Marco1019

Another congrats to @RickR and @Marco1019 for absolutely pounding the competition 😄

(I hope this is the correct forum for my post. @Justin , I apologize in advance if I erred.)
I checked out highscore.com over the weekend as it had been ages since I logged into that site. The site was black except for the words, "Under Construction". I found that curious since that site had not been updated since I first signed up in 2016.
I learned earlier this morning that the site is back up and appears to be under new ownership. I attached a screenshot; you'll note there is a new mailing list for "early access". There is also an icon on the top left which will provide site updates once you click it.
The site appears to be pivoting towards a model similar to that of Antstream Arcade. It's early, though, so I cannot confirm.
As for anyone who had a profile on the old highscore.com, it's gone.

Thank you, @Justin, for the very kind words. Congratulations to @RickRon the three-peat! (It's something that I'd like to achieve at some point. I've won back-to-back a few times.) Lastly, congratulations to everyone who took part this month, and positive vibes to @Atari 5200 Guy!
It would've been cool to have tried the Enhanced version, but I don't have any hardware set up and I wasn't feeling the $29 price tag. Maybe that will change if I get a tax refund lol.
I have yet to play Midnight Magic on the 2600; I recall when the original David's Midnight Magic was first released back in the 1980s. I'll probably give it a go.

Thank you @Justin and everyone here. 2024 has already started out on a bad foot for me but I will be ok. It’s going to take me a while but I will get through this. I have to. You guys need me.  Thank you all for the kind words. I deeply appreciate it.
Alright! Midnight Magic!! I’ll be there. Best video pinball game ever made.

Most importantly, no joysticks were broken in this endeavor.
I'm most impressed with @Marco1019's > 100k score.  That is incredible.  And I learned a bit from watching his video.
 

Congratulations RickR and Marco1019!
 
Congratulations to @RickR on another RUNAWAY victory with Berzerk Enhanced Ediiton, and his THIRD win in a row! - and also CONGRATULATIONS to @Marco1019 on a definitive win with the original Berzerk for Atari 2600! "The Don" RickR takes the top spot in our Final Standings for Berzerk Enhanced Edition with an outstanding score of 32,300 points. Well done, Rick! Our runner up winner for Berzerk Enhanced Edition is @Smell Dawg who takes 2nd Place with an impressive score of 5,950 points. @TrekMD @Justin and @Sabertooth also joined in our Berzerk Enhanced Squad Challenge.
Twitch King @Marco1019 takes the top spot in our Final Standings for the original Atari 2600 version of Berzerk with an astounding score of 111,810 points! INCREDIBLE! Our runner up winner for Original Berzerk is "The Mayor" @greenween with a hard-fought 30,160 points. @RickR @Atari 5200 Guy and @Justin also took part in our Berzerk Original Squad Challenge.
Best Attempt Award goes to @Atari 5200 Guy who tried his best to participate in our Berzerk Enhanced Challenge, despite being sent a bum cart and going through a very difficult month. It means a lot that you’re still with us and that you tried to join in. You have lots of friends here who care about you.
As always I'd like to encourage @RickR and @Marco1019 to  post their high scores on the Scoreboard, and let's make sure this Challenge continues on! Congratulations once again to Rick for his BIG WIN.
👉 Be sure to join @Sabertooth in Club VCS for this month's VCS Recharged Squad Challenge, CAVERNS OF MARS: RECHARGED on the Atari VCS!
👉 @RickR is hosting a Club Evercade Let's Play this month for IREM Arcade #1!
 Our next High Score Squad Challenge will be for Midnight Magic on Atari 2600. Be there!
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 

 

Caverns of Mars: Recharged (2023)
Atari VCS
Controller: MODERN CONTROLLER / CLASSIC CONTROLLER / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: Normal Game, Arcade Mode
Play on: Real Hardware ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST February 29, 2024
 
 
Objective
Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between February 1st through February 29, 2024. Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
Eligibility
This is a Club VCS Exclusive Challenge. All Club VCS players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real Atari VCS hardware. Choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
Difficulty Level
We are playing Caverns of Mars: Recharged in ARCADE MODE! Select your score modifiers of choice and play to achieve the highest possible score!
 
Fair Play
Your integrity is everything. Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
More
To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: 
 
 
Message
Welcome to our 24th Club VCS Recharged Squad Challenge!!! For this challenge, we're taking on SqueakyBox and Atari's take on the APX cult hit Caverns of Mars!
The original Caverns of Mars was was famously programmed a teenage Greg Christensen for the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981 for the Atari 8-Bit. It went on to become the best selling APX game program ever.  Atari included the game in the Atari50 collection.
More than 40 years later, Atari returned to the red planet with Caverns of Mars: Recharged! Progress through 30 unique missions set within three primary “depths” of Mars, descending deeper and deeper into enemy territory. Blast through oncoming hostile fire, bull through debris and obstructions, and dodge other obstacles all while keeping a close eye on fuel and ammo reserves!
Play in ARCADE mode from level one and take the game as far as you can for the high score!
 
Club VCS Recharged Squad Contest
This game is the second title in our fifth Club VCS contest giveaway! Prize details will be announced shortly.   This time we're going a full 12 rounds with the winner announced in January 2025!
 
1)  All challenge participants will receive one (1) entry for each challenge in which they submit a valid score!
2) The top scorer of each challenge will receive two (2) additional entries - for a total of three (3) entries in a single challenge!
3) On Twitch or Youtube?  Stream or record and post your ClubVCS high score attempt for one (1) additional entry in each round.  You must post a public link to the video in the Challenge.
This contest is open to everybody, including Atari I/O Moderators, with a U.S. or Canada  mailing address. It's really easy, all you have to do is participate be a Club VCS member and participate in our Recharged Squad Challenges.
 

 

I hope everybody had fun this month!  

My High Score for Berzerk (Original): 2,480

My High Score for Berzerk Enhanced Edition: 4,310

We knew we wouldn't have the time to moderate such forums, so we set up on Discord.
EverythingC64 folded their website because it was becoming too expensive to maintain. They moved to Discord at least a year ago.

I had done that two years ago when you made us aware of Lvl Up. I hope those scores are still there. Lvl Up will have rescued my scores. Hopefully more people will come over to Lvl Up from HighScore.com now that it's gone.
Is anything going on with Twin Galaxies anymore?

@Marco1019 That's extremely disappointing. I had some excellent world record high scores over there. I hope the same won't happen at lvlupscore.com

Whatever was transferred over is still on Lvl Up Score.
I'm not sure if Lvl Up will gain users from the old HighScore because the new site was a point of contention among some of the diehards. Again, Lvl Up Score was created as an alternative. We don't exclude anyone just because they prefer another scoring or records site. In fact, a few of the Admins continued to submit to HighScore until very recently.
As for Twin Galaxies, they're still around. The lawsuit & countersuit were settled recently. I'm sure you're aware as many outlets rushed their reporting.

I can safely say that Lvl Up Score was not created for profit. It's why the site itself is minimal in its presentation. It's really a hobby for the Admins who are involved.
Tangentially related: One option that was offered at Lvl Up Score was for HighScore.com gamers to link their accounts so their previous efforts could be ported over. But that's no longer an option, sadly.

(I hope this is the correct forum for my post. @Justin , I apologize in advance if I erred.)
I checked out highscore.com over the weekend as it had been ages since I logged into that site. The site was black except for the words, "Under Construction". I found that curious since that site had not been updated since I first signed up in 2016.
I learned earlier this morning that the site is back up and appears to be under new ownership. I attached a screenshot; you'll note there is a new mailing list for "early access". There is also an icon on the top left which will provide site updates once you click it.
The site appears to be pivoting towards a model similar to that of Antstream Arcade. It's early, though, so I cannot confirm.
As for anyone who had a profile on the old highscore.com, it's gone.

(I hope this is the correct forum for my post. @Justin , I apologize in advance if I erred.)
I checked out highscore.com over the weekend as it had been ages since I logged into that site. The site was black except for the words, "Under Construction". I found that curious since that site had not been updated since I first signed up in 2016.
I learned earlier this morning that the site is back up and appears to be under new ownership. I attached a screenshot; you'll note there is a new mailing list for "early access". There is also an icon on the top left which will provide site updates once you click it.
The site appears to be pivoting towards a model similar to that of Antstream Arcade. It's early, though, so I cannot confirm.
As for anyone who had a profile on the old highscore.com, it's gone.

I receive Club VCS email digests for both Atari.io and Atari Age. Big thanks to @Mockduckwho posted on Atari Age that this tournament will stream on ALAN-1's Twitch channel! Here's a snippet of the post:
 
For anyone interested in watching on Saturday the 27th it will start in the afternoon, with the 10k grand prize round starting around 6p mountain time/8p Eastern. https://twitch.tv/alan1gaming
 

ICYMI: ALAN-1, the devs behind Avoan Knights are hosting an in-person tournament in Utah this weekend for the top players. $10K is on the line!
Good luck to the VCS community members who are making the trip!
@Mockduck, @Yorkies TV, @D.joe, @retroman21, @Hippy Kenny
We sincerely hope that all of you have a blast and that one of you bring home the top prize!
 

The second edition is now out, and it's an "Adam" special.  I'm printing it now...

http://allthingscolecovision.com/
 

Well, I inched my score a bit higher. 

I’m late to the party, but getting a score in!
Berzerk Enhanced Game 03; playing on 2600+ with CX40+

Still playing the original on game 3. Sears heavy 6. 30,160.

I inched up a little bit man I’m slow on the uptake here 😆
5950, same as before

My final entry: 111,810. It turns out this game rolls over at 1 million. I burned off my remaining lives after surpassing the TG and Lvl Up Score records held by ZilchSr.
It helps immensely to shoot the enemies diagonally whenever possible since they cannot shoot diagonally. So you can dodge their fire - even up close - while picking them off.