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Happy NEStrisivus!

Airing of grievances:

Bo Stiel keeps getting all the neat side-game maxes before I do!

(Seriously, though, Bo is the man! I shouldn't even say "before I do" in that I haven't YET gotten any of them )

Feats of strength: going to go for a Level 19 max today! (I may even stream it   )


I am going to push for a few other things off and on throughout the day as well:

Using Game Genie to force pieces to fall at Level 19 rate, I will start on Level 00 and go for max (there's no killscreen)

"Perfect" 19-1

Using Game Genie, I will try to break 1,000,000

Non-traditional max-out (Levels 11,13,15, or 17)

[20]

Brian, the guide is very impressive and looks great. No mistakes jumped out at me, except the gravity values being displayed by seconds rather than frames threw me off at first. But it really is a very fine job. Good work!

I have some responses to Ben, as follows:

13: I need a game genie. Also I think Josh has done some work on this and there might (or might not) be more. His input here would be helpful

Looks like he got most of the relevant ones. I would add:

GPVEPKZA: Hold "A"+Start to start game 20 levels higher

And also comment that I wrote an unlock-2-player code that reads ZAUAPPPA. Interesting to see that there is another way to achieve it.

21: I think full DAS would actually allow that I piece to reach the side in that pic. I think Josh posted a pic or 2 on Facebook a bit ago of the highest pieces can clear using just DAS and another technique (more later) that might serve really well here with his permission.

I believe here Brian is referring to playing without "manipulating" DAS. As in, tap and hold after spawn, this happens.

But here is one of the diagrams, Level 19 (I did 15, 18, and 19):
[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10271547_10201697149985329_8176004900863614554_n.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10271547_10201697149985329_8176004900863614554_n.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]

27: This is interesting!! I never use this and i might give it a try  I'm uncertain of its superiority to skill stopping in the same situations. So this is more of a question; do other players use this in situations like this? Its a interesting thing and i have never really considered much use in finesse in NES, maybe it is. I will certainly play with the concept though.

I personally have adopted the use of mini-wall-charges: charging off a single block whenever possible. Which, when executed properly, always ensures instantaneous shifts. But when no single-block (or larger) walls are available, the skill stop is the way to go for sure. Not that I do it or practice it.

I also use an "extended" tap to "charge" DAS. If you have to tap a piece into place, hold the button for a short moment longer after tapping it, but release it before 16 frames expire.

1: "last second tap technique (alluded to earlier): there is a technique I think we just call "last second tap" where a players stops pushing to the right or left for a split second then does so again to essentially interrupt the final DAS movement and replace it with sort of the butt end of a hypertap to give things a little extra push to the edge right at the end. As with all things, Alex will describe it better than me. But for my 2 cents on it, its hard to be successful with consistently so even if used, it should only be when needed.

I personally refer to it as the "extra-tap". I believe it is a fully utilizable tool if the player teaches himself which situations are possible to use extra-tap, and which ones aren't. It is quite a bit easier to use on slower levels, but harder to do on faster levels. Actually, wher eit really comes in handy, for me, is on Level 18. I tend to get too bold on 18, and extra-tap has become an often-used save method in desperate situations.

My favorite part is the "leaderboard" as of 03-28-2012:

1) Harry 999,999 http://bit.ly/xSmptf
Jonas 999,999 http://bit.ly/AkWFkR
Thor 999,999
matt buco 999,999 http://bit.ly/wfg7uM

2) ben mullen (me) 996,500 http://bit.ly/wMAEc8

3) eli markstrom 985,054 http://bit.ly/zb37Ku

4) trey harrison 953,871 http://bit.ly/AC6eCq

5). alex kerr 918,199 http://bit.ly/xQ2HFB

6) dana wilcox 909k

7) jesse Presnall 884,634k

dan z 865,489 http://bit.ly/xbhkyw
this guy is perhaps the most enigmatic in terms of high score and method... he is a pure hypertapper (that is to say that unlike Thor who hypertaps when needed Dan does it always) based on some of his youtube videos i would say this score undervalues him, I would not be suprised in the slightest if i heard tomorrow that he maxed long ago.

9) Mike w 833k on level 25!

10) Joshua L. Tolles 792727 . This was done live in competition, and on his first attempt at mgc 2012. http://bit.ly/znMbwP judging by some of what ive seen on youtube lately this fellow will be in the 800's very soon

10) Robin Mihara 749,654
3rd in the 1990 NES world championships and the man who broke my heart in LA this year  he and alex were nearly tied in record before LA, in the 700s i could see in both of their gameplay that 800 was imminent... alex got and robin has been to busy with the movie to play... expect to hear from him soon!



A nice snapshot from two years ago! Things have certainly changed

It sounds like its going to be a lot of fun this year. I hope I can make it.

I got a new world record in lines, and a new PR in points...in the same game!

397 Lines w/ 717279

[EDIT:]

OMG Sisu! That is amazing!! So neat to see those posts and scores and match them up with my board. Speaking of:

Here is the Tower of Power, chronicling my ten year journey towards a max-out.

[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/q71/s720x720/1526888_10200936685854201_45817271_n.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/q71/s720x720/1526888_10200936685854201_45817271_n.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]




EDIT:
Oh yeah, I also have videos. But I must warn that I do use foul language.

[EDIT:]

Darn. December is closed already. But I guess this is the place to brag about achievements.

In the month of December, I achieved a max-out of NES Tetris. I have been trying for over ten years to do this. Edit: I scored a 956k a year ago and was stuck there, then I finally broke through with a 965k in September. That held until I maxed.

Also, in the month of December, I maxed out a second time!  

12/2/13 @ approx 1:00 p.m.
12/28/13 @ approx 3:00 a.m.

No words can express how joyous I feel at this moment.



EDIT:
Achieved a third max out on Jan 20, 2014!  That's three in a span of about 6 weeks!

Also, on Jan 10, I beat my old world record in lines cleared in SNES Tetris with 397 lines (old record was 392).

And in that same game I got a new PR in points and finally (finally!) broke the 700k barrier with a score of 717279. My old record was 683188, and my new PR puts me oh so close to Ben Mullen's 725k.

[Edit:]

You also changed the entry delay (period of time between the lockdown of one tetromino and the appearance of the next tetromino), didn't you? I would really like to see you playing level 29 with a shorter entry delay (but without changes to the gravity system).

Did you also stop the acceleration when the pieces spawn? I can't really tell from that video.

Have you ever tried to change the gravity of level 9 to that of level 29? You could train level 29 more efficiently this way.

The only modification I made was to the graphics.  I did actually originally set out to try to adjust it to play more like NES, but it is a long and tedious process hacking SNES, and I am not up to the challenge right now.

I actually have a game genie code that allows me to start on Level 31, and I do use it for training  

Edit:
Updated ROM file

I have been deathly ill with fever for the last two days. When that happens, my mind goes to a strange place. In that place, I have visions. This is what I envisioned during my most recent fever:

I modded the SNES Tetris & Dr. Mario ROM to make Tetris look more like NES Tetris:

[!--ImageUrlBegin--][a href=\\\"https://sphotos-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/q71/s720x720/542243_10200300735835848_530734203_n.jpg\\\" target=\\\"_new\\\"][!--ImageUrlEBegin--][img width=\\\"400\\\" class=\\\"attach\\\" src=\\\"https://sphotos-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/q71/s720x720/542243_10200300735835848_530734203_n.jpg\\\" border=\\\'0\\\' alt=\\\"IPB Image\\\" /][!--ImageUrlEnd--][/a][!--ImageUrlEEnd--]

A nice little run to 19-5  

[one chance]

B mode on SNES... for some reason i never thought to try it.  Oh i remember why, i need to get the game genie thing to get to sufficiently challenging levels (what a poorly done aspect of the game when you think about it)

But right now, i gotta hunt down NESSY!

i think after the championships i will put some effort into b-mode snes, sounds like fun

Uh, I think you missed the last few postings...

Just to recap, SNES has a "marathon" B-Type:

If you beat level 9-5, you are "rewarded" with an opportunity to play 10-5.

If you beat 10-5, you are rewarded with an opportunity to play 11-5.

If you beat 11-5, you get to play 12-5.

And so on, all the way to Level 29, which I assume would be unbeatable for a human being, thunder-god or otherwise.

And of course, you only get one chance to beat the secret levels, and failure means starting over back at 9-5, which makes getting to 29-5 incredibly intriguing and the supremest of supreme challenges.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]i need to get the game genie thing to get to sufficiently challenging levels[/quote]

If you think beating 19-5 ten times in a row is not sufficiently challenging, then your Tetris skills are seriously underrated  

The reality is that SNES has the most challenging/rewarding/interesting B-Type system in classic Tetris.  

BTW Ben, I *just* found out about this.    Made it all the way to 19-5 tonight  

I only got to play it once, but first impression is that it is similar difficulty to 18-4, meaning that beating it ten times in a row is definitely in the realm of possibility. I video recorded...maybe I should post it?

Is reaching 29-5 the holy grail of SNEStris?  

Hmmmm....Tricky question. Personally, I won't tackle BTM to 29-5 until after I max out SNES.  But if 29-5 is attainable, then yes, I think that would be harder to do than 999,999 in A-Type  

"If you beat 9-5 in the B-type game...then it lets you play 10-5"

Instead of simply a win screen (space shuttle, dancers, etc.), you are presented with a new challenge:

[attachmentid=441]

...then to 11-5, 12-5, onward and upward presumably. If you top out in this unique "B-type marathon", you are sent back to the level & height select screen. What would be the gravity that would make height 5 impossible to clear?  

I tried this out last night for the first time, and it is really fun!  I got to 15-5 in my third attempt.  

Without any evidence, and just guess-timating, I suspect that 19-5 through 28-5 would be "technically" playable, but to clear it ten times in a row may be virtually impossible. Maybe, maybe not. I haven't done any math on it or tried it out yet.

18-5 should be challenging, but beatable. I assume this based on NES B-Type experience. In NES, 18-4 is normally beatable for "very good" players, and 18-5 is possible, but is mostly dependent on the trash sequence given and good piece fortune. Level 18 is considerably easier on SNES than NES, so I imagine that SNES 18-5 should be at least as easy as NES 18-4, if not easier.

As far as my estimation regarding 19-5 through 28-5 is concerned, I base that upon my belief that Levels 19-28 on SNES are ever so slightly easier than Level 18 on NES. So, I believe that would make SNES 19-5 slightly easier than NES 18-5. Again, I haven't done the math on it, or even played yet, but I think that would be the case.

I am interested in trying a 9-0 to 31-0 B-Type marathon!

So then, we might conclude that it's roughly an equal strategy either way. This is not the case. If I use the opening double and my opponent opens with a Tetris, then my opponent has an advantage. I'm giving him the benefit of that empty column knowledge before he's finished stacking for his first Tetris. This can allow him to stack in such a way that nothing covers the empty column past the fourth row. After finishing his Tetris, he'll have prepared in the same manner as myself. The difference is that he'd earn 4 rows sent for 10 pieces = 0.4 sent per piece, while I'd have earned (1 sent for 5 pieces) + (4 sent for 10 pieces on the next-coming Tetris) = 0.33 sent per piece.

If I had to guess, a good strategy would be to keep a stable surface while Tetrising down garbage at the earliest opportunity. When there is no more garbage, use upstack Tetrises.

Thank you for the in depth analysis   Of course, I didn't mean that you actually had to start with a double, I was trying to express the idea in an easy way to digest the concept. I should have stated that Job One was to be conscious of where the canal is going to pop up

Tactics for two player vs. mode:

Two very important things to keep in mind: The canals in the garbage lines pop up in the same place for both players, and both players get the same pieces.

So Job #1 is always set up for a double as fast as you can, and clear the double.  You will see where the canal in your own garbage will be by looking at your opponents single line of garbage..  You obviously do not want to put pieces there, so instead, build your wall around that spot, and your opponent will help you set up for Tetrises by sending you garbage.

SNES can be brutal in its randomizer, so always keep a conservative approach to going for Tetris: make sure you can burn lines easily!

If your opponent gets ahead of you in number of pieces played, you can watch his next box and know what you are going to get later on!    The farther ahead he gets, the more of a preview you get (assuming you have the RAM in your brain to keep track of course   )  This is very handy when the longbar drought comes along. If you are behind in pieces, you will sort of have a "heads-up" about when the drought will finally break.


And an "in case you missed it":
392 lines in SNES, pure DAS charging, no hyper-tapping.