is because it doesn't change the gameplay.  It doesn't modify anything other than the text.  Sometimes that entails ROM expansion, but rarely does that affect the way the rest of the game plays.  A mapper patch is essentially modifying the way the game runs, in order to run with a different chipset.  That sucks with this one as there is no other game that uses the same logic setup, meaning that you'd either have to make your own board from scratch to utilize the logic chips as intended, or use the actual legit cart.  The differences introduced by the mapper patch are probably irrelevant for regular gameplay, but since this is a competition, we need to ensure people are on the same page.  With this game there is no functional difference between emulation and the cart, but by introducing a mapper patch it fundamentally changes the way the game runs, and whether those subtle differences are an advantage or a disadvantage is entirely irrelevant - it puts someone using that version of the game on a different footing than the rest of the competitors.  If you really don't wanna drop the money on the cart (don't blame you there), Mesen is free, a USB controller is reasonably cheap, or you could buy a USB port for an NES controller from RetroUSB, and the ROM will run as intended on your PC.

Sadly, this is just a case of a unique board configuration - most of the weird mappers can be reproed using other games using that configuration, but no other board I am aware of will support Holy Diver without the mapper hack.  As such, it should be disqualified from the competition.  And again, I'm pointing this out now for the exact reason that you're emphasizing - to give people enough time to find an alternative.  Ultimately it's not my call, but in this specific instance, because there is documentation that the game does NOT run 100% accurately with the mapper hack, it should simply not be used.

1 hour ago, PII said:

Do the magic-powerup-abilities work w/your famicom cart?

Those abilities work fine on the Famicom cart.  The patch originally killed the ability to use them, and the creator has since updated the patch to fix that.  All those modifications listed on the page relate to the actual patch, not patching the game.  All the patch does is change the iNES mapper from 78 to 4.  But because that involves changing how the code is addressed, it can introduce all sorts of unintended problems.

[BeaIank | 1,617]

For Holy Diver, only the original Famicom cart and rom will be allowed.

[Californication | 1,477]

2 hours ago, BeaIank said:

For Holy Diver, only the original Famicom cart and rom will be allowed.

Racist.

[PII | 1,883]

8 hours ago, BeaIank said:

For Holy Diver, only the original Famicom cart and rom will be allowed.

¡BOOOOO, HISSSSSS!!!!

[NESfiend | 1,514]

What is everyone playing during break week? Tonight, Im probably going to practice micro machines to get ready for last year. May pop in POW later this week. That @mbd39dude generally has good taste in games.

[Jeevan | 8,909]

Just now, NESfiend said:

What is everyone playing during break week? Tonight, Im probably going to practice micro machines to get ready for last year. May pop in POW later this week. That @mbd39dude generally has good taste in games.

thinking bout playing some n64 or switch.......sorry i ain't been around but i been having a good time playing something other than nes for a bit.  Beat 3 games in the time I took off   

[mbd39 | 2,017]

1 minute ago, NESfiend said:

What is everyone playing during break week? Tonight, Im probably going to practice micro machines to get ready for last year. May pop in POW later this week. That @mbd39dude generally has good taste in games.

Hey did you ever make any more progress in Cobra Triangle?

[NESfiend | 1,514]

3 minutes ago, mbd39 said:

Hey did you ever make any more progress in Cobra Triangle?

Only playing once in a while and usually really late at night when Im sick of contest game. And I rarely use my continues. I think when I have, I usually crap out on the last mine disposal stage. Kills me. I can get 500k before using a continue in a good game. But playing so sporadically, Im not giving myself much of a real chance to beat it because Im not really getting better. But its still goddamn fun to try. The variety of it makes every run fun

Good call for off week though. Ill get some runs in and see if I can get my consistency back

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

It's the second last week of my semester.  Not gonna be playing much of anything

 

[PII | 1,883]

Played a lot of Qbert games including 3(snes) and 1999(ps1), also a lot of wipEout XL(ps1) and Asteroids (ps1.), Arkanoid: Doh it again(snes) - is that supposed to be arkanoid according to Homer Simpson???? -

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

On 9/13/2021 at 10:27 AM, docile tapeworm said:

i think im unofficially sole owner of 10th place now. top ten baby!

I think that we are fighting it out for 9th and 10th. It looks like the top 8 is pretty well set.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

Interesting that I took bronze in Sports despite only having played 3/4 games...everyone in 4th and below is totally slacking...

[docile tapeworm | 4,194]

1 hour ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

I think that we are fighting it out for 9th and 10th. It looks like the top 8 is pretty well set.

ya im not gonna make it into 8th. and im pretty much going participation from here besides galaga. hopefully that will keep me in the top ten and earn a spot in the tournament.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

28 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

ya im not gonna make it into 8th. and im pretty much going participation from here besides galaga. hopefully that will keep me in the top ten and earn a spot in the tournament.

If the top 10 get in we should be good. If it's the top 8, we'll be waiting until next year like the Reds.

[PII | 1,883]

On 9/14/2021 at 12:30 AM, the_wizard_666 said:

Mesen is free

Anybody have any suggestions on where to download this for Mac?

The only site I've found so far seems to be bunk pile of click-bate.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

I

4 hours ago, PII said:

Anybody have any suggestions on where to download this for Mac?

The only site I've found so far seems to be bunk pile of click-bate.

I have no idea.  I haven't used an Apple product since the old Apple II at school that we all used to play Oregon Trail on, so I've never had any reason to look for a Mac version of anything.  Apparently Mesen is only made for Linux and Windows though, so you're probably SOL there.  But I'm sure there's some sort of Mac option out there.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

16 hours ago, docile tapeworm said:

ya im not gonna make it into 8th. and im pretty much going participation from here besides galaga. hopefully that will keep me in the top ten and earn a spot in the tournament.

Same here. I'm not bad at Galaga, but I don't really know the rest of the games that well.