ZilchSr

Please remember to INCLUDE YOUR SCORE when posting
to High Score Squad, especially if you're posting a video
of your performance or a blurry photo.
 
 

Joust
Atari 7800
Controller: JOYSTICK / KEYBOARD / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Play on: Real Hardware / Dedicated Console / Emulation OK! ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST February 14, 2021
 
 
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 14th, 2021. 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
Anyone can join in. All players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real hardware, Flashback / Mini console, or emulation, using any controller or keyboard, following all rules and game settings defined in the challenge. Choosing between real hardware or emulation, and 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
Intermediate. This is a standard point to begin the game. Players with normal experience can join in the Squad Challenge and expert gamers will quickly advance.
 
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 97th Squad Challenge! We've enjoyed such tremendous turnout in High Score Squad so far this year! Let's see if we can keep it up with another Atari classic! This time we're playing Joust on Atari 7800! This was an aboslute arcade smash hit that came home in style on the Atari 7800. One of the original 1984 launch titles for the system, Joust has become a must-have game for the 7800. It's games like Joust that make Atari 7800 "The Neo•Geo of 1984". ROM and Instructions are provided below. Good luck to everybody participating!
 
NOTE: We have a supreme lineup of games coming your way for High Score Squad in 2021! Expect a nice mix of classic Atari home console games in the rotation along with games from other classic systems! Here's a look at some upcoming events:
February: A Magnavox Odyssey ² game
March: A TurboGrafx-16 game, and a Golf game to celebrate The Masters coming up!
April: National Pac-Man Day!
June: 2021 Pole Position II Grand Prix, plus get ready for our Summer Pizza Party!
July: A Sega Master System game, HSW Day Ultimate Yars' Challenge, plus a game chosen by our Instagram followers!
September: An Atari Lynx game
November: A Sega Genesis game
December: 2021 F-ZERO Championship, plus a game for Atari Jaguar! 
Plus many more great games! (Schedule subject to change)
 
 

 
 
Joust.pdf Joust.a78

67,700. 
On a Gemini with a stock gray CX-40.
 

80,675. 
This is my last try. It gets really hairy on later levels. On the last one I wasn't even sure which color I was going for. 😂

Congratulations Sabertooth!
 
%!#$&! Congratulations to @Sabertooth on his next big win! Sabertooth takes the top spot in our Q*bert Final Standings with his score of 80,675! We've kicked off 2021 with a BANG in High Score Squad, we had our second high participation in a row for this challenge, and we continue to have new Members join the forums to participate! Let's all give a GIANT Atari I/O Welcome to our new friend @EEP! who joined us in High Score Squad this week, it's great to have you here!
Last Challenge's winner @ZilchSr held his place close to the top, posting a score of 69,450 to claim the 2nd Place on our Final Standings. Another new friend to the forums @AtariSphinx takes the 3rd spot on our board with a score of 66,000. "The Mayor" @greenween returns with a vengance and a score of 63,475 to take 4th Place. @TrekMD @nosweargamer @EEP! @Marco1019 @RadioPoultry @RickR @HDN @Dinobot711 @socrates63 @Papa Pete all joined us in this Squad Challenge and came through with stellar scores!
Congratulations once again to @Sabertooth for the win, and as always I'd like to encourage Sabertooth to post his new high score on the Scoreboard, and let's make sure this Challenge continues on! And a big congratulations to our community for being such a great group, I hope everybody had fun with this classic Parker Brothers Atari 2600 game!
NOTE: Our next High Score Squad Challenge is Joust for Atari 7800! Be there!
 
 

 
 

 

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

QBert - Diff A - 69,450

35675
 
I wanted to get one attempt before the deadline. I may give it another go tomorrow.
 
 

I'll do my best to condense this post. I apologize in advance if this runs long.
 
It was believed by many 2600 gamers that the score of 60,960 on Pole Position was improbable. Scott Stilphen of Atari Compendium noted there is a photo of such a run (by Jeff Adkins), and Twin Galaxies (TG) lists the 60,960 score by Frankie Cardulla on their leaderboard (but no photo or video).
 
Last week, on January 11, 2021, GregDeg posted a run of 60,960 on Stella. You can view his record run here. It's the first such run recorded on digital video (to the best of my knowledge). If you view the comments, then you'll read a comment from "LightBlue2222" stating he surpassed 63,000. In fact, LightBlue2222 posted a score of 63,260 on January 19, 2021 (yesterday) and that entire run with commentary can be viewed here.
 
I did a little online research and found this thread on AtariAge. The thread, which started in 2014, does feature a few downloadable hacks of Pole Position though most appear to be cosmetic in nature. (I do have to review the thread more thoroughly.)
 
So, with all that said, does anyone here know if a score of 62,360 is possible? Or did LightBlue222 purchase a hacked cartridge? Any context is appreciated.

This is getting into an area that is tricky to answer. The best way is for LightBlue222 to prove his score on video to the degree that Twin Galaxies would do if it were a Donkey Kong performance in an arcade. We can theorize about what's possible, but I've never found anything official from Atari which states what the absolute best possible score on 2600 Pole Position would be. I'm not quick to call anybody a liar or discount a score. if it's in that much dispute, the best thing to do would be to have LightBlue222 provide further evidence of his score and the ROM he used for its performance. 

I should have clarified that the 63,260 run was shared on TG, but not submitted. Nads learned of the video because he subscribes to LightBlue2222's YouTube channel. I apologize for any confusion in that regard. In addition, no one has called a LightBlue a cheater; he showed the cartridge and game system in the video so he didn't really hide anything.
 
There's a TG thread with @ZilchSr, Scott Stilphen, and Nads. The belief is that the cartridge was hacked prior to purchase (I believe LightBlue stated he bought it off eBay for $5) or the 2600 system he used was hacked/modified.
 
ZilchSr ran tests on a few different ROMs and posted here: https://www.twingalaxies.com/garrett-holland/wall/9000/atari-2600-pole-position-tas-and-analysis-fastest-time-possible-212-seconds
 
It's an interesting confluence of events given the timing.

Again, in my estimation the only way forward, if this were being submitted as a world record score, would be for the adjudication to be as thorough as Twin Galaxies live Donkey Kong and Pac-Man performances have been. There would need to be somebody to independently verify the cartridge board / ROM, as well as the game system it was played on. If there are no shenanigans it will be obvious. Another excellent way of breaking the 60,960 point "sound barrier" would be a live, in-person performance on verified hardware at a high score or classic gaming event with people present. We've seen how tricky things can get when people attempt to go back and prove outlier scores with very little data to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt.

Venture
Atari 2600
Difficulty: Skill Level 1
High Score: 104,400
April 29, 2020

Congratulations ZilchSr!
 
A big congratulations and huge welcome to new Atari I/O Member @ZilchSr! ZilchSr takes the top spot in our Final Standings with a mind-blowing score of 10,111,115. Participation in this Squad Challenge was through the roof and we had a number of new Members join the forums to participate. Let's all give a GIANT Atari I/O Welcome to our new friends @ZilchSr @AtariSphinx and @Papa Pete who joined us in High Score Squad this week, it's great to have you guys here! @AtariSphinx showed up with his A-Game, posting a score of 1,734,308 to claim the 2nd Place on our Final Standings. The legend @RickR was hot on AtariSphinx's tail, taking the 3rd spot with a score of 1,455,582. New member @Papa Pete was right behind him with his score of 1,413,706 to take 4th. @Dinobot711 @nosweargamer @chas10e @RadioPoultry @James Campbell Jr. @HDN @Justin @socrates63 @Atari Creep @Marco1019 @Gianna and @LinkYoungPS all shared tremendous scores and gave it their all. 
Congratulations once again to @ZilchSr for the win, and as always I'd like to encourage ZilchSr to post his new high score on the Scoreboard, and let's make sure this Challenge continues on! And a big congratulations to our community for being such a great group, and for the biggest and best participation we've ever seen in a High Score Squad Challenge. I hope everybody had fun with this early 2600 game!
NOTE: Our next High Score Squad Challenge is Q*bert for Atari 2600! Be there!
 
 

 
 

 

1,455,582.  I rolled the score again, but I didn't do a video this time.  Nerd's honor.  Is that ok?
 

42840
 

Welcome to the Forums @AtariSphinx it's great to have you join us! How did you hear of Atari I/O? I think you'll find this is a nice community with some terrific people, I hope you enjoy your time here!

118,825 points 1/11/21
 I had to take a picture of my YouTube livestream lol. It wouldn't download the video said the file was too big. If this doesn't get accepted oh well no big deal. The No Swear Gamer and The Atari Creep can vouge for me that I did this. They both watch my channel.

1,037,550

Thanks!  I saw the site mentioned in various YouTube videos couple months ago (I don't remember whose video but probably one of the Atari.io members with YouTube videos that I frequently watch/subscribe).  Decided to join here.  Looking forward to being in this community!